Bernd M. Scherer is Director of Haus der Kulturen der Welt since 2006. He holds a Ph.D. in Philosophy from the Universität des Saarlandes, Saarbrücken. Philosopher and author of several publications focusing on aesthetics and international cultural exchange, Scherer came to the HKW from the Goethe-Institut. From 1989-1994, he was Director of the Goethe-Institute Karachi and Lahore, and from 1999-2000 he directed the Goethe-Institut Mexico City, subsequently acting as Director of the Arts Department at the Goethe-Institut main office in Munich from 2004-2005. Since January 2011, he teaches as Honorary Professor at the Institute for European Ethnology, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. He curated and directed major art and cultural projects such as “Das weiße Meer”, “Rethinking Europe”, and “Über-Lebenkunst”.