Political and cultural leaders talked about how the U.S. can use culture as a means for communicating with other nations. Iranian Author Azar Nafisi spoke about relations with the Middle East and the Arab world, saying that it was an insult to group all Middle Eastern nations together as the "Muslim World" because it ignored cultural differences. Artist and Painter Eric Fischl talked about his "America: Now and Here" project. The project aimed to bring art and artists to communities across the country by bus.