Agenda: Scotland can learn from German approach that involves culture in external relations

In response, the German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier did not call upon military might to overcome hate-filled divisions. Rather, he invoked culture. He said that while traditional diplomacy – countries talking to countries, political groups to political groups – still has a part to play, “cultural exchange and people-to-people encounters could bring people together to rebuild trust and to restore security”.

This German approach to international cultural relations has its roots in Germany’s unique history. No other country has had to work so hard, for so long, to rebuild reputation and trust. No other country has done that so successfully. Today, Germany is consistently ranked a top country for reputation and trust. German art and artists, such as Gerhardt Richter, Rebecca Horn, and Bernd and Hilla Becher, are celebrated around the world.

Cultural exchange between the UK and Germany is today going through a purple patch. The exhibition Germany, Memories of a Nation at the British Museum was hugely successful. It was curated by Neil MacGregor, the Director of the British Museum, who is now one of the leaders of the Humboldt Forum project, Europe’s largest and most important museum project, in Berlin. Hartwig Fischer from Dresden, is taking over as Director of the British Museum. Martin Roth, also from Dresden, is Director of the V&A.

This commitment to interchange of people, ideas and art, is central to the German vision of the role of culture in external relations. It is not confined to museum or heritage projects. The German approach embraces the contemporary. It embraces quality. It does not make claims as to the greatness of Germany. Rather it creates conditions for dialogue through engagement.

German artists and cultural producers of all kinds address contemporary issues in their work. They engage with history, as it happens, from the point of view of art. This approach is supported by German policy on international cultural relations. This can be by learning the German language or by using an art exhibition – like the exhibition of art from the Weimar Republic currently showing in LA – as a way to confront difficult issues.

Scotland can learn from the German approach. The Scottish Government is supporting a conference organised by the Centre for Cultural Relations at the University of Edinburgh to do just that. Today's event at the University of Edinburgh, The Future of International Relations, has invited experts from Germany to discuss cross-border relationships.

Scotland should be listening. The more open it is to outside influences and relationships, the more it can engage effectively on the international stage.

This is crucial to Scotland’s future economic and social progress. The ways in which relationships are formed in the modern world are changing. Businesses can develop global partnerships with people they have only ever met online. Arts organisations can, and do, build international links that touch on issues and reach places and people traditional structures cannot.

Global communications today are interactive and multi-directional. Scotland is fortunate in having high international recognition through an inherited brand identity. For example, on Monday people from Mumbai to Melbourne will be toasting Rabbie Burns, while sipping whisky from tartan-covered flasks.

However, this brand-led, heritage-focused approach, which may work for tourism, is unlikely to work for other areas where the key is developing relationships rather than "selling" Scotland. The traditional approach is unlikely to work for much longer. The past is finite. Why not follow the German example and harness the energy of the present for the future?

So what can Scotland do? First, we can develop a new narrative for Scotland that supports engagement and dialogue, openness and cultural diversity, quality, outside influence and new ideas. We can focus on the now, where Scotland is seen as a place for new ideas and value, for example, on Glasgow’s high-profile contemporary art scene.

Secondly, we can ensure that existing initiatives such as Digital Scotland, cultural programmes, education and business are globally connected and have the tools, capability and techniques they need to understand the world and connect with it.

Then, we need to build these connections into serious relationships with organisations and countries that matter to Scotland’s economic growth and to its social and cultural development.

These relationships, like any other, will need work. They will have their ups and downs. We need to have our eyes open. They are, however, key to our future prosperity and ability to influence and attract the world.

To do this we need to understand the cultural relations of the future.

Stuart MacDonald is executive director of the Centre for Cultural Relations at the University of Edinburgh.