Dialogue and Information

The Institute for Foreign Cultural Relations is operating worldwide to provide information about foreign cultural policy.

The library of the Institute for Foreign Cultural Relations is the only library all over the world that covers foreign cultural policy and international cultural relations and the connected and succeeding subjects. Apart from German-language publications, a selection of important international publications dealing with politico-cultural affairs are also available.

As the official documentation centre of the Federal Republic of Germany for foreign cultural policy and international cultural relations it is archiving

the basic texts in the internet of the Federal Foreign Office about foreign cultural and education policy,

the bilateral cultural contracts with the Federal Republic of Germany and

the international and European cultural agreements, legal acts of international and European organisations and political documents and last acts of international and European conferences about cultural policy and cooperation concerning the Federal Republic of Germany.

Its areas of collections embraces:

concepts of Foreign Cultural Policy,

institutions dealing with foreign cultural relations,

history and development of Foreign Cultural Policy,

cultural factors of globalisation,

multilateral cultural cooperation (Europe, UNESCO),

foreign languages policy,

relations in sciences (exchange of students and academics),

schools abroad,

exchange in fine arts and literature, reception research,

cultural exchange in frontier regions,

cultural factors of international media policy.

The for Foreign Cultural Relations organises conferences about foreign cultural policy as well as art exchange.

The journal KULTURAUSTAUSCH – Journal for international perspectives, published by the ifa, is edited quarterly with the aim to show topical subjects of the international cultural relations from unusual points of view. A central topic of interest in every issue focuses the increasing importance of cultural processes in the globalised world.

The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation organises regularly colloquiums in Germany and abroad for research scholarship holders and research prize winners of the foundation. Via the Humboldt network it maintains contact with every single Humboldtian worldwide and promotes academic contacts between Humboldtians themselves.

The open access part of the Network Online database features a large proportion of the Foundation's more than 23,000 academics sponsored worldwide.

The Ambassador scientists of the Humboldt Foundation are Alumni working in an honorary capacity at universities and research institutions in their own countries, disseminating information about Germany as a research location and particularly about the Humboldt Foundation’s sponsorship programmes and international network.

Each year the German Academic Exchange Service organises subject-specific or interdisciplinary alumni seminars in various countries. These seminars are mainly intended for foreign alumni and are generally carried out in cooperation with the German diplomatic representations, local DAAD lectors, the Goethe Institutes, universities or Alumni Clubs. For foreign DAAD alumni from developing countries and from Eastern and Southeastern European Countries the there are special programmes and services.

Germany's higher education institutions have begun to intensify the programmes and services they offer their former guest and visiting students and researchers from around the world.

With the programme for mentoring and relationship with foreign Alumni the DAAD supports the German’s higher education institution in their international alumni work.

With the programme Dialogue on Innovative Higher Education Strategies (DIES) it supports higher education institutions in developing countries in developing reform strategies.

With the programme German-Arab/Iranian Higher Education Dialogue it supports higher education partnership projects focusing the cultural dialogue with the Islamic world. Fundable are dialogue-oriented partnership projects between German institutions of higher education and its partners in Arab countries in the Middle East and North Africa and Iran in all disciplines, from the arts, urban planning, to civil engineering and medicine.

The German Development Service supports local civil organisations and municipal structures by providing specialist advice, if required by financial support. It has an effect on public debate on development issues and participates in the intercultural dialogue. Currently it works in 47 partner countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America and is in charge in the field dialogue and information in the following projects:

In cooperation with the World Bank the DED supports Ethiopian partners in the expansion of the telecommunication and information system with the objective to provide a more expended and efficient base of information and communication. Besides for the entire programme of the DED in Ethiopia a HIV-AIDS a cross-section advisor is appointed.

Encouragement of the Theatre for Development an interactive theatre about issues like drugs, HIV/AIDS or questions of education in the north of Laos.

In Germany the focus of its work lies on the mentoring the development worker returning to Germany:

Repatriates who like to engage in the education of development policy the DED offers them with thematic and methodical advanced trainings and materials and assistance in planning and performance of activities.

Participants of the voluntary service weltwärts attend after their return a closing seminar enabling them to exchange their experiences and to finish it for their new period of life. An important aim is to develop together with the other repatriates ideas for the propagation of the sampled experience and to get to know methods and instruments of the developing-political education and campaign work.

The German Organisation for Technical Cooperation promotes decentralised public and private structures and assists the population in securing a livelihood.

A special focus of its dialogue work is the Islam and the development cooperation. Comprising Islamic institutions in the German development cooperation the GTZ has established the programme office “intercultural relationships with Islamic affected countries” after several years of development work and pilot projects in Africa, Asia and the Middle East. The programme office acts companywide and the central contact point for the subject Islam and development cooperation.

With the AgenZ – Agency for Market-Oriented Concepts – the GTZ expands the consultancy services by focusing on political communication and strategic marketing. AgenZ provides advisory services to national and international companies and to public institutions.

The DW-Academy of the Deutsche Welle offers tailor-made courses aimed at strengthening the competence and independence of the journalists, technicians, managers and trainers at its partner broadcasters. DW-Academy's services are aimed exclusively at partner broadcasters in developing and transition countries.

With its Culture and Development initiative, the Goethe Institute employs specific consulting and training programmes to promote institutions and stakeholders from culture, the media and society, in particular in countries involved in development cooperation. The programmes aim to provide professional qualifications, to advise and support the formation of regional networks and create cultural and social platforms.

The cultural initiative is active in four spheres:

capacity development,

educational consulting/educational cooperation,

creation of cultural spaces and

cooperation with civil society.

The projects are planned for the long term and initiated, designed and realised together with partners from the host countries and from Germany.

The InWEnt - Capacity Building International - communicates interdisciplinary management techniques and intercultural know-how in developing and transition countries.

In the preparation place for Development Cooperation (V-EZ) - the training centre for international personal development of the InWEnt - specialists and managers of the German Development Cooperation but also of the International Cooperation are preparing for their extensive functions. Important basic information about the German Development Cooperation and the International Cooperation are conveyed to them:

strategies of effective intercultural cooperation,

international tested management practices as well as

communication skills oriented to occupation in the European lingua franca and till 70 national languages.

Furthermore the V-EZ provides them extensive country-specific knowledge about almost 100 countries.