http://www.counterpoint-online.org Counterpoint is the think tank of the British Council http://www.counterpoint-online.org/going-to-the-circus/ Counterpoint invites you to the launch of John Holden’s pamphlet Culture and Class at The Circus Space on 7 September. In a debate chaired by Catherine Fieschi, Director Counterpoint, the panel and guests will be discussing the urgent questions around the role of culture in the promotion of social justice, in the Creation Studio of the UK’s premier circus school. http://www.counterpoint-online.org/young-leaders-contemplate-national-brands-and-regional-integration/ Students of all disciplines, civil society practitioners and other young professionals with an active interest in international affairs, culture and identity will be tackling the issue of nation branding – what it is, who does it, and how – at the Institute of Cultural Diplomacy (ICD) event “The Future of Europe: National Brands and Regional Integration”. http://www.counterpoint-online.org/soft-power-and-pop-culture/ On Wednesday 19 May Counterpoint screened Disco & Atomic War (Dir. Jaak Kilmi) at the Curzon Soho. An insightful, nuanced, and satirical take on Cold War soft power politics, Disco unfolds a strong argument for the power of cultural relations. A fascinating Q&A with the director revealed his personal experiences of “the power of soft power”, and of living in a state of happy cultural schizophrenia. http://www.counterpoint-online.org/cloud-culture-a-new-counterpoint-publication-and-ica-debate/ Counterpoint is launching a vital debate for our time. The rise of cloud computing is not only creating the battle for global internet control: it will soon change the very ways in which we exercise our creativity and forge relationships. In our ground-breaking report, Charles Leadbeater asks what will Cloud Culture be like? Who will own the cloud? How can we keep it open? And how can it empower the world’s poorest people? http://www.counterpoint-online.org/the-inner-lives-of-cultures-brussels-conference/ Cultural relations is about conversations between people. There was no lack of this at Counterpoint's recent The Inner Lives of Cultures conference in Brussels. For two days Counterpoint brought together keynote speaker Tzvetan Todorov, leading lights from the academy, authors, filmmakers, scientists and cultural relations practitioners from around the world. They were there to decipher the whispered, or tacit, discourses of individual cultures, so the dialogue between us all can become deeper, more informed, and more productive. Speakers from Mexico, Brazil, Uzbekistan, Russia, Romania, China, India, Indonesia, Turkey, Egypt, and Iran dug up and thought through cultural secrets. http://www.counterpoint-online.org/british-muslims-for-secular-democracy-open-conversation-free-muslims-autonomy-and-creativity/ Counterpoint supported the BMSD at this conference, the first of its kind, on Islam, the arts, and the importance of reacting against the suppression of creativity. Speakers included Yasmin Alibhai-Brown (political commentator), Sair Khan (Businesswoman), Ayesha Tammy Haq (organiser of Pakistan’s Fashion week), Tahmena Bokhari (Professor and Mrs Pakistan 2010), Razia Iqbal (BBC), Joan Smith (novelist), and Anwar Akhtar (Director of ‘The Samosa’). The discussion was concerned with how fourteen hundred years of Islamic contributions to art, culture, literature, and history are currently being pushed aside in favour of a hardline interpretation of religion that denies the legitimacy of any form of artistic expression whatsoever. http://www.counterpoint-online.org/welcome-to-the-social-planet/ With some help from its friends at the Tuttle Club, Counterpoint has been pondering how to make the most of the British Council’s rich experience as the UK’s No.1 cultural relations institution for the past 75 years... http://www.counterpoint-online.org/what-is-radical-politics-today/