Christine Kesner
"After having worked in Vietnam and Egypt preserving global heritage through the private sector, I was interested in gaining knowledge on how governments use culture to supplement diplomacy. I can now supplement my own personal experience with the academic backing provided through the course."
Main details
My choice to study the MA of Cultural Policy, Relations and Diplomacy at Goldsmiths was driven by my past experiences in the cultural sector. After having worked in Vietnam and Egypt preserving global heritage through the private sector, I was interested in gaining knowledge on how governments use culture to supplement diplomacy. My past academic background is focused on heritage conservation and archaeology, so the program worked well in providing knowledge into public diplomacy and international relations. I was able to dive right into the course, to understand this complex faction of international relations. I am particularly focused in the world of cultural development, and the ways in which international development organisations formulate policies that reflect the cultural systems in which they operate. The course allowed me to investigate different facets of cultural policy by integrating different themes into each module. I can now supplement my own personal experience with the academic backing provided through the course. At the end of the course, I decided to further my knowledge of the world of development by undergoing an internship at the Overseas Development Institute’s Research and Policy in Development Programme, where I co-authored a report on global mental health financing.
