Foreign cultural and educational policy (Auswärtige Kultur- und Bildungspolitik - AKBP) is an important pillar of cultural diplomacy in foreign policy. Culture and education create dialogue spaces beyond daily politics and weave sustainable networks between the actors of civil society. As part of the research project "Internet and Public Participation", ifa (Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen) wants to invite you to discuss the new potential for international cultural exchange that arises with digitisation.

A motivation for this discussion are the so called "shrinking spaces", i.e. the restriction of public space for political discussion and cultural exchange. The question arises: Can digital platforms increase the space for exchange of opinion and artistic work? And, if so, how?

We will look at some ongoing initiatives of German foreign cultural policy organisations like the Goethe-Institut and ifa (Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen) and want to explore how these projects try to increase virtual spheres of freedom.

The aim of this workshop is to foster an exchange of ideas between cultural actors/enablers and tech developers. We hope that this can be a starting point for an ongoing dialogue about how digital technology can be leveraged to maintain and regain free spaces.

Cultural actors and enablers, developers and refugees welcome.