The readjustment of European cultural mediation

Commentator Heinrich Wefing notes that "the balance between European and gloabl ambitions is also at the heart of the current debate about the future of Germany's Goethe Institute." He compares efforts to give the British Council, the Institut Francais and the Instituto Cervantes a new direction. "Naturally, people who work in culture are far too distinguished to talk about things like global competition. But that's precisely what it's all about: impact, presence and intellectual spheres of influence. The regions which are the focus of interest in this intellectual long-distance duel are easily identified: China, primarily, South East Asia and the Arab-Muslim world. It is impossible to ignore this change of perspective, this re-focussing in the strategies of European cultural mediation. No one is keen to call it by its name, but 'the Islamic issue' the ghost of a clash of cultures, is also forcing agents of cultural exchange to find answers."

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