The importance of soft power is increasingly being recognised internationally as something that is fundamental to a country’s success, both in terms of politics and economics.
The UK ranked highest in the 2018 Portland Communications Soft Power 30 report. The British Council has now published a report: Soft Power Superpowers, to explore the current major global trends in soft power. It highlights the huge expansion in soft power activity by nations in Asia to spread their culture worldwide, while the cultural institutes of European nations are generally reducing their global footprint.
Brexit could potentially have significant implications on the UK’s soft power. The UK will therefore need to be vigilant and strive for what the British Council calls an “open Brexit” to maintain its influence.
The report analyses the different nations’ approaches to investments in soft power and concludes with a list of suggestions on how the UK might maintain its global leading role.
The Heritage Alliance was honoured to welcome delegates from the Ministry of Culture in Taiwan this week for discussions about our model and the work of our members.This is part of our continued collaborative work with heritage professionals on an international scale, with a view to connecting on shared challenges and opportunities into the future.