Deep listening as an approach to tackle polarisation
Essay exploring deep listening – an approach that prepares individuals for encounters across any divides they find within their communities.
Peace and security
Cultural Relations and Cultural Diplomacy in a Pariah State: The British Council in South Africa, 1958–1994
Essay exploring the history of educational co-operation between the UK and South Africa.
Difficult Conversations
Essay collection: this series looks at how the arts enable reparative engagement with legacies of trauma and conflict.
Cultural relations – key approaches in fragile contexts report available
A new report from the British Council outlines how the promotion of cultural relations can enhance opportunities to build greater peace and stability in fragile contexts.
Global Britain in a competitive age
Alistair MacDonald, Senior Policy Advisor at the British Council considers the implications of the Integrated Review for the UK’s soft power.
Weathering the storm: How cultural engagement can help societies emerge stronger from the COVID-19 crisis
Nations’ resilience is being tested as never before. But ‘building back better’ post-COVID-19 is about more than health and the economy. Education and culture have a huge role to play.
Developing young people’s resilience to violent extremism
The UK is taking a leading role in contributing to our understanding of the complex question of how to prevent violent extremism. We examine a new report with evidence from leading experts.
Britain and Ireland: Introducing Lives Entwined
After landmark votes, the links between Ireland and Northern Ireland are in the spotlight. Ciarán Devane introduces a timely book on the ties between Britain and Ireland.
Hammamet reflections: North Africa’s digital future
With North Africa again witnessing real instability, Insight hosts a debate on the implications of digital tech for the region and the UK.
Can culture help people cope with instability? The case of Ukraine
Insight reports on the connections between culture and politics in a nation where the two are inextricably linked.