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Sessions of the conference on“ Culture and Diplomacy”, hosted by  Bahrain National Theater kicked off on  20 October 2019,  in the presence of Foreign Affairs Minister. H.E  Shaikh Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa, held in cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, H.E Shaikha Mai bint Mohammed Al Khalifa, President  of the Bahrain Authority for Culture & Antiquities (BACA) Bahrain Authority for Culture & Antiquities, H.E Dr Shaikha Muneera bint Khalifa Al Khalifa, the Executive Director of the Mohammed Bin Mubarak Al Khalifa Diplomatic Academy. Experts in cultural diplomacy from Bahrain and GCC countries, students at the Mohammed Bin Mubarak Al Khalifa Diplomatic Academy and media figures and personalities also attended the conference.
In her inaugural address, H.E Shaikha Hala bint Mohammed Al Khalifa, Director-General of Culture and Arts at the Bahrain Authority for Culture & Antiquities, said that the conference represents an opportunity for youth to gather and get acquainted with culture as a tool for diplomatic action and a “common language, a common pool of memories, and shared way of thinking, reasoning, and communicating,” as Bozeman refers it.

H.E Shaikha Hala has also pointed out that the conference on“ Culture and Diplomacy” offers immense possibilities for younger generations to listen and learn from uniquely influential personalities and iconic symbols in diplomacy and culture, confirming that Bahrain’s Culture Authority invests in introducing the new youth generations to many bright successful experiences in both fields. The conference will be documented later in a annual listing all detailed sessions and talks held, the interactive discussions and creative ideas about culture and diplomacy, H.E concluded.  

The conference, held in cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and  Mohammed Bin Mubarak Al Khalifa Diplomatic Academy for two days, will come to end on 21 October 2019, shedding lights on many topics and issues with regard to diplomacy and culture through many sessions animated by very important personalities and figures from Bahrain and the region.

The first conference session, titled “ Culture in International Relations”, figured symbols of Bahraini diplomacy and culture, namely H.E Shaikh Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa,  Foreign Affairs Minister, H.E  Shaikha Mai bint Mohammad Al Khalifa, President  of the Bahrain Authority for Culture & Antiquities, Dr Mounir Bouchenaki, BACA’s Counselor for  World Heritage and was chaired by H.E Dr Shaikha Muneera bint Khalifa Al Khalifa.
 
At the beginning of  the first session, H.E Dr Shaikha Muneera bint Khalifa Al Khalifa argued that are not two solitudes but two sides of the same coin, bolstering one another, and that culture appears to be at the center of contemporary discussions of international relations. There are great debates about whether civilizations - transnational cultural communities of understanding about the world and how people ought to live in it- are more important actors than states in world affairs.

 In his intervention during this session, H.E Shaikh Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa expressed his thanks to H.E Shaikha Mai bint Mohammad Al Khalifa for her cooperation and keenness to organize this conference, lauding her crucial role to enhance Bahrain’s position worldwide through the safeguard of the Bahraini, and the Arab historical and civilizational heritage. Minister of Foreign Affairs added to say that diplomacy is a multifaceted craft, and soft power and culture are among its most important aspects, which requires also a good knowledge of national culture to best represent one’s country.

 H.E Shaikh Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa argued that the historical and civilizational heritage, including authentic genuine archaeological artifacts, can answer the concerns expressed about the possibility for real understanding between peoples trapped in their respective culture worlds. And, overshadowing all, is the sense that some single, global culture may be in the process of transforming everything, mentioning the example of Egyptian Paranoiac obelisks, Rosetta Stone and  relics exhibited in major world’s cities and representing their respective countries’ civilizations. H.E Shaikh Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa lauded the fervent rich public or private level-cultural scene in Bahrain, promoting the kingdom worldwide.

 H.E  Shaikha Mai bint Mohammad Al Khalifa, in her turn, thanked  H.E Shaikh Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa for his constant support to cultural action and his encouragement to all culture events and activities in Bahrain, pointing out that art and culture are in the forefront of Bahrain’s  promotional efforts on the international scene. Indeed, Bahrain
 recognizes that showing its cultural heritage has  provided it with an opportunity of showing its identity, creating a positive image, thus helping to achieve the Kingdom  political aims, reflected in hosting World Heritage Committee Meeting in 2018, and chairing this international organism twice before. H.E added that the Kingdom of Bahrain has also succeeded to win many international honorary recognition and titles from international organizations, such as the Capital of Arab Culture, Capital of Arab Tourism for the last decade. Concerted efforts and cooperation between all parties would certainly serve better the promotion of the Bahrain heritage worldwide, given that Bahrain’s shared heritage, which is the fruit of the creative and processed effort of countless generations, can ideally portray the bright image of our beloved kingdom and its genuine culture and civilization, H.E said.

Regarding the power of ccultural diplomacy, which may best be described as a course of actions, which are based on and utilize the exchange of ideas, values, traditions and other aspects of culture or identity, whether to strengthen relationships, enhance socio-cultural cooperation, promote national interests and beyond, H.E said that Bahrain is celebrating the 30th anniversary of Bahrain-China diplomatic relations, inaugurating thus, an important Bahraini cultural center in China, in cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Dr Mounir Bouchenaki, for his part, said that Bahrain has succeeded, via its cultural tools and mechanisms, to gain international favorable recognition and appreciation in all fields, noteworthy Manama-based UNESCO Arab Regional Center for World Heritage.
 Dr Mounir Bouchenaki also argued that, cultural diplomacy, practiced by either the public sector, private sector or civil society, can be instrumental in shaping the tone and nature of intercultural relations between countries and civilizations, strengthening relations and gathering nations together around the preservation of a universal value components, such as the bright hosting by Bahrain of the World Heritage Meeting 2018. By simply concentrating on common agreed shared values and noble causes, culture can be at the heart of diplomacy.  Dr. Bouchenaki also said that diplomacy and culture are two main United Nations’ objectives and visions, made concrete recently through the establishment of UN Institute for Culture Diplomacy. In addition, Dr. Bouchenaki asserted that young diplomats are invited to get acquainted with the legal framework of the United Nations and UNESCO organizations, as manifested by many conventions dealing with culture, such as Word Heritage Convention, the Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict, Charter for the Protection and Management of the Underwater Cultural Heritage, Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property, and  the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage.

In its 2nd session, the conference shed lights on the importance of means and ways of effective cultural communication through diplomacy, whereby H.E Shaikha Hala bint Mohammed Al Khalifa, Director-General of Culture and Arts at the Bahrain Authority for Culture & Antiquities, Her Excellency Hend Al Otaiba, Director of Strategic Communications at the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation,, Mr. Ahmad Mohammad Al-Tuyan, Director General of New Communication and Media Center, Saudi Foreign Minister. The  panel session was moderated by H.E Shaikh Khalifa Bin Ahmad Al-Khalifa, Director of Museums Directorate at Bahrain Culture Authority. 

H.E Shaikha Hala bint Mohammed Al Khalifa said in her intervention that culture is one of the most social components, an effective powerful tool to communicate with the world, lauding the role of the intellectuals and artists and the need to explore the international experiences and expertise, given that the world is becoming more like a global village, easily accessible to all humans. H.E said that Bahrain Culture Authority is currently working on a pioneering cultural project, namely Transfer of Knowledge endeavor, supervised by Arab Sociologist, Dr. Tahar Labid. The project aims to translate the major international books by famous writers in many disciplines into Arabic, given that the book is the best way to communicate with the others and the perfect way to document the historical achievements by other humans. H.E Shaikha Hala added to say that BACA has invested heavily in culture to reflect the bright image of Bahrain, inviting the whole world to discover its richness and diversity; in 2018 Muharraq was celebrated as the Capital of Islamic Culture and Bahrain proposed a UN Day “International Day of Islamic Art”.
 
Mr. Ahmad Mohammad Al-Tuyan said during his intervention that Arab countries’ embassies cultural attachés should opt for more cultural promotion and the need for effective cultural organisms working in parallel to diplomatic efforts in the Arab region. Al-Tuyan asserted that Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ diplomatic missions should not simply be reduced to usual conventional duties and responsibilities, but rather they should develop to encompass the new age modern language of the world, that is technology-based common language, as we have today digital diplomacy, cultural diplomacy and cooperative diplomacy. Mr. Al Tuyan said that the next generation of embassies will be totally different with the actual image, but embassies capable to communicate with the outside world, promotion of national culture and be actively present in the local community.

Her Excellency Hend Al Otaiba, for her part, argued that the United Arab Emirates is keen to include culture in all its strategic plans, world events and challenges, especially with the organization of major exhibitions, such as the next Dubai Expo 2020,  which will be an endless journey of discovery whereby visitors will have access to the latest innovations and breakthroughs, with more than 200 participants - including 192 nations, multilateral organisations, businesses and educational institutions - coming together to highlight real-life solutions to the world's most pressing challenges. An entertaining global celebration with something for everyone, Expo 2020 will wow visitors with 60 daily events across 173 days, showcasing the best of music, technology, creativity and culture, while 200 F&B outlets will feature famous chefs and cuisine from every corner of the world under the theme 'Connecting Minds, Creating the Future', Mrs Al Otaiba said.

On museums in the UAE, Her Excellency Hend Al Otaiba asserted that "Louvre Abu Dhabi" Museum described as a cultural and architectural monument  that it embodies the concept of investment in cultural projects in the UAE, has enhanced Abu Dhabi’s international cultural role. Built to house artwork, the building of the Louvre Abu Dhabi has itself become known as a stunning piece of art on the capital’s landscape, reflecting a whole culture to be discovered.

 The 2nd day of the conference will highlight the different aspects of cultural soft power and how countries plan strategies to transfer their cultures and enhance their international supremacy, given that foreign cultural policy in industrial countries as well as in emerging countries has become a central part of foreign policy. The session will also discuss the range of tasks has increased, and these additional tasks call for new competences and another way of thinking, arts and music and their relationships with diplomacy.

This event will shed lights on many important parts of the cultural heritage of the Kingdom of Bahrain and its impact as soft powers on Bahraini cultural diplomacy, stressing, at the same time, the importance on cooperation between Bahrain Culture Authority and the Academy. The forum will also discuss a number of other topics, such as culture and international relations, cultural soft power, arts, music and diplomacy, and how to communicate power  diplomacy.

Worth to mention that culture is part and parcel of national identity and is a vital national interest, reflected generally through diplomacy, making culture and diplomacy two identical subject matters,  necessary for the successful  implementation of close  international relations between countries on this background. There is no doubt that the Kingdom of Bahrain has a rich cultural  assets and  potential  resources, enhancing its regional and international valuable position.