When Hearts Speak Louder Than Words

Hands of different cultures reach toward each other through a burst of golden celebration, symbolizing the organic connections that form when people come together beyond borders and official policies.

In a hyperconnected world, where a political decision crosses borders in seconds, it's easy to assume that a country's foreign policy faithfully represents its people—but reality is more complex. There are moments when flags wave with speeches that millions of citizens don't identify with. In those silences between what is declared and what is felt, we find the space of cultural diplomacy: that other path—more human, more intimate—where power is not imposed, but shared.

Just a few months ago, in April 2025, while the conflict in Sudan escalated and international organizations were slow to react, hundreds of young people in Nairobi organized collection points to send supplies to refugee camps on the border. No logos, no cameras, no treaties. Just humanity. The same happened in Poland, where local communities began organizing interfaith gatherings following a surge in hate speech against Muslim refugees.

In recent years, Russian citizens marched against war, Palestinians organized community networks amid bombings, and Americans helped migrants at their southern border despite official policies. These are silent acts that reveal an uncomfortable truth: the State and its people don't always speak with the same voice. But there is another voice that is heard, when listened to from close up.

What is cultural diplomacy?

For decades, cultural diplomacy has been practiced primarily by States as part of their foreign strategies. It has been associated with overseas concerts, language institutes, or art exhibitions promoted by embassies. Often, its intention is to improve the country's image or ease geopolitical tensions through cultural symbols.

Joseph Nye, American political scientist, proposed in the 1990s the concept of "soft power": the ability to influence not through force, but through values, culture, and institutions. Unlike power that imposes, soft power seduces. Music, cinema, lifestyle... everything can become an instrument of influence.

But there's a deeper perspective. Harold Saunders, diplomat and mediator in international conflicts, argued that peace is not negotiated exclusively between governments, but is built through human relationships. For him, conflict is not a political event, but a continuous human process. And therefore, its transformation also depends on the social fabric: on sustained dialogue, on uncomfortable listening, on the bonds woven beyond spaces of power.

"A process of continuous human relationships can change history more than a single political negotiation." — Harold Saunders

From this vision, diplomacy is not a privilege of ambassadors: it's a daily act, available to anyone who listens with presence and builds with empathy.

And it's here where Cultural Diplomacy draws a clear line: Cultural diplomacy cannot be reduced to a marketing strategy or an image tool. For us, it's not about showing what we have, but sharing who we are, connecting, savoring, and building:

Cultural Diplomacy - Not to impose. To coexist. Not to impress. To find each other.

At Cultural Diplomacy, we believe that every authentic conversation is an act of diplomacy, that every gesture of hospitality builds bridges, and that peace is woven in everyday encounters as much as in great treaties.

When the State Doesn't Represent

While treaties are signed in official offices, many people act from compassion, urgency, and commitment. In that distance—sometimes invisible, other times painful—a gap opens between what the State declares and what its people actually practice.

According to the Edelman Trust Barometer 2024, only 44% of the global population believes their government acts for the common good. This figure doesn't express cynicism, but a profound disconnection between rulers and the ruled.

"Only 44% of the global population believes their government acts for the common good" — Edelman Trust Barometer 2024

Recent Examples from 2025

Nepal: In April 2025, after a 6.8 magnitude earthquake, local communities organized communal kitchens and temporary shelters before official aid arrived. Neighborhood associations and cultural collectives compiled lists of missing persons and shared information on social media in local languages, showing how citizens respond where institutions delay.

Philippines: After severe flooding in Luzon in March 2025, young artists and volunteers transformed community centers into emotional support spaces, offering art and storytelling workshops for more than 200 displaced children in the first week. Without flags or cameras, they demonstrated how culture can heal where bureaucracy is slow to arrive.

Morocco: In February 2025, Berber communities in the Atlas Mountains reopened ancient rural paths blocked by snow so neighboring villages could receive food and medicine. They did this in a self-managed way, without waiting for state intervention, prioritizing community life over any political differences.

Caribbean: On May 26, 2025, with the start of hurricane season, the UN and CDEMA inaugurated a new Regional Logistics Center in Bridgetown, Barbados. This initiative—powered by volunteers, international agencies, and community networks—reduced emergency response time from 5 days to less than 72 hours. There were no flags, but there was collaboration.

Conflict doesn't always take the form of war: it can manifest in abandonment, inequality, or exclusion. Citizens respond with concrete and silent acts: strikes, support networks, emergency logistics. There an unofficial cultural diplomacy is born, woven from altruism, closeness, and shared humanity.

When Culture Opens Doors That Politics Closes

Formal diplomacy often gets stuck in declarations. Culture, however, crosses borders. A song crosses oceans. A film moves without subtitles. A shared recipe can be an act of radical hospitality. Beyond the anecdotal, countries like South Korea don't just export technology, but values through cinema, gastronomy, and K-pop. In 2021, the band BTS was invited to speak at the UN General Assembly for their positive impact on youth mental health. They didn't use diplomatic language, but they connected with millions.

From October 9-12, 2024, the Nou Akoma Nou Sinèrji Transnational Film Festival was held in Brooklyn, New York, bringing together artists from Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Documentaries, music, and community forums showed shared vulnerabilities and hopes. It was a way of recognizing each other through art, without the need for political declarations.

During the 2020 lockdowns, when borders closed and the world fragmented, culture found unexpected ways to connect. In St. Paul, Minnesota, Emilia Mettenbrink, violinist with the Minnesota Opera Orchestra, offered small concerts from her balcony. Neighbors with folding chairs and coffee cups filled the street to listen to these Tiny Balcony Concerts.

At the same time, NPR adapted their famous Tiny Desk Concerts creating the Home Concerts version.

During Hispanic Heritage Month 2021, they presented "El Tiny" with artists from eight different countries, showing how Latin music can unite even in confinement. These weren't official or diplomatic programs: they were spontaneous gestures where music became a bridge when everything else failed.

According to UNESCO, access to cultural goods is not a privilege, but a fundamental human right, because it allows us to "imagine the other." And in that imagination, peace begins.

Sustained Dialogue: The Most Needed Tool

Sustained dialogue—the kind that happens not by protocol, but by human necessity—is considered one of the most effective tools for preventing violence and generating positive transformation in communities. In Rwanda, after the 1994 genocide, Gacaca tribunals were created, where victims and perpetrators looked each other in the eye. More than 1.9 million cases were resolved through community channels, according to UNDP.

"1.9 million cases resolved through community channels in Rwanda's Gacaca tribunals" — UNDP

In Colombia, after signing the peace agreement with FARC, real transformations emerged in the territories: women reconstructing memory, young people turning pain into art, communities narrating from dignity. The Truth Commission documented more than 14,000 testimonies in places where the State never reached.

In New Orleans, after Hurricane Katrina, it was neighborhood networks who provided first aid. And in humanitarian crisis contexts, organizations like Doctors Without Borders act where others only observe.

"It's not always power that speaks. Sometimes, it's compassion that responds."

The Future of Cultural Diplomacy

Looking ahead, cultural diplomacy faces new challenges: artificial intelligence that translates emotions but not experiences, digital borders that create new forms of exclusion, and climate crises that will demand immediate transnational solidarity. But it also finds unprecedented opportunities: global citizen response networks, platforms that connect vulnerable communities directly, and a generation that understands interdependence as survival.

Cultural Encounter: A Political Act of Peace

Approaching without appropriating. Listening without interrupting. Sharing without imposing. In times when borders harden and fear becomes politicized, meeting each other with respect is an act of peaceful resistance.

Cultural diplomacy is not naive: it's strategic and profoundly human.

Where the State is silent, citizens sing. Where politics divides, a conversation can reconcile. Where there is prejudice, a gesture of hospitality opens doors.

We may not be able to resolve all conflicts, but we can always choose to approach each other with empathy and respect, to generate authentic connection that opens doors to dialogue and strengthens cultural diplomacy between communities.

Sometimes, an honest word, a story told without filters, or a dish shared with respect have the power to transform a relationship, a community, even a history.

What act of cultural diplomacy can you practice today in your community? What bridge can you build where there was once distance? In these everyday gestures, the peace that treaties can only aspire to formalize is built.

© 2025 Cultura Diplomática. All rights reserved.

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