Washington, DC - The U.S. Department of State, the Smithsonian Institution, and the Member Agencies of the Cultural Heritage Coordinating Committee (CHCC) will host Building Bridges: A Symposium on Global Cultural Heritage Preservation on October 23-24, at the Smithsonian Castle located at 1000 Jefferson Dr. SW, Washington, D.C. 20560.

The Symposium will cultivate an open dialogue about cultural heritage preservation and protection among government and non-government organizations, the private sector, and the university and research community. Attendees will explore how the United States can better help protect and preserve culture around the world and the role cultural heritage protection plays in advancing foreign policy.

State Department Spokesperson Heather Nauert and Smithsonian Provost John Davis will deliver opening remarks at 9:15 a.m. on Tuesday, October 23.

Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs Marie Royce, Chair of the CHCC, will lead the closing panel discussion, which is open to the public, A Discussion on Cultural Heritage Preservation and Foreign Policy, on Wednesday, October 24 at 4:00 p.m. Four current and former U.S. ambassadors will describe how they leveraged cultural heritage to advance foreign policy in the Near East, Balkans, South Asia, and Southeast Asia.

The closing panel discussion will be livestreamed at http://www.ustream.tv/channel/si-public and a full agenda for the Symposium can be found here: https://www.si.edu/events/building-bridges. Follow the event on social media at #CulturalHeritage and #CHCCBuildingBridges.