Cultural diplomacy - Demos

2. Maximising the UK’s
cultural competitive
advantage
The UK is a leading player in the cultural world. The strength of our
historic collections, their global reputation, our long-term
relationships with foreign institutions, the breadth and depth of
expertise, and the creativity of the cultural sector together mean that
the UK is at the forefront of thinking and practice on culture.
However, at the start of the twenty-first century, and as new players
and technologies come to dominate, there is a significant risk of the
UK sitting on its cultural laurels and being overtaken by other
countries, such as China and India, that understand the value of
culture in public diplomacy and are committing significant resources
to it. Overall, we are not coordinating our efforts effectively, nor are
we spending enough on acquisitions to keep our collections up to
date. There are insufficient incentives for the growing international
work of our cultural institutions to be in tune with the UK’s
international priorities; there is little support for institutions hoping
to work in harder-to-reach places. There is also danger that we will
fail to realise the cultural diplomacy dividend offered by the 2012
Olympic Games and London’s Olympiad, which begins in 2008.
The UK benefits from international cultural exchange
The UK’s cultural sector produces direct and indirect economic
benefits for the UK. Some of these benefits can be quantified, but
many cannot, and this study does not attempt to calculate the overall
32 Demos