Podiumkunsten en Culturele diplomatie : Een verkenning naar de inzet van podiumkunsten om maatschappelijke thema's aan te kaarten, in de uitvoering van culturele diplomatie op de Nederlandse ambassade te Rome

M. van der Kolff

This thesis on Performing Arts & Cultural Diplomacy, explores the use of performing arts that address social issues, as a tool of cultural diplomacy as conducted by the Dutch Embassy in Rome. Firstly, the outline of the history of Dutch international cultural policy shows the emergence of cultural diplomacy. The Dutch government?s lack of a clear definition of cultural diplomacy compelled me to draft a new one, namely: 'the deployment of a state?s culture in support of its foreign policy goals by using aspects of international cultural relations, public diplomacy and nation branding.' In collaboration with the Dutch Embassy in Rome, a toolbox was designed for conducting Dutch cultural diplomacy. By having recourse to a case-study, the practical execution of cultural diplomacy is examined. This case study, the Gender Bender festival in Bologna, is a multidisciplinary festival with a focus on modern dance. The purpose of the festival is to raise awareness for LGBT-rights in Italy, a country with a long tradition of hiding homosexuality, and where gay organizations fight for equal rights. The Dutch Embassy in Rome has been supporting the festival financially for ten years. Apart from the funding aspect, they also support the organization of the festival in their struggle for LGBT-rights. For the Netherlands it furthermore increased the exposure of Dutch dance in Italy, the execution of public diplomacy policy, and the branding of the Netherlands as an open-minded country. To conclude, the Dutch Embassy?s support of the Gender Bender festival very clearly demonstrates the three different aspects of cultural diplomacy. It encompasses international cultural relations, through the arts diplomacy of exposing and promoting Dutch modern dance in Italy. It encompasses public diplomacy, through the addressing of social issues and supporting equal rights. And lastly, it also encompasses nation branding, through economic diplomacy by linking Dutch businesses (KLM) to the festival, thus expanding market opportunities. All in all it entails the support of a multidisciplinary festival, by making use of the multidisciplinarity of cultural diplomacy.