International Dialogue Centre with the support of the USA Embassy in the Republic of Belarus and with the participation of International Fund “Vitsebsk Golden Heritage” and the Institute of Sociology of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus has started an international project “Belarusian-American Cultural Dialogue: the Strategy of Development” on July 1, 2011. The planned activities are: an open creative contest “American Culture: What Is It Like?” based on two topics: “Attractiveness of American culture” and “Belarusian accents in American culture” (essay, poem, picture, photo); organization of three round tables dedicated to American Studies in Belarus and Belarusian Studies in the USA, as well as to the strategy of intercultural Belarusian-American dialogue development; publishing a collective book and international exhibition organization.
“Intercultural dialogue is an international political priority and a political priority of the Council of Europe, which is based on the principles of cultural diversity, culture as a catalyst of creation and culture as a core element of international ties. We have chosen a Belarusian-American direction because, firstly the United States of America remain the superpower which largely defines global development, secondly, because American society is multicultural and it is relevant to Belarusian cultural and historical context. Thirdly, American culture and even the state was created by the representatives of many countries, including the Belarusians, and fourthly, we know very little about this extremely interesting country and our knowledge is rather sketchy and it’s wonderful that our Belarusian-American dialogue is not a unilateral, but an oncoming movement. We invite all interested to participate.” – said L. Uladykouskaya.