"ARTS & MINDS: A CONFERENCE ON CULTURAL DIPLOMACY AMID GLOBAL TENSIONS," opened on April 14, shortly after U.S. military troops entered Baghdad, forcing the regime of Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein to collapse, and just a day after the looting of the National Museum in Baghdad. An audience of over 300 people explored how new cultural programs might play a role in recasting the U.S. image and promote international understanding. "Arts & Minds" also probed the efficacy of American cultural diplomacy during its Cold War heyday and highlighted the cultural diplomacy campaigns now being waged by foreign nations with a view toward drawing lessons for U.S. policy. Special attention was paid to the outlook for U.S. cultural diplomatic initiatives in the Islamic world.

Arts & Minds presents the edited transcript of the entire conference as well as an introduction by Michael Z. Wise, contributing editor, Architecture magazine, and 2002-03 National Arts Journalism Program research fellow.

Conference speakers include: RICHARD BULLIET, professor of history, Columbia University; HODDING CARTER, president, The Knight Foundation, and former State Department spokesman; DAVID DENBY, film critic, The New Yorker; RICHARD FORD, Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist; ANDREW KOHUT, director, The Pew Research Center for the People and the Press; FELIX ROHATYN, president, Rohatyn Associates, and former U.S. ambassador to France; SAMER SHEHATA, professor of Arab Studies at Georgetown University; FAOUZI SKALI, founder and director, The Fes Festival of World Sacred Music; MICHAEL WARNER, historian, Central Intelligence Agency.

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