This paper open a discussion on the functioning of cultural centers, as (potentially) influential institutions at local and international level. Authors wish is, by analyzing the program of the Cultural Centre Novi Pazar and the Cultural Centre of Serbia in Paris, to highlight the role of cultural centers as intermediaries of official policy. Authors specifically discuss the usage of traditional elements in programs, and therefore, in explicit examples "expose" the usage dichotomy - in-betweens satisfying cultural needs of society and instrumentalization of culture. Through the activity of centers at local and international level, the intention of authors is to present culture as a national resource with which can be made the influence on society. Thus, attention is drawn to the process of defining the program - from the message/information encoding to its purposeful transfer through a range of activities (events, exhibitions, concerts, etc.). [Project of the Serbian Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development, Grant no. 177028: Strategije identiteta: savremena kultura i religioznost (Nina Aksić) i Grant no. 47016: Interdisciplinarno istraživanje kulturnog i jezičkog nasleđa Srbije i izrada multimedijalnog internet portala „Pojmovnik srpske kulture“ (Branislav Pantović)]
