Culture and education in German foreign policy
Cultural relations: tasks and objectives
Along with political and economic relations, cultural relations – including education – is not only one of German foreign policy's three cornerstones but also has a demonstrably long-term impact. Cultural and educational programmes tailored to the needs and interests of people in our partner countries not only create a broad basis for stable international relations but also build trust in our country around the world. As a result of such programmes, our civil society, business and political actors readily find a host of important and reliable partners to work with. Our cultural relations and education policy objectives are:
- to present Germany as a country with a lively, multifaceted and internationally renowned cultural scene
- to strengthen Germany as higher education location by awarding scholarships, for example, to outstanding young researchers from all parts of the world
- to promote interest in the German language in Europe and also internationally
- to contribute to international crisis and conflict prevention efforts by helping, for example, to rebuild schools and universities in Afghanistan
- to promote European integration by introducing EU-wide education and training parameters, for example
- to preserve cultural diversity around the world by supporting projects, for example, to restore endangered cultural sites in developing countries
- to create a stable foundation for international relations by fostering dialogue and encounter.
Programmes
We continue to focus strongly on academic exchanges, support for schools abroad and activities geared to promoting interest in the German language as well as intercultural dialogue. In addition a number of new initiatives have been launched:
- Under the "Schools: Partners of the Future" initiative, we are building a network of partner schools in selected growth and priority regions
- With our "Aktion Afrika" programme we hope to intensify our cooperation especially with Sub-Saharan Africa in the field of culture and education
- Under the Ernst Reuter Initiative we are expanding our cooperation with Turkey
- Under the motto "Germany and China – Moving Ahead Together", we are staging a series of events in China that will be the biggest ever presentation of Germany abroad to date.
Partners
Not all cultural relations and education programmes are undertaken by the Federal Foreign Office itself. In many cases they are delegated to other organizations and public agencies, which implement them independently in accordance with Foreign Office guidelines. Our principal partners in this area are:
Last updated 05.05.2008
