Dr. Harvey Charles, Vice Provost for International Programs, and Dr. Karen Brown, Co-Lead of the UMN Sustainable Development Initiative, participated in the Transatlantic Dialogue Forum (TAD) '24, held May 29 to June 1 in Luxembourg. The topic of this year's event was Soft Power in Uncertain Times: Building Bridges for Culture, Diplomacy, Peace, Trust, and Compassionate Leadership in an Ongoing Changing World.

During the event, Charles and Brown co-presented a session, SDGs: A Framework to Foster Dialogue Between U.S. and European Universities, and Dr. Charles gave on plenary speech on the second day of the conference, Beyond the Wish for Immortality: Human Agency in Creating the World of our Ideals.

"The TAD allowed participants to imagine, if only for the duration of the conference, the possibilities that can be realized through culture and the arts in breaking down barriers, and fostering cross-cultural friendship and understanding." — Dr. Harvey Charles, Vice Provost for International Programs

About the Transatlantic Dialogue Forum: The TransAtlantic dialogue was launched in 2008 to bring together students, faculty, university administration, NGO representatives, representatives from the European Cultural Parliament, and artists from a broad cross-section of aesthetics from the U.S. and throughout the European Union to engage in conversation about how cultural exchange can best be harnessed to promote peace, understanding, and community. Hosted once every three years under the primary sponsorship of the University of Luxembourg, the most recent TAD was co-sponsored by the European Cultural Parliament as well as the city of Esch-sur-Alzette, a suburb of Luxembourg. The TAD project examines the critical role of culture and liberal education in developing students and teachers who think broadly, recognize and respect cultural diversity and heritage, and whose engagement promotes personal authenticity and innovation as part of a "lifelong learning" intercontinental dialogue.