Update from the ICA Public Diplomacy Interest Group

On June 11, 2016, the inaugural business meeting of the Public Diplomacy Interest Group took place. The Public Diplomacy Interest Group is newly established within the International Communication Association (ICA), which is an academic association for scholars interested in the study, teaching, and application of all aspects of human and mediated communication.

The aim of the Public Diplomacy Interest Group is to bring together scholars investigating topics related to public diplomacy, nation branding, country image and reputation, public relations for and of nations, as well as political, global and cultural communication influencing international relations. It seeks to gather all perspectives, research methods, methodological approaches, and theories including recent critical approaches, to encourage dialogue, and debate on these growing interdisciplinary topics.

The next annual ICA conference will be at the San Diego Hilton Bayfront Hotel, from May 25-29, 2017. The Public Diplomacy Interest Group will have its own sessions and panels addressing the theme “Public Diplomacy Challenges: Building Theory and Practice.” A call for papers will be distributed late July 2016.

Also at ICA 2017, the Public Diplomacy Interest Group is planning a post-conference on public diplomacy, sponsored by the USC Center on Public Diplomacy, and aimed at both scholars and practitioners. A separate call for papers for the post conference will be circulated later this year.

The aim of the Public Diplomacy Interest Group is to bring together scholars investigating topics related to public diplomacy, nation branding, country image and reputation, public relations for and of nations, as well as political, global and cultural communication influencing international relations.

During the June 11 business meeting, the board of the Public Diplomacy Interest Group was elected: chair – Diana Ingenhoff (University of Fribourg, Switzerland), vice-chair – Alina Dolea (University of Bucharest, Romania), and secretary – Candace White (University of Tennessee, USA). The business meeting was attended by scholars from American University, Bar-Ilan University, George Washington University, Ilmenau Technical University, Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya Israel, Lund University, Temple University, University of Southern California, University of Bucharest, University of Florida, University of Fribourg, University of Hawai’i Manoa, University of Oregon, and University of Zurich.

Currently, over 80 scholars have signed up for the establishment of the ICA Public Diplomacy Interest Group. However, to formally join the Public Diplomacy Interest Group, one needs to become a member/ renew membership at ICA and choose the Public Diplomacy Interest Group from the list of the different divisions and interest groups when registering at the ICA website. This can be done starting August 1, 2016. Please note that the ICA membership year runs from October 1 to September 30 annually. New members joining mid-year receive full membership benefits upon enrollment, including online access to all previously published ICA journals. Dues are not pro-rated based on the date joined. You can find more information on membership here. Meanwhile, if you want to receive updates from the Public Diplomacy Interest Group, please fill out this survey and your name will be automatically included in the distribution list of the interest group.

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Photo by Chris Favero | CC by-SA 2.0