by Richard Weight

Say 'the British Council' to a citizen of the United Kingdom and those who know of its existence will respond in one of three ways.  People who think of its work in teaching English and providing libraries and laboratories in developing countries will nod approvingly; people who know of its efforts to engage the world with the best of British culture through readings, concerts and exhibitions will smile affectionately; and those who see all these activities as a form of cultural imperialism, stemming from a refusal to accept that Britain is no longer a superpower, will arch a knowing eyebrow.

What few realise is the magnificent scope of the Council's work in the 109 countries it now serves.  Unlike some of the UK's other cultural institutions, it has embraced a broader definition of what culture is than it founders ever envisioned.  The Council's film and television department champions the work of young filmmakers, for example by co-funding the British Film Office in Los Angeles, its design department - which incorporates fashion, graphics, interiors, digital media and product design - provides workshops and conferences where cultural entrepreneurs can meet and exchange ideas.

Although the Council is helping to sell the British creative industries abroad, it has not become a branch of the Department of Trade and Industry, still less a participant in that much-maligned effort to build 'Cool Britannia'.  One of its recent projects has been to send black British DJs, rappers and instrumentalists from 'The Shrine' to cities in Eastern Europe where unemployment and xenophobia is rife, in an effort to foster awareness of the rich variety of work cultures that make up today's Europe.

In 1940, the Council's third Chairman, Lord Lloyd, exchanged letters with the founder of the BBC, Sir John Reith, on what the wartime role of the organisation should be.  Despite the crisis then enveloping the world, Lloyd was uneasy about placing the Council in the hands of propagandists.  In reply, Reith wrote "who can say where cultural activity ends and propaganda begins?"  There is and must be a distinction between the two.  But throughout almost seventy years of activity, the Council has proved that cultural propaganda, sensitively managed, can help to create international understanding, and with it, a more peaceful world.