Conversation: 'A New Way Forward' Through Cultural Exchange

From "American Idol" to "'Afghan Star,'":http://news.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/hi/music/newsid_7377000/7377594.stm art and entertainment can be powerful tools for cultural exchange. That's the argument in the recent report, "A New Way Forward," which calls for the United States to utilize the arts to build a better relationship with the Muslim world. Its author is Cynthia Schneider, who served as U.S. ambassador to the Netherlands from 1998 to 2001. She currently heads the "Art and Culture Dialogue Initiative":http://www.brookings.edu/experts/schneiderc.aspx at the Brookings Institution and is a professor of diplomacy at Georgetown University. **Editor's note:** Cynthia Schneider's report, "A New Way Forward," can be "found here":http://www.brookings.edu/papers/2009/09_cultural_engagement_schneider.aspx. And "here's an interview":http://www.pbs.org/newshour/art/blog/2009/06/silverdocs-festival-opens-with-a-slam.html with filmmaker Havana Marking about "Afghan Star," a documentary about the TV show. For a story about the exhibit of Pakistani art at the Asia Society mentioned by Schneider, "click here.":http://www.pbs.org/newshour/art/blog/2009/09/art-of-contemporary-pakistan-comes-to-new-york.html