Interaction Week

Interaction Week
Name	Interaction Week
Genre	Cultural exchange, interdisciplinary festival
Frequency	Annual
First	2008
Location	Varies
Founders	International Consortium for Intercultural Dialogue

Interaction Week Interaction Week is an annual international festival of interdisciplinary exchange that brings together practitioners from arts, science, technology, policy, and civil society. The event convenes delegations, networks, and institutions to showcase collaborative projects, workshops, and performances across multiple venues in major cities. Interaction Week fosters ties among organizations and individuals associated with cultural diplomacy, innovation hubs, academic consortia, and philanthropic foundations.

Overview

Interaction Week assembles representatives from institutions such as United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, European Commission, World Health Organization, and International Committee of the Red Cross alongside artists linked to Tate Modern, Museum of Modern Art, Guggenheim Museum, and curators from Serpentine Galleries. The program typically features collaborations between researchers from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stanford University, University of Oxford, and National University of Singapore and technologists affiliated with Google, Microsoft Research, IBM Research, and Mozilla Foundation. Cultural partners have included Berlin Philharmonic, Royal Opera House, Sydney Opera House, and festivals such as Edinburgh Festival Fringe and South by Southwest. Funding and support often involve foundations like the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation, Ford Foundation, and Open Society Foundations.

History

The initiative was founded by a coalition including the British Council, Goethe-Institut, Alliance Française, and the Japan Foundation in response to programs pioneered by entities such as TED Conferences, Ars Electronica, World Economic Forum, and Aspen Ideas Festival. Early editions drew strategic partners from municipal bodies like the City of London Corporation and state cultural ministries including Ministry of Culture (France), Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (Germany), and Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Japan). Notable collaborations have involved institutions such as Wellcome Trust, Smithsonian Institution, National Endowment for the Arts, and international networks like Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change working alongside civil society groups such as Amnesty International and Greenpeace International.

Program and Events

Programs have included keynote lectures delivered in venues such as Royal Albert Hall, Carnegie Hall, and Lincoln Center by figures associated with Nobel Prize laureates, directors from World Bank, and chief scientists from European Space Agency. Workshops and labs draw on methodologies from labs like MIT Media Lab, Bell Labs, SRI International, and artist residencies at MacDowell Colony. Performances have featured commissions with ensembles like London Symphony Orchestra and choreographers from Martha Graham Dance Company, while exhibitions were staged in partnership with galleries such as Fondazione Prada and Guggenheim Bilbao. Side events include hackathons modeled after Code for America sprints, film screenings with programmers from Cannes Film Festival and Berlin International Film Festival, and policy roundtables influenced by formats used by Chatham House and Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

Participants and Community

Participants have included a mix of independent artists associated with Ai Weiwei-exhibiting institutions, scientists from CERN, entrepreneurs from accelerators like Y Combinator, and curators from Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum. Community engagement strategies have mirrored outreach campaigns used by Oxfam International and Médecins Sans Frontières, with youth programs inspired by Scouting Movement models and educational partnerships with schools linked to UNICEF initiatives. Corporate partners have ranged from Apple Inc. and Facebook (Meta Platforms) to social enterprises incubated with support from Ashoka and Skoll Foundation.

Impact and Outcomes

Interaction Week has produced collaborative research outputs cited by policy bodies such as European Parliament committees and advisory reports to the United Nations General Assembly. Projects have spun out startups that received investment from firms like Sequoia Capital and Andreessen Horowitz and grants from science funders including National Science Foundation and European Research Council. Artistic commissions have toured institutions like Tate Modern and Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo, while educational toolkits have been adopted by networks connected to Coursera, Khan Academy, and edX. Evaluations referencing methodologies from OECD and World Bank Group have been used to assess social return on investment.

Organization and Governance

The governance model combines elements from consortia such as International Council on Monuments and Sites and associations like International Federation of Arts Councils and Culture Agencies, with a steering committee composed of representatives from British Council, Goethe-Institut, Alliance Française, Japan Foundation, and selected university partners including University of Cambridge and Harvard University. Operational partners have included event producers experienced with Live Nation and conference organizers similar to Informa. Legal and fiscal oversight has been structured using templates from multinational NGOs and philanthropic entities registered in jurisdictions such as United Kingdom, Switzerland, and United States.

Media and Publications

Media coverage has appeared in outlets such as The New York Times, The Guardian, Le Monde, Der Spiegel, Nikkei Asian Review, and Al Jazeera. Academic and practice-oriented publications resulting from the week have been disseminated through presses like Oxford University Press, MIT Press, Routledge, and journals associated with Nature, Science (journal), and Journal of Cultural Economics. Multimedia documentation has been produced in collaboration with broadcasters such as BBC, NHK, CNN, and Deutsche Welle, and digital archives are hosted in partnerships with repositories similar to Internet Archive.

Category:International cultural festivals