March 2011
Hong Kong Venue for British Council's Conference Reflects Shifting Trends in Education ( The Chronicle of Higher Education)
The British Council's annual higher education conference, 'Going Global', explores the impact of transnational education, efforts to establish regional educational hubs and the influence of international rankings.
U.S. standing on immigrant integration in the hands of the Senate ( The Hill)
Mary Giovagnoli, Director of the Immigration Policy Center, calls the Mipex study "a rigorous analysis of laws and policies" at a time when "the importance of immigrant integration cannot be overstated."
How the US fares in the Mipex report ( Hoy Nueva York)
A detailed analysis of how the US fares in the Mipex rankings for immigration policies.
Sweden is top country at integrating immigrants ( Daily Telegraph)
"According to a report by the British Council and the Migration Policy Group, Sweden has the best policies in dealing with the challenges of integrating immigrants."
US scores well in integrating migrants (The Washington Post)
"A new study shows that the U.S. policies to integrate migrants score well despite the fierce political debate over migration."
UK film schools to Build Better Links with Hollywood ( The Hollywood Reporter)
"A trio of the U.K' s top flight film schools are jetting out to Hollywood in a bid to build greater training links with their U.S. counterparts."
Thirsty in Tanzania: Africa's Infrastructure Challenge of Climate Change and Development: ( The Huffington Post)
Linda Constant meets Hannah Wood of the British Council Tanzania and looks at the British Council's photojournalism book, Changing Climate, Changing Lands. "Instead of hiring professional photographers, local villagers were trained on how to use a camera and then assigned to their respective locations throughout Tanzania to document the water-retrieving process."
How the Great Game emptied the Pentagon ( The Guardian)
Director Nicolas Kent recounts the atmosphere in the theater: "There was an extraordinary engagement and thirst for information. The audience hung on every word, every resonance."
February 2011
BBC World Service reviews The Great Game ( BBC)
The Strand arts program asks: "Britain has a long tradition of political theater to foster a wider debate, but what would Americans make of it?"
A day at the theater with the Pentagon (Foreign Policy)
Martin Davidson, chief executive of the British Council, describes sitting in the audience alongside DOD officials, soldiers and vets: "I could sense the emotional connection between the audience and actors. It was palpable in the laughter, sighs and stark silences, and in the heads nodding in recognition of what was unfolding on stage."
Marathon training: America's generals learn about Afghanistan through the stage (The Economist)
"There is an assumption that the arts and our men and women in uniform are from different planets. It's not the case. We're all in this together."
Worth a Bottle of Whiskey (The New York Times)
"Our 3,413th day at war in Afghanistan seemed like a good day to learn about Afghanistan" writes Maureen Dowd. "I didn't go to Kabul on the secretary of defense's Doomsday plane this time. I signed up with the Pentagon for time travel, flying through history watching a remarkable seven-hour marathon of a 12-play series called, "The Great Game."
The Great Game: Afghanistan performed for the Pentagon (WNYC)
Douglas Wilson, assistant secretary of defense for public affairs, talks about why the Pentagon invited The Great Game back to Washington: "our motivation here is to produce a better understanding of history and culture."
Kilburn's Tricycle Theatre Company teaches Pentagon about war ( The Daily Telegraph)
A soldier about to deploy to Kabul on his second mission says the Great Game illustrates that "you should not force your culture on them [the Afghans] and that we are working within their culture and we have to respect that." Another soldier adds, "It's been fascinating. Clearly there are a lot of repeats of history and we have to be careful what we are doing over there."
Lessons From the Stage ( The Huffington Post)
Michael Kahn, Artistic Director of the Shakespeare Theatre, explains how the Great Game can "represent an astonishing example of how art can serve as an invaluable tool for learning and understanding."
"Great Game" Seeks to put Afghanistan Experience in Context ( American Forces Press Service)
Martin Davidson, chief executive of the British Council, says it was "a real privilege... to be able to watch this play surrounded by people who have experienced much of what the play is exploring."
January 2011
Black Watch described as "soul-piercing" in Washington DC (Washington Post)
"I was in tears, moved as much by the enthralling stagecraft as by the virile commitment of the superb, 10-man cast" and to miss the play "is to deprive yourself of theater's most ingenious portrait to date of the war in Iraq".
The Great Game to be presented to Pentagon audience Feb 10-11 at Shakespeare Theatre Company's Sidney Harman Hall ( Washington Post)
Described as "one of the most extraordinary theater bookings Washington has ever seen" Peter Marks, Washington Post critic, previews the Tricycle Theatre's "The Great Game: Afghanistan" and examines how the British Council, the Woodruff Foundation and the Shakespeare Theatre have managed to pull off such an event
London theatre troupe to peform play on Afghan history for US military (The Guardian)
Richard Norton-Taylor of The Guardian marvels at how "the world's most powerful military machine" is now "to seek help from a troupe of actors,directors and playwrights from a small north London playhouse "
Global Changemaker gives his first impressions of World Economic Forum at Davos ( The Washington Post)
Trevor Dougherty online activist,citizen journalist and member of the Global Changemaker team blogs for the Washington Post and describes his first impressions of the Forum "My mind is exploding with all the possible connections I could be making in the coming days."
December 2010
US students discover that UK universities are a fraction of the cost of US universities ( Washington Post)
Learn why many US students find it cheaper to study in the UK at universities "which offer the prestige of elite US schools at a fraction of the cost."
November 2010
The Edinburgh Fringe Festival in D.C. ( The Kojo Nnamdi Show, WAMU 88.5 FM)
Read the transcript for the magazine program about the Edinburgh Fringe Festival performances in D.C. Featuring Faith Liddell, Director of Festivals for Edinburgh, Scotland, and Jake Oldershaw, performer with Stan's Cafe, an arts and theater group based in Birmingham, England.
October 2010
The Afghan problem (San Francisco Chronicle)
Jon Carroll connects "The Great Game" to British and American involvement in Afghanistan: "I'm not really being cynical; I'm being realistic. Or perhaps fatalistic. It's all a big mess; the genius of the play is how well it describes the mess."
Theatre of the Right Damn Now -- The Great Game: Afghanistan tours the US ( Huffington Post)
"The British Council brought this production to the US...to build understanding. Sarah Frankland, Head of Arts in the US for the British Council, says, 'It's an opportunity to have a historically accurate context for a complicated issue seen throught true artistry.'"
Beginning Today: "On the Fringe: Eye on Edinburgh" at the Kennedy Center ( Washington City Paper)
"The festival represents a really different side of the U.K.," says Sarah Frankland, from the British Council USA, which is putting on the Kennedy Center event.
CNN features Al-Azhar University's English Training Centre ( YouTube)
CNN features the Al-Azhar English English Training Centre. a partnership between the Egyptian university and the British Council.
Howard Jacobson's Booker-winning "Finkler Question," reviewed by Ron Charles ( Washington Post)
The Finkler Question, a book by last year’s British Council UK Writer-in-Residence at George Washington University Howard Jacobson, won the Man Booker Prize for Fiction in London.
Booker Prize Winner's Jewish Question ( New York Times)
In his Booker Prize-winning novel, former British Council UK Writer-in-Residence Howard Jacobson comically "delves into the heart of the British Jewish experience..."
British Council Launches English Pronunciation App for iPads ( San Francisco Chronicle)
"Teachers and learners of English have now got a new tool to help master the sounds of the English language thanks to the British Council's latest iPad pronunciation app."
Statewide high school competition takes on climate change ( California Air Resources Board)
The British Council and the Air Resources Board announce "the start of California's first annual Climate Generation program, a high school competition challenging students to connect environmental school work with their daily lives."
September 2010
'Great Game Afghanistan' Kicks Off US Tour ( Voice of America - Asia)
"'It's a message that's coming through the play as you just said through Western eyes, and it's one perspective,' said the British Council's Sarah Frankland. 'What is very powerful, I think, is that it is an historic contextualization, so it is delving into what has happened in the past that shows us the line on what's happening today.'"
America the Invisible ( WhirledView)
"As a part of the UK’s public diplomacy efforts in the US, the British Council plans “to host a slate of energetic public events exploring ideas from the Great Game” with high profile speakers from the media, public diplomacy, cultural communities and others who engage interactively with audiences."
War, Culture and "The Great Game" ( Foreign Policy)
The Director of the British Council for North America, Sharon Memis, writes about how coalition force leaders have responded to "The Great Game."
150 Years of Afghan History in One Theater Marathon ( npr)
"A tiny London theater company has taken on an enormous project – to tell the story of Western involvement in Afghanistan over the last 150 years in an all-day marathon of 12 one-act plays. The Great Game: Afghanistan was a hit in Britain and has just opened a U.S. tour at the Shakespeare Theatre Company in Washington, D.C."
British Council asks: "Who has the authority to speak about national identity?" ( The Imagination Age)
"This anthology of essays explores the many ways we explain our culture and portray other societies. Inspired by the Tricycle Theatre’s "The Great Game"—an epic exploration of foreign engagement in Afghanistan from the 1840s to the present day, now touring the U.S.—Trust Me, I’m An Expert sets out to answer the question, 'Who has the authority to speak about national identity?'"
Theater preview of 'The Great Game: Afghanistan' at Harman Center ( Washington Post)
"Three years ago Nicolas Kent observed that artists in England and the United States weren't creating much about the war in Afghanistan. As the artistic director of what is often regarded as London's leading political theater, Kent knew he could commission a play on the topic."
Drama highlights Afghan history of conflict ( BBC News)
"A unique stage production is addressing Afghanistan's history which is littered with scars from conflicts old and new. The series of plays is titled The Great Game...After a successful run in London, director Nicolas Kent talked to Matt Frei about the US tour, which starts in Washington's Shakespeare Theatre."
Report Says Nigeria’s Population Boom May Pose Threat to Security (Voice of America)
“A British Council study published this week says Nigeria's booming population of young people may be a great boon for the country's economy in the coming decades.” Voice of America talks to 22-year old Farida Ashu about the difficulties of finding employment in Nigeria.
Report: Nigeria on cusp of ‘demographic disaster’ (Associated Press)
“Estimates in the report by the British Council show Nigeria's population of 150 million people will swell by another 63 million people by 2050.” Youth unemployment, the result of a disparity between a growing population and a stagnant oil-dependent gross domestic product, may destabilize societies unless economic development is successful.
August 2010
Lessons from the Windy City ( Belfast Media)
Chris Johnston, member of the British Council's Transatlantic Network 2020, explains how he "...came away thinking that there is a lot that Northern Ireland can learn from Chicago..." and vice versa, and that "...there is no reason why the two cities should not collaborate further in a joint pursuit of innovation."
Europe's accession lessons: The principles underpinning EU enlargement could help the EU to address its current travails ( E!Sharp)
Blair Glencorse, member of the British Council's Transatlantic Network 2020, explains how "...the success of EU enlargement itself is under-appreciated [and] that the approach that lies behind it may form a basis for resolving Europe’s current existential problems", but that the EU leaders need to "...allow for continued adaption for the vagaries of globalisation."
July 2010
Talking Transatlantic... The role of the arts in Intercontinental Dialogue and Leadership Development ( ums LOBBY)
"The British Council, the UK’s cultural relations organization, created TN2020 in order to continue to strengthen and revitalize the transatlantic relationship, particularly among leaders who reflect the new dynamics and demographics on both sides of the Atlantic... The craziest thing is, I think this group of people could actually change the world."
Transatlantic Network 2020 ( Room Eight New York Politics)
"The British Council’s Transatlantic Network 2020 is a network of young emerging leaders from Europe and North America who are interested in establishing transatlantic and global links."
Experts ponder 'non-traditional' approaches to a climate treaty ( Climate Wire)
The British Council and the Rockefeller Foundation's seminar in New York brought together an assortment of experts to discuss alternative approaches to climate change diplomacy. Rebecca Nadin co-hosted the discussion and explained the British Council's work in China. (Climate Wire requires a subscription)
General gets on Tricycle to study Afghan history ( London Evening Standard)
"General Sir David Richards, new Chief of the Defence Staff, decided that The Great Game, a series of plays about Afghan history, at the Tricycle, Kilburn, was so revealing that members of the military should see the 12-play epic...He is recommending it to colleagues in the Pentagon when it tours the US, backed by the British Council, at the end of the year."
June 2010
British-Run Climate Projects Take Root in Chinese Schools ( The New York Times)
"...the British Council has been operating its "Climate Cool, Green Your School" teacher training program for three years now. The program, which takes the climate change message into Chinese classrooms via training the teachers is going strong with the active support and participation of Chinese officials."
Manchester Business School Opens Miami Base ( BBC)
"Sharon Memis, British Council Director in the USA said: 'We expect considerable interest in MBS Global MBA courses that prepare executives for a changing and challenging international business environment.' "
Changing how Muslims see America ( Washington Post)
Amar C. Bakshi, member of the British Council's Transatlantic Network 2020, explains that in reading global public opinion surveys to understand how Muslims view America, the "very unfavorable" figures are more valuable as data than swings in "favorability".
May 2010
Rachel Fink's International Quest for Cultural Inspiration ( Berkeley Rep)
"It was no surprise, back in March 2009, when Rachel was nominated to be the American delegate for the British Council’s prestigious Cultural Leadership International Programme (CLI)...Rachel was chosen by the British Council as the Programme’s sole US delegate and awarded a £10,000 grant (about $15,000)."
Student Spotlight: Rebecca Chan '12 and Jordan Hollarsmith '12 raise awareness about climate change ( Columbia College Today)
"In March 2008, Chan and Hollarsmith were among 15 high school students named California Climate Champions in a competition sponsored by the California Air Resources Board in conjunction with the British Council’s broader International Climate Champions Program. Both initiatives seek to create a network of young adults equipped to educate their communities about the impacts of climate change and ways in which individuals can reduce their carbon emissions."
Shakespeare Theatre to host Britain's 'The Great Game' and 'Black Watch' ( Washington Post)
"In a coup for its F Street showplace, Sidney Harman Hall, the Shakespeare Theatre Company has snared two marquee, topically adventurous productions from Britain for next season...The event, supported in part by the British Council, a global nonprofit organization that advances British cultural and educational interests, features a cast of 14, and works by dramatists from several nations, including American playwright Lee Blessing and British writer David Edgar.
April 2010
Americans Getting Degrees Abroad ( Kojo Nnamdi Show, WAMU)
British Council discusses why more and more Americans are deciding to get full degrees in the UK.
British educators get a lesson from Delaware teachers ( WHYY)
"11 teachers from Durham, England are spending the week in Sussex County, Delaware as part of a professional development program. The program is part of the British Council's program to encourage the exchange of ideas between professionals worldwide."
Sussex Tech is international model ( Cape Gazette)
"Sussex Tech’s progressive curriculum and high-tech hardware recently drew educators from England and Germany for a visit to campus...The English teachers, through a joint partnership with the British Council and the state, will visit area schools for a week, concentrating on Sussex Tech."
March 2010
The Role of Cultural Relations in Conflict Prevention and Resolution ( Mountain Runner)
"Culture is how people think, says Martin Davidson, CEO of the British Council. Thinking of culture in this way creates the necessary intellectual space to conceive of cultural relations and cultural diplomacy as something more than engagement that a payoff that is subtle and decades away. It is a way to create pathways that can be leveraged to prevent or resolve conflict in the short term. On March 2, 2010, the British Council, with NATO and Security Defence Agenda, hosted a conference in Brussels at the Bibliothèque Solvay titled 'Conflict Prevention and Resolution: the Role of Cultural Relations."'
Kennedy Center's 2010-11 season includes Edinburgh Festival Fringe offerings ( Washington Post)
"One of the most encouraging facets of the center's schedule is the disclosure that the venerable Edinburgh Festival, in concert with the arts-promoting British Council, will this fall bring to the institution four productions from the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, a hotbed of theatrical invention."
British Council Calls on British and American Universities to Collaborate More ( Chronicle of Higher Education)
"A new report by the British Council says American and British universities have taken their longstanding relationship for granted and calls for closer, more-strategic, and more-varied collaborations between the world's two most prestigious higher-education systems."
February 2010
An emerging Obama doctrine? ( E!Sharp)
TN2020 member Steven Feldstein explores key trends and principles that will shape President Obama's foreign policy.
January 2010
An ocean apart on climate change ( E!Sharp)
TN2020 member David Noble says "In the closing hours of last December's Copenhagen climate negotiations and the days that followed, political leaders from both sides of the Atlantic set out to communicate the results of the meeting to their domestic audiences. They had all been at the same meeting, but you would never know it from the different stories they told."
December 2009
The Youth Perspective ( National Journal)
California Climate Champion Adam Raudonis says "With so much at stake, especially for the younger generations, young people are becoming more engaged and obtaining greater influence...allowing young students to observe the COP better prepares the leaders of future negotiations and encourages the upcoming generation to be more engaged in international climate policy."
City must make next big plan: Cultural Olympics ( Chicago Sun-Times)
Sure, we lost the bid for the 2016 Summer Olympics…Why not make plans for a major Cultural Olympics in, say, 2014?
On Friday, Chicago Shakespeare played host to representatives of some of Britain's major theater companies along with visitors from the British Council, the agency charged with bringing aspects of the cultural and scientific heritage of the UK to 100 countries around the globe. (And you might ask, why doesn't the U.S. have an equivalent body?)
A capital visit of dramatic import; Theaters across the pond consider making a bigger splash in D.C. ( Washington Post)
"Leaders from some of Britain's best-known and most prestigious theaters zigged and zagged their way through Washington this week...The representatives of the elite companies -- the Royal National Theatre and the Royal Court Theatre among them -- were not here to ooh and ahh at the monuments. They had come with another agenda: bringing more of their plays to town."
November 2009
Memo From Alexandria: Harnessing Darwin to Push an Ancient Intellectual Center to Evolve ( New York Times)
"...to discuss Darwin anywhere is not just to explore the origin of man. It is inevitably to engage in a debate between religion and science. That is why, 150 years after Darwin published “On the Origin of Species,” the British Council, the cultural arm of the British government, decided to hold an international conference on Darwin in this conservative, Sunni Muslim nation."
Survey of Pakistan’s Young Predicts ‘Disaster’ if Their Needs Aren’t Addressed ( New York Times)
"Pakistan will face a 'demographic disaster' if it does not address the needs of its young generation, the largest in the country’s history, whose views reflect a deep disillusionment with government and democracy, according to a report released here on Saturday. The report, commissioned by the British Council and conducted by the Nielsen research company, drew a picture of a deeply frustrated young generation that feels abandoned by its government and despondent about its future."
British Council Sets Up Fund for Partnerships With U.S. Colleges ( The Chronicle of Higher Education)
A new project designed to foster greater cooperation between British and American higher-education institutions has received $500,000 in initial financing from the British Council, a government cultural and educational agency.
St. Francis alumna attends Global Climate Summit ( Los Altos Town Crier)
California Climate Champion Monica Harnoto reflects on attending the Governors’ Global Climate Summit and speaking with Nancy Sutley, chairwoman of the White House Council on Environmental Quality: “I found that the Governors’ Global Climate Summit 2 was an extremely effective demonstration of Californians leading efforts to mitigate and adapt to climate change. It also succeeded in promoting worldwide collaboration and networking among countries.”
Cultural Diplomacy in DC ( Congress.Org)
Germany isn't tearing down walls any more — it's trying to build bridges…The country is not alone in its efforts. The British Council promotes cultural ties to the United Kingdom in the Washington area; the Confucius Institute, China; and the Alliance Française, France. They are prime examples of soft diplomacy, argues American University's director of the Center for Congressional and Presidential Studies, James Thurber.
The groundbreaking show Sleep No More has given me, and Greater Boston, a much-needed, exhilarating jolt ( Boston Globe)
"Sleep No More does what all great art does: It asks questions rather than gives answers, it confronts your assumptions rather than comforts them, it takes you into a different world and transforms your own...We needed this. Boston has never seen anything quite like Sleep No More before. Neither has any North American city, New York included. The streets of Brookline seemed alive to new possibilities; so did the world of theater."
Cultural diplomacy doesn't change how countries do business ( The Independent)
"But just how political is art? Or should it be? I ask this in the week the British Council marks 75 years of bringing UK culture to the world – and the world's culture to the UK. When the council tours the arts overseas, as it did by taking Bridget Riley behind the Iron Curtain in Czechoslovakia in 1971 and more recently sending Gregory Burke's Black Watch, a searing play about the Scottish Black Watch regiment's tour in Iraq, to New York – we can hardly help but ask what role the arts should play or are playing here?"
October 2009
Trick or treat? When Punchdrunk took Macbeth to Massachusetts ( The Guardian)
"British theatregoers have become reasonably familiar with this immersive style of drama … All this is new for Massachusetts audiences, who haven't had much opportunity to experience the kind of theatre that doesn't involve sitting in rows in purpose-built venues."
Make your own ‘Macbeth’ ( Boston Globe)
"I’ve seen “Macbeth’’ numerous times over the years, but never before has that villainous usurper of the Scottish throne actually shouldered me aside on his way to the feast where he will meet the harrowing sight of Banquo’s ghost."
Antioch High climate champion meets Blair ( Contra Costa Times)
California Climate Champion Elizabeth Valencia reflects on attending the Governors’ Global Climate Summit and meeting former British Prime Minister Tony Blair. "He was amazing…He said something I will never forget. He said, 'I want my son to look back one day and say my dad stopped this.' I was in awe ‘... this is my new hero."
Youths attend Governors’ Global Climate Summit ( Thousand Oaks Acorn)
California Climate Champion Adam Raudonis says “The presence of the youth representatives of California at the conference demonstrated to the audience of government leaders, business executives, organization heads and scientists that the upcoming generation is already dedicated to continuing their work. The leaders recognized that one doesn’t have to be a governor to inspire more sustainable practices. We can all try to become “greener” in our everyday lives.”
September 2009
Coral Reefs in Danger? Climate Champ to the Rescue ( TreeHugger)
"Rebecca Chan, a California Climate Champion and Columbia University sophomore, recently returned from Okinawa, Japan where she studied the effects of climate change on coral reefs and discussed the ramifications of a warming world with scientists and locals."
La Costa Canyon student named California Climate Champion; Rebecca Chan one of two invited to study in Japan ( North County Times)
"A teenager with a passion for the environment, Rebecca Chan recently returned from Japan, where she studied the effects of climate change."
August 2009
Miramonte grads leave behind climate change lessons ( Contra Costa Times)
"When carpooling Miramonte High School seniors roll into prime parking spots guaranteed to them this year, they can thank two graduates. And if they start thinking about climate change a little more, they'll have Devin Finzer and Patrick Ouziel to thank for that, too. Finzer and Ouziel took the climate change issue to their peers as California Climate Champions, raising awareness about a warming planet and improving the school's carpool program."
Iraq’s Suleymania Bustles With Cranes, $15 Million Hall ( Bloomberg)
"I’m volunteering as the photographer for Musicians for Harmony, a group run by Allegra Klein, a New Yorker working with the British Council to create the first National Youth Orchestra of Iraq. The ensemble was dreamed up in July 2008 by Zuhal Sultan, an 18-year-old pianist with the Iraqi National Symphony Orchestra and the new project’s star."
July 2009
Entre plumas y puentes: Una colaboración transcontinental ha hecho posible que poesía mexicana se publique traducida al inglés ( La Opinión)
Between pens and bridges: A transcontinental collaboration allows Mexican poetry to be published in English.
June 2009
7 British Teachers Seek To Learn From Md. Visit ( Washington Post)
"Seven British teachers visited Montgomery County schools last month as part of the British Council's Teachers International Professional Development program."
May 2009
The British Council Creates Global Connections and Impact Through Dialogue and Service ( The New Service)
“An impressive crowd gathered…at the Rayburn House Office Building for what was absolutely a lovely affair…following the speakers’ remarks, attendees representing Peace Corps, Volunteer Service Organisation, Brookings Institution and many other pre-eminent volunteer and service advocate organizations, engaged in lively conversations about how their respective organizations can collaborate on projects or co-ordinate their efforts to increase global action and citizenship..."
The New Service also posted stories leading up to the May 14 Capitol Hill event: British Council Hosts Global Service and Active Citizenship Event Tonight and Citizens Cross Borders to Serve in Diverse Teams with Global Xchange.
March 2009
Farmington Resident To Take Part In Group Of 20 Summit ( Hartford Courant)
As part of the Global Changemakers program, college student Luke Swiderski will represent the US at the G20 summit in London next week.
Teaching Teachers Visiting from Great Britain ( Cape Gazette)
Sussex Technical High School in Delaware hosts eleven British teachers as part of the Teachers International Professional Development (TIPD).
February 2009
PS 122 Prepares for Next, Sustainable Chapter ( Architectural Record)
New York theater PS 122 meets with Ben Todd, executive director of Arcola Theatre in London, to learn from the world's first carbon-neutral theater.
To Win Hearts and Minds, Get Back in the Game ( Foreign Policy)
Senator Richard Lugar mentions the British Council in an article about reinventing American cultural diplomacy.
Science in Action ( BBC)
BBC World Service reports from the British Council's Darwin panel at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
U.K. Teachers Take a Trip Across the Pond ( Education Week)
Education Week's Teacher Beat blog reviews the Teachers International Professional Development (TIPD) program and suggests further US-UK teacher collaboration and training.
January 2009
Teen Climate Champ Warms Schools to Solar Power ( TreeHugger)
Read TreeHugger's interview with California Climate Champion Adam Raudonis, founder of Students for Solar Schools.
Greening the Arts: the Brains Behind London's Arcola and New York's PS 122 Meet to Green Theater ( TreeHugger)
TreeHugger sits in on a “green” brainstorm session between New York theater PS122 and London’s Arcola Theater, the world’s first carbon-neutral theater.
Under the Radar Festival Review ( The New York Times)
"...the most absorbing production of this year’s Under the Radar festival, “England,” a rich drama created with rigorous, poetic economy by Mr. Crouch, belongs to that wonderful genre of thoughtful plays that could be discussed for hours without exhausting its ideas."
November 2008
Going Off to College for Less (Passport Required) ( The New York Times)
“For American students, a university like St. Andrews offers international experience and prestige, at a cost well below the tuition at a top private university in the United States.”
Theatre of War ( The New Yorker)
" 'Black Watch,' a play about the famed Scottish regiment’s deployment in Iraq, received rapturous reviews during its initial three-week run at St. Ann’s Warehouse, in Brooklyn, last fall...So this season, when the National Theatre of Scotland brought the show back, Feldman instituted a 'Pay for a Vet' program, whereby patrons could procure tickets for veterans who felt inclined to revisit what they had already experienced in the theatre of war in the theatre of Dumbo."
A conversation about the play Black Watch ( The Charlie Rose Show)
View excerpts from Black Watch and watch Charlie Rose interview director John Tiffany and actor Peter Forbes.
October 2008
Examining Post-Sept. 11 Afghanistan In Vigil ( National Public Radio)
Nadeem Aslam, the February 2008 British Council UK Writer-in-Residence, is featured on NPR's All Things Considered.
A British-American Perspective on the US election ( PostGlobal on Washingtonpost.com)
The author, a half-British Californian, taught English at the British Council's Azerbaijan office from 2005-2007.
September 2008
Are Leaders Born? (BBC’s “World Have Your Say”)
“Hello from Belfast in Northern Ireland - we’re here for a special WHYS on Tuesday with around 100 young people from all over the world who are here for ‘Transatlantic Network 2020.′”
Listen to a podcast of TN2020 members discussing leadership on the popular BBC radio program. You can also hear from the TN2020 members live from the summit at http://tn2020.net/.
A Visit With This Year’s Marshall Scholars
( Blog post by Dominick Chilcott, Deputy Head of Mission Washington)
“Seeing off this year's crop of Marshall scholars, as they left the United States to begin their university courses in Britain, was an uplifting experience…This year's scholars are an impressive and inspiring group, studying a fascinating and diverse range of subjects from trumpet performance to philosophy, from criminology to French painting."
Texas Native Joins Transatlantic Network 2020 ( CBS 19 Texas)
“Twenty-six emerging leaders from the United States have been selected as inaugural members of the Transatlantic Network 2020…Tyler, Texas native, Kristofer Harrison is included in this group and has been identified as a notable young leader who will have a positive impact on the world in the years to come.”
Columbia College Arts Integration Specialist Selected for Transatlantic Network 2020 ( Columbia College)
“Shawn Renne Lent, who works in Columbia’s Center for Community Arts Partnerships, will join about 100 others from 16 different countries at the end of this month in Belfast and Dublin as a member of Transatlantic Network 2020… 'Our group looks at community art-making as a way to work through conflicts,' she said.”
August 2008
La Costa Canyon Grad Hot on Climate Change ( North County Times)
"'Climate change is very real to this generation,' said Annalisa Schilla, who represents the California Air Resources Board, a sponsor with the British Council of the California Climate Champions program. 'They have seen the changes in a way that other generations haven't before.'"
Transatlantic Network 2020 (written by TN2020 participant Jeff Johnson and featured on Ebonyjet.com)
"Obama stated, 'Now is the time to build new bridges across the globe as strong as the one that bound us across the Atlantic.' So far, the British Council’s TN2020 members have stepped up as architects dedicated to the creation of such a bridge. I am happy to be a member of such an effort."
July 2008
Teen Targets Climate Change ( Lake Arrowhead Mountain-News)
"Meet Sophie Angelis, one of 15 California Climate Champions (CCC). These are teens whose mission—shared with the California Air Resources Board (ARB) and the British Council—is to take grass-roots action to educate people about global warming and show them how to slow it down."
April 2008
Enlarging the Anglosphere ( The Wall Street Journal)
"Last month, the British Council launched the Transatlantic 2020 initiative to bring together young leaders from America, the U.K. and Europe. And Britain's "V" Organization...will build on their links with similar programs in America to explore ways in which our young people can volunteer in each other's countries."
March 2008
Poll: Americans, Europeans seek stronger ties ( USA Today)
"The point here was to take the discussion out of the hands of elites, and really create a connection between people who otherwise would not meet each other so they could discuss global challenges."
Warning on Threat to Europe's US links ( Financial Times)
“Transatlantic co-operation was viewed overwhelmingly positively in the fields of business and trade, and in combating diseases such as HIV-Aids and malaria.”
December 2007
Public Diplomacy as Cultural Revolution ( Eureka Dejavu's Dispatches from a Virtual World)
"Black Watch went beyond good and evil, into the heart of what it means to be most human."
Cultural Diplomacy Comes to Iowa City ( The Daily Iowan)
“Martin Davidson, the head of the British Council, will speak to the University of Iowa students, faculty, and staff today about cultural relations in a time of war, with a focus on the Middle East. ‘This is a complicated area,’ Davidson said. ‘We've tried to simplify it. Governments want to build influence overseas, but to engage the public we must express common issues.’"
The Theatrical Event of the Year ( New York Magazine)
"For unsettling power, political punch, and just plain fun, nothing matched watching ten actors from the National Theatre of Scotland at St. Ann’s Warehouse in Dumbo, where their performance of Gregory Burke’s Black Watch made for the all-around best theatergoing of the year."
October 2007
Piercing the Emotional Armor of Scottish Soldiers ( The New York Times)
"A tapestry of battlefield fire and memory...an exploration of the Iraq war and its impact on the 10 characters onstage."
To Tell These War Stories, Words Aren't Enough ( The New York Times)
"A necessary reminder of the transporting power that is unique to theater...one of the most richly human works of art to have emerged from this long-lived war."
Related articles:
September 2007
Hollywood Takes the First Watch ( Scotsman, UK)
"A beautiful, breathtaking, incredibly moving piece of real theatre... both a thoughtful treatise on the place of soldiers in a political world, and a savagely funny account of what it really feels like to be there."
Related articles:
June 2007
Making the Match for a Turn on the World Stage ( The Herald)
"What we want," [British Council's director of drama and dance Sally] Cowling says, "is for countries to take work that surprises them, and not necessarily just take work that we might think fits in with our perceptions of their culture. We want to generate and encourage a mutual form of curiosity, and that can sometimes take years to bear fruit. When it does happen, and when it works, it's a real pleasure."
More U.S. Students Go Abroad for Their MBAs ( USA Today)
"The number of U.S. students ... attending 80 business schools in Britain for postgraduate degrees almost tripled during the last decade."
May 2007
Worldwide Interest as Polls Open ( BBC News)
The eyes of the world have been on Scotland as voters went to the polls for the Holyrood and council elections.
"The British Council, which aims to build stronger relationships between the UK and other countries, has been host to many of the foreign journalists...among them was Washington Times political reporter Seth McLaughlin, who said the Scottish campaign was very different from elections he had covered at home."
An Ocean of Sound
A small exhibit at the Chrysler Museum of Art explores the power of creative collaboration ( Port Folio Weekly)
"While those within the hip-hop community and outside of it debate its influence on the ills of modern society, a quaint little exhibit from Britain is quietly making its way throughout America, providing a glaring contrast to the global image of this black-rooted art form that first took flight in the South Bronx."
April 2007
Citing Cost, Tradition, and the Prince Factor, More Americans Earn Degrees in Britain
"As the benefits of an international education become more widely recognized, a growing number of young Americans are enrolling in institutions in the British Isles."( Chronicle of Higher Education)
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