The Andorra Declaration for the Promotion of Cultural Diplomacy through Higher Education Institutions and the Arts is the outcome of the International Roundtable “Perspectives on Art for Cultural Diplomacy”, that took place in Andorra on July 15, 2021, that has already received the endorsement of all the roundtable panelists.

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ANDORRA DECLARATION FOR  THE PROMOTION OF CULTURAL DIPLOMACY THROUGH HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS AND THE ARTS

Preamble

Political, social, environmental, economic and health issues have all recently converged to threaten a return from a collaborative global culture to a competitive one, in a world becoming once more polarized and mining advances in transformational and lasting peaceful coexistence. Effective strategies must be identified to safeguard the gains in international harmony, and to promote common values to offset movements that highlight divisive differences.

Therefore, the ArtCamp 2021 Perspectives on Arts for Cultural Diplomacy roundtable participants

recognizing:

• that the Visual Arts are a vehicle for the transmission of cultural values and cultural identity that transcend language and cultural barriers;
• that Culture, and, more specifically, the Visual Arts, have given proof of a unique resilience, and of unparalleled capacity to maintain intercultural dialogue and appreciation of common values in the most challenging of environments;
• that the Visual Arts are among the most effective tools of Cultural Diplomacy, and that Cultural Diplomacy is an efficient strategy successfully employed by various sectors of society to establish and/or to promote national agendas, for market positioning, to improve international relations, and to promote cultural understanding, among other objectives;
• that Cultural Diplomacy plays a crucial role in promoting values of peace, solidarity, tolerance and coexistence;

and
considering:

• that ArtCamp is a biennial international event of enduring success, launched in 2008 by the Andorran National Commission of UNESCO that attracts to Andorra international artists to bridge cultural differences, to inspire, to share experiences and values, and to showcase this event as an example of international harmony, coexistence, mutual respect and collaboration;
• that within the context of ArtCamp 2021 artists and experts will also be engaged in assessing ways to maximize the potential and the benefits of Cultural Diplomacy through the Arts in a roundtable organized in collaboration with the academic community represented by the Universitat d’Andorra;

We, the Perspectives on Arts for Cultural Diplomacy roundtable participants,
therefore,

recommend:

• that the successful experience of ArtCamp be shared internationally as a travelling exhibition, replicating its format in host countries, to encourage similar initiatives in a concerted effort by local or national governments, art communities, UNESCO National Commissions, and higher education institutions to further the values of peace and understanding through the Arts;
• that, at the initiative of the Universitat d’Andorra and ArtCAmp 2021 and Perspectives on Arts for Cultural Diplomacy roundtable participating universities, the concept and practice of international mobility and exchanges amongst higher education institutions be widened to regularly include the exchange of Art programs.

Furthermore,

recognizing:

• that the international exchange of knowhow, information, and collaboration in academe and research amongst universities is a de facto tool for effective Cultural Diplomacy, provided academic freedom and university autonomy are fully respected;
• that a major element in the international academic exchange is the mobility and exchange of students, faculty, researchers and administrative staff;

and
considering:

• that students, faculty, researchers and administrative staff in international mobility programs benefit from the transfer and exchange of academic know-how, and of research and administrative expertise in a generous display of international solidarity and collaboration by the host university and facilitated by the host country;
• that the experience afforded by said mobility also informally provides a deeper and better understanding of the host country and its people;
• that this better understanding favours tolerance, peaceful coexistence, and, overall, a culture of peace;

convinced:
that reciprocal knowledge established with mobility contribute to promotion of peace, elimination of prejudices, intolerance and xenophobia;

the ArtCAmp 2021 Perspectives on Arts for Cultural Diplomacy roundtable participating universities, therefore,

recommend:

• that universities develop and embed in their international mobility programs the concept and practice of Cultural Diplomacy through Academic Exchanges, and equip students, faculty, researchers and administrative staff to proactively share with their host counterparts or wider local audiences, familiarity and understanding of their country’s values, history and culture;
• that host institutions facilitate the practice of Cultural Diplomacy through Academic Exchanges by encouraging and supporting the exercise of said Cultural Diplomacy, by arranging adequate platforms and providing the widest possible dissemination of related activities amongst institutional and outside audiences;
• that host institutions incorporate in the mobility program of visiting students, faculty, researchers and administrative staff formal exposure to, and familiarization sessions on the values, culture and history of the host country;
• that the home institution facilitate and strongly encourage students, faculty, researchers and administrative staff that have benefited from international exchanges to formally share with their institution’s community the knowledge acquired of the values, culture and history of the host country.

In conclusion,

The universities underwriting the Andorra Declaration for  the Promotion of Cultural Diplomacy Through Higher Education Institutions and the Arts Declare their adherence to the principles of cultural diplomacy in carrying out international mobility, academic  and research programs, and make a commitment to ensure that their institutions implement the recommendations enunciated  in this Declaration.

The signatories to this Declaration also pledge to promote cultural cooperation, exchange and dialogue, to further peaceful coexistence, global understanding and to support the role played by the arts in cultural diplomacy.

Andorra, 15th July 2021