Country Profiles: Germany - Institute for Cultural Diplomacy

the sixtieth birthday on 5 th July 2011. The anniversary was celebrated in the Berlin Art Gallery
(Berliner Kunstgallerie) at the Kulturforum and later on there was also an open-air festivity for the
public with a concert of Jens Friebe, a Berlin pop musician.94
6.3 Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen (Institute for Foreign Cultural Relations)
Agent of Cultural Diplomacy: The Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen in cooperation with
Alexander von Humboldt Stiftung, Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst, Deutscher
Entwicklungsdienst and others
Agenda: Cultural exchange through art, dialogue between civil society and intervention
through foreign culture policy information
Vehicle of Cultural Diplomacy: Cross-cultural exhibitions and internships
Target Audience: Young professional and artists from a German and non-German
backgrounds
The Institute for Foreign Cultural Relations (IFA) is the world's leading German institution in
the field of artistic and cultural exchange. It organizes exhibitions of German art around the
world and brings together artists with different cultural backgrounds through international
conferences and exchanges. The institute also exhibits art, architecture, and design from
around the world in its galleries in Stuttgart and Berlin. Its central goal is to use cultural
exchange to promote a peaceful, mutually beneficial coexistence between the peoples,
religions, and countries of this world. To achieve these goals, the IFA initiates intercultural
dialogue, raises awareness about relevant questions involving intercultural exchange, and
promotes German culture and art abroad. The IFA was founded in Stuttgart in 1917 as a
museum and institute to promote Germany's culture and image abroad. Between 1933 and
1945, the institute was taken over by members of the Nazi party and used to promote
German propaganda and its racial policies. After a brief closure at the end of the war, the
IFA reopened in 1949 and has grown to become the largest cultural mediating organisation in
Germany. The institute is funded by the German Foreign Office, the state of Baden-
Württemberg, the city of Stuttgart, and the Robert Bosch Foundation. Some of its numerous
partners are the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, the Anna Lindh Foundation, the British
Council in Germany, and the German Academic Exchange Service. One of the Institute's many
programmes, in cooperation with the German Foreign Office, is the CrossCulture
Internships initiative, which aims to improve ties between Germany and the Islamic world
through intercultural dialogue and networking. Through this programme, young
professionals and volunteers from both Germany and Islamic countries are granted the
opportunity to complete an internship in the respective foreign culture. The internships
generally fall under the following areas: education and knowledge-based society, justice
and human rights, economy and environment, international politics and political education,
and media. The internships are very flexible and can be adapted to the wishes and abilities of
the prospective participants. During their stay abroad, interns will not only improve their skills
in their prospective field, but also ameliorate their intercultural competence and gain diverse
experiences and knowledge of the foreign culture. 95