Select Committee on Foreign Affairs Written Evidence


Further memorandum submitted by the British Council

  1.  Continuing international tension and the rise of intolerance have made improved inter-cultural understanding between nations and peoples an issue of critical importance, particularly for the United Kingdom as one of the most prominent players on the international stage.

  The British Council plays a fundamental role in building long-term relationships with other countries in ways which can withstand political disruption and in winning recognition abroad for the UK's values, ideas and achievements. It does this through both its network of 216 offices and teaching centres in 109 countries, and its rapidly expanding range of web-based products and services.

2.  REACHING YOUNGER, WIDER AUDIENCES

  Nurturing relationships on behalf of the UK with those with the potential to become future decision-makers and opinion-formers in their own societies is one of the most important contributions the British Council makes to future international stability.

  This has become even more important since September 11, 2001, the war in Afghanistan, the conflict in Iraq, and differences in the Middle East, have polarised public opinion globally. The UK's standing with the public in many parts of the world can no longer be taken for granted. How we interact with those who will shape their societies' attitudes towards us in the future is fundamental to Britain's capacity to influence the international agenda.

  Three years ago, the British Council embarked on an ambitious five-year strategy to reach younger audiences, understand their aspirations, and deliver products and services for them which would enhance the UK's reputation as a modern, dynamic country of relevance to them.

  It has shifted resources into transitional and developing countries, particularly in central and eastern Europe and in the Arab and Muslim world, where impact with students and young professionals has been increased. It has used resources from the 2000 Spending Review to make a quantum leap in its reach in China and Russia, where by satisfying demand for access to educational opportunities, it is simultaneously improving perceptions of the UK among the aspiring young.

3.  EXPLOITING NEW TECHNOLOGY TO EXPAND THE UK'S REACH

  Extending the reach and impact of its work through a combination of IT-based and face-to-face services is fundamental to the British Council's success.

  It is transforming its public face in the world's largest cities through the creation of a network of 50 ICT-based Knowledge and Learning Centres offering on-line services and video-conferencing facilities which expand distance learning opportunities for the young. Subject areas include management, IT, English language learning, literature and the arts.

  Six centres are now open, and the initial experience from cities as varied as Delhi, Cairo, Belgrade and Kuala Lumpur demonstrates they are attracting larger numbers of users with an improved, younger age profile than the traditional library facility. Where security or political reasons have impeded contact between young people, the British Council has developed a network of video-conferencing facilities, for example in the Palestinian territories and across the Green Line in Cyprus.

  Working with strategic partners is also expanding the Council's reach. The in2english project establishing Centre for English Language Learning Support in China, was launched by the Culture Secretary, Tessa Jowell, last November. Run jointly with the BBC and China's central radio and television university, the initiative reached 370,000 users in its first four months.

  A similar project is now being developed for learners of English in the Arab world, based in the Council's new Knowledge and Learning Centre in Cairo and for Hispanic learners of English through the British Council in Mexico.

4.  TARGETING ADDITIONAL RESOURCES TO TRANSITIONAL AND DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

  The value of the British Council's role was recognised by the Government in the 2002 Spending Review, which increased its grant-in-aid from £156.5 million in 2002-03 to £184.7 million in 2005-06—a cash terms increase of £35 million over the spending review triennium.

  The additional funding has been allocated for strengthening our activities in transitional countries and the developing world. Additional resources have been committed to the Connecting Futures initiative, a five-year programme dedicated to improving mutual understanding between young people in the UK and in the Arab and Muslim world.

  Extra resources are also being used for civil society and leadership development for young future leaders in Africa, in support of the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NePAD). From 2004-05, extra funding will help strengthening civil society and stability in the countries bordering the European Union after expansion in 2004.

  Funding has also been made available to increase the British Council's support for the Prime Minister's initiative for the recruitment of fee-paying international students to the UK. The initiative is on track to meet its ambitious targets of an additional 50,000 students in higher education and 25,000 in further education.

  Additional funding from the 2000 spending review has resulted in a major expansion of our services in Russia. It has enabled the Council to increase the UK's work in reaching some 35,000 teachers in educational curriculum reform. Every second schoolchild in Russia now studies English from the New Millennium English textbook produced by the British Council. By 2005, we forecast there will be 400,000 users of the Council's 15 centres across the Federation, compared to 250,000 in 2000-01.

  In China, extra resources have enabled the Council to expand its activities from the main four provinces to an additional 10 middle-sized cities and provinces. British Council marketing of UK education has helped increase the numbers of Chinese fee-paying students studying in the UK have risen from 3,000 in 1997-98 to 28,000 in 2002-03, making the UK the first choice for studying abroad. The council's target is to make the UK the most important and respected partner in education and training for China by 2006.

5.  COMMITMENT TO JOINED-UP APPROACH TO PUBLIC DIPLOMACY

  Improving the standing of the UK in the current global climate will only be achieved by a co-ordinated approach to public diplomacy. To achieve maximum impact, the British Council is committed to ensuring that its activities complement those of other players, notably the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, British Trade International, Visit Britain and the devolved administrations. The British Council, along with all these players, is concerned with ensuring there is a real long-term improvement in the public image of the UK in key countries abroad.

  The Council has made a major contribution to the Think UK campaign in China, aimed at improving perceptions of the UK by highlighting British innovation and creativity to China's successor generation. Although a number of the activities have been delayed by the onset of SARS, others—notably the imaginative initiative of involving 300 local people in Guangzhou in constructing Antony Gormley's Asian Field project—have captured considerable attention and publicity in China.

  The British Council is working closely with the FCO and other public diplomacy players within the framework of the Public Diplomacy Strategy Board to identify appropriate countries for future campaigns aimed at improving overall perceptions of the United Kingdom.

6.  REBUILDING PARTNERSHIPS WITH IRAQ

  There is an urgent need for the United Kingdom to re-establish its educational and cultural links with Iraq. Iraq's once-strong university sector has suffered from years of neglect and lack of contact with the outside world, while its further education sector is in urgent need of capacity building if the country is to be able to build a viable economic base.

  In the 1980s the UK played to host to some 1,600 Iraqi post-graduate students a year. Links with medical colleges were particularly strong before the first Gulf war. The challenge now is to re-establish the UK as the partner of choice in education. Since 1991, an entire generation of young people has grown up without contact with the outside world. We need to address these two issues as rapidly as possible if the UK is to make a serious contribution to change and to improving economic prospects and long term stability. It is now essential that access to educational opportunities and to cultural contact with the UK and other democratic countries is created.

  The British Council has co-ordinated the creation of an overall strategy for education and training in Iraq: this sets out how UK expertise can be used to help satisfy immediate needs and offer support, rebuilding relationships for the short to medium term, and establish long-term partnerships for sustainability. It is important that the long-term bi-lateral strategy between the UK and Iraq is based upon principles of mutuality, inclusion and understanding.

  Education should be seen as fundamental building-block in establishing long-term economic stability in Iraq, through the empowerment of networks of professionals and administrators instrumental to shaping reform. The strategy draws on the UK's particular expertise in curriculum reform, re-skilling the workforce for economic growth, educational publishing, teacher training and professional development, and student and teacher exchange.

  The British Council will re-establish its own operation in Iraq as soon as the security situation permits. Before the first Gulf war, the operation in Iraq was one of the largest in the Middle East, with a thriving teaching centre and outreach activities in Mosul and Basra. While it will be some years before there is sufficient demand for paid services for English language teaching and examinations, it is important that relationships are re-established and nurtured through grant-funded activities as soon as this can practically take place. To this end, the British Council is planning the re-allocation of £1 million for 2003-04 to ensure that its office in Baghdad can be reopened and initial activities started (security situation permitting). It is now recruiting a Director Iraq who will work with networks of Iraqi professionals and influencers before setting up the operation in Iraq itself.

7.  SUPPORTING THE REFORM PROCESS IN THE MIDDLE EAST

  Research undertaken through the British Council's Connecting Futures initiative in attitudes of young people towards the UK and other industrialised western countries demonstrated that people aged between 18 and 35 in the region retain a broadly positive view of the UK despite the fierce opposition they expressed to the political stances taken by the US and some of its allies.

  The research indicated that there was a strong appetite among relatively well-educated young aspirant professionals in the region to engage with the UK through wider access to English language learning and other educational opportunities.

  Following publication of the UN's First Arab Human Development Report, the British Council is increasing its engagement with change agents in the region, particularly in encouraging more accountable governance, reform of education system and greater access to English language skills.

8.  ARTS FOR A DANGEROUS WORLD

  Arts continue to be a fundamental way of reaching out across cultural divides. The British Council brought the first UK theatre production to Iran for 25 years with the Dundee Repertory Theatre staged a production of The Winter's Tale in Tehran. This was the first large-scale event organised by the British Council since its return to Tehran in 2001 after a 20-year absence, doing much to create mutual trust and confidence with the Iranians.

  A large-scale new photography exhibition, which opens in Jakarta in July 2003, explores the range and diversity of Muslim experience and life in the UK. The British Council has collaborated with professional curators from Malaysia and Indonesia to advise on the project which includes black and white portraits of schoolchildren in Manchester and Bradford and the typology of religious buildings in Britain from the East London Mosque to former cinemas and converted council flats.

  A two-hour weekly radio programme called The Selector now brings an estimated 35 million people a week in 17 countries into close contact with the UK's contemporary music scene. Partnerships with local radio stations widens the range beyond the normal range of contacts for UK music, allowing listeners to understand more fully the many cultural, ethnic and national influences on British music.

9.  GOVERNANCE AND HUMAN RIGHTS

  The British Council has recently started a major programme to strengthen the capacity of the 17 National Human Rights Commissions operating in the Commonwealth. Supported by the FCO's Human Rights Project Fund, the Council is working with the commissions on improving compliance with UN agencies responsible for monitoring human rights, and on how they can use public inquiries and hearings to investigate systemic human rights concerns. The events within the programme have also been attended by representatives of Afghanistan's Independent Human Rights Commission, thus enabling them to build links with commissions from neighbouring countries.

  In Nigeria, the British Council leads a consortium implementing DfID's access to justice programme. One of the first initiatives of the project has been to support the formation of a coalition of 15 women's groups for access to justice in the almost entirely Muslim state of Jigawa. The project has also supported a consultative forum dialogue between women, religious scholars and Sharia judges about the problems faced by women in engaging with judicial institutions and processes.

  Other areas of British Council work cover citizenship education and democracy, conflict resolution, economic, social and cultural rights, and the rights of women. Recent work in the West Bank and Gaza, for example, has included the development of a Citizen's Rights Charter, the establishment of a Forum for Democracy and peace education for teachers.

10.  SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

  Portraying the UK as a world-class leader in science and technology is central to ensuring our higher education institutions continue to attract top-level international post-graduate students. But it is also vital the UK is seen as being on the cutting-edge of scientific discovery and technological innovation.

  The British Council has increased its science spending from £5 million in 2001-02 to £8 million in 2003-04, and its science network stretches to 46 countries. It promotes both excellence in international science and understanding science in society. Recent initiatives have included a major exhibition travelling the world called DNA+ 50 which celebrates the discovery in Cambridge of the double helix structure; and a DNA web portal which encourages international audiences to explore controversial issues such as stem cell technology, genetically modified engineering and the use of embryos.

  In September 2002, more than 100,000 web users took part in the daily summit web-log run by the British Council at the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg—giving them instant access to the decision-making processes and debates taking place at the conference.

The British Council

June 2003





 
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