Trust Pays: Creating trust in the UK through cultural relations

I'm often asked what's the point to all this cultural stuff. Well now a report from the British Council shows that cultural relations are essential for fostering trust in Britain, which in turn is highly beneficial for British business. 

This evening, CEO of Ipsos MORI, Ben Page, presented new research on the link between culture and trust in a live-stream called Trust Pays. Although a lot of the findings seem like common sense, it's always good to have ideas backed up by science. The basic idea is that the more Britain forms cultural relations with other countries, the more people trust us and therefore want to invest in the country or do business with us. Ben explained that regardless of what people think of British politicians or parties, people across the world have increasingly positive views of the British people the more they take part in cultural activities.

The result from Saudi Arabia is particularly interesting, proving just how important cultural relations are when other types of relations between countries are limited. This increase in trust leads to a higher likelihood of working in or with the UK.

The presentation was followed by a panel featuring Ben Page,Sir Roger Carr (Chairman of the Confederation of British Industry), Razia Iqbal (BBC) and Martin Davidson (Chief Executive of the British Council). It was a fascinating debate, including many key points I highly agree with. Firstly, as a country we undervalue our cultural heritage, professionalism and even our sense of humour. All of these are assets. The media should not only focus on exposing the bad, but celebrating what we do well. Carr highlighted the importance of making visitors feel welcome - including free access to some of the world's best museums - but insisted we need to go further, ensuring that from a visitor's first experience of the UK (be it in the airport or the visa office) they must feel respected and welcomed. He also maintained that businesses must continue to support the arts as they are 'wonderful ambassadors' for the country. On a more personal level, Razia Iqbal reminded us that 'culture can utterly change people's lives'. Through culture, people can learn that they share things they never thought possible and create lasting links. In this vein, members of the audience suggested that there should be more support for people from Britain to go out and share cultural experiences with others across the world.

As someone who strongly believes in the importance of culture to bring people together and spark new ideas, I really hope this research will inspire more investment in international cultural relations.

The full report is available here: http://www.britishcouncil.org/new/Documents/full_trust_report.pdf