Proposed Policy Framework for Cultural Diplomacy in South Africa

Overview

Within the current field of international relations, there is little dispute that cultural diplomacy is a key diplomatic tool used by governments to advance their national interests. This point was emphasized in particular by the South African Cultural Observatory (SACO) in their recent report entitled, South Africa: Cultural Diplomacy and the National Interest. Among the report’s key findings is the clear lack of reference to the concept of cultural diplomacy within South African policy, particularly within the diplomatic corps; the report also indicated that current government-wide activities to promote South Africa’s image abroad are largely uncoordinated, underfunded and not linked to specific national objectives, including promoting regional stability and attracting foreign investment. In short, without appropriate policy instruments, Government lacks a dedicated in-house capacity to develop long-term relationships with other nations through various arts and culture programmes under the rubric of cultural diplomacy.

Against this background, the purpose of this document is to translate the main findings of the abovementioned SACO baseline report into a government-wide policy framework to advance cultural diplomacy in South Africa. The proposed framework, amongst other things, calls for greater interdepartmental cooperation between key stakeholders – particularly the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) and Department of Arts and Culture (DAC) – and increased institutional capacity for implementing cultural programmes abroad that serve to advance South Africa’s foreign policy objectives.