A. Preserving Diverse Cultures in a Global Economy

Moderator: Ismail Serageldin, Special Advisor to the World Bank, has been active for years in sustainable development with the World Bank and other organizations. A former Vice President of the World Bank, he is currently Distinguished Visiting Professor, American University in Cairo. An author of more than 40 books and monographs, Serageldin holds numerous degrees, including a Ph.D. from Harvard University. An expert on cultural tourism and cultural preservation, Serageldin, an Egyptian citizen, is actively advising the Egyptian government on the establishment of the New Library of Alexandria.

Rapporteur: Bill Ivey, Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts, assumed his present position in May 1998. A folklorist and musician, he is a staunch protector of America's living cultural heritage and a forceful voice on national arts policy. Ivey recently obtained Congressional funding for a new NEA program initiative, called Challenge America, which targets support to arts education, services for young people, and cultural heritage preservation. Upon assuming office, he spearheaded a five-year strategic plan for the arts agency. From 1991 to 1998, Ivey was director of the Country Music Foundation in Nashville. He was appointed to the President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities in 1994, where he was a major contributor to Creative America, an analysis of American cultural life. Ivey also served two terms as Chairman of the national Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. A native of Michigan, Ivey was educated at the University of Michigan and the University of Indiana and holds degrees in history, folklore, and ethnomusicology.

B. Culture and the Practice of Diplomacy

Moderator: Thomas R. Pickering was sworn in as Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs on May 27, 1997. He holds the personal rank of Career Ambassador, the highest in the United States Foreign Service. Prior to becoming Under Secretary, he served as the President of the Eurasia Foundation, a Washington-based organization which makes small grants and loans in the states of the former Soviet Union in support of democracy and economic reform. He previously served as Ambassador to the Russian Federation from May 1993 until November 1996. He also served as Ambassador to India 1992-1993, Permanent Representative to the United Nations 1989-1992, Ambassador to Israel 1985-1988, to El Salvador 1983-1985, and to Nigeria 1981-1983. He was Assistant Secretary for Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs from 1978 to 1981. From 1974 until 1978, Ambassador Pickering was Ambassador to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. From 1973 to 1974, he was Executive Secretary of the Department of State and Special Assistant to Secretary Rogers and Secretary Kissinger.

Rapporteur: Cynthia P. Schneider is the 61st Ambassador of the United States to the Kingdom of the Netherlands. She was nominated by President Clinton on May 12, 1998, confirmed by the Senate and sworn in on August 11, 1998. As Ambassador, Dr. Schneider has led initiatives in the fields of biotechnology, education, public diplomacy, and culture. Ambassador Schneider supports American businesses in the Netherlands from large multinationals to IT start-ups. Dr. Schneider has been particularly active in the pharmaceutical, food, oil and gas, financial, and IT sectors. She is also a supporter of the U.S. defense industry, notably systems such as the Joint Strike Fighter. Before her nomination, Ambassador Schneider, of Sandy Spring, Maryland, was Associate Professor of Art History at Georgetown University. Prior to teaching at Georgetown, she was Assistant Curator of European Paintings at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

C. The Role of Multinationals, NGOs, and Multilateral Groups

Moderator: Cornelia W. Higginson, is Vice President for the Philanthropic Program at the American Express Company. Before joining American Express, she was an investment banker at Paine Webber in New York, a loan officer at John Hancock in Boston, an editor at the French Reader's Digest, a translator at the South Pacific Commission in Noumea, New Caledonia, and a school teacher. Connie Higginson also chairs the International Committee of the Council on Foundations and co-chairs the Council's U.S. Giving Abroad project, which seeks to simplify documentation requirements for U.S. grantmakers making non-U.S. grants. She is also a member of the European Foundation Center's Governing Council and International Committee and co-chairs BEST (Business Enterprise for Sustainable Travel), a joint project of the Conference Board and the World Travel and Tourism Council. Ms. Higginson is a graduate of Radcliffe College at Harvard University and has an M.B.A. degree from Boston University.

Rapporteur: William R. Ferris is the Chairman of National Endowment for the Humanities. As an author, folklorist, filmmaker and academic administrator, William R. Ferris has compiled a distinguished record of achievement and leadership in the humanities. Before becoming chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities in November 1997, Dr. Ferris served for 18 years as founding director of the Center for the Study of Southern Culture at the University of Mississippi in Oxford. Dr. Ferris's publications cover the fields of folklore, American literature, music and photography and include the best-selling Encyclopedia of Southern Culture (1989). Dr. Ferris also has taught at Yale University and at Jackson State University in Mississippi. His honors include the presidential Charles Frankel Prize in the Humanities, the American Library Association's Dartmouth Medal, the Mississippi Institute of Arts and Letters Award, and France's Chevalier and Officer in the Order of Arts and Letters. He has also been inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame. Dr. Ferris holds M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in folklore from the University of Pennsylvania, an M.A. in English literature from Northwestern University, and a B.A. from Davidson College.

D. Arts and Humanities Abroad: Sharing America's Cultural Diversity

Moderator: John Brademas, President Emeritus of New York University, was NYU President from 1981 to 1992. Before coming to New York, Dr. Brademas served as United States Representative to Congress from Indiana for twenty-two years (1959-81). Dr. Brademas was co-sponsor of legislation creating the National Endowments for the Arts (NEA) and the Humanities (NEH) and has been the architect of other important legislation supporting the arts. Dr. Brademas is Chairman of the President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities and also of the National Endowment for Democracy. Dr. Brademas is President of the Foundation to support the King Juan Carlos I of Spain Center at New York University. Beside his work on many organizations in a variety of disciplines, he is a published author. He is a graduate of Harvard, B.A. magnum cum laude, and was a Rhodes Scholar, earning a Ph.D. from Oxford.

Rapporteur: Harriett L. Elam-Thomas was appointed U.S. Ambassador to Senegal in 1999. She is a Senior Foreign Service Officer with the rank of Career Minister. She has served as a Foreign Service Officer in Turkey, Greece, France, Senegal, Mali, the Ivory Coast and Belgium. She has earned the U.S. Government's Superior Honor Award for improving U.S.-Greek Relations, and USIA's Lois Roth Award for Excellence in Informational and Cultural Diplomacy. In February 1993, Turkish Prime Minister Suleyman Demirel presented her an award from the Turkish Educational and Cultural Foundation for improving U.S.-Turkish relations. She has served as Vice President of the Department of State's 37th Senior Seminar, a premier global affairs leadership Program. Ms. Elam-Thomas holds a B.A. in International Business from Simmons College and an M.A. in Public Diplomacy from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University.

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Culture and Diplomacy Conference | Educational and Cultural Affairs | Department of State