A curated selection of public diplomacy-relevant news from a global cross-section of English-language media outlets, including independent, corporate-owned, and state-sponsored sources. The stories featured don't necessarily represent CPD's views nor have they been verified by CPD.
The not-so-hidden agenda of cultural exchange
In this country, one of the most chewed-over examples of energetic US government involvement in the arts was the money put into an exhibition of abstract expressionists at the Whitechapel gallery. The show did not only introduce our own artists to a movement that went on to revolutionise painting around the world - the Triumph of American Painting as it is generally known - it was also part of a US-funded PSYOP, broadcasting to the world that America was the home of freedom, the kind of freedom discernible in the slashes and drips of Jackson Pollock.
Doha agreement shows Gulf states can play role of ‘honest broker’
Even Nato has recently been wooing the Gulf states to assist in international conflict resolution. Jean François Bureau, the organisation’s assistant secretary general for public diplomacy, told a conference in Qatar this year that he was “reaching out to interested countries in the Gulf region [because of] the new dynamic in your region”.
State’s Graffy Remarks at Heritage Foundation on Climate Change
Green diplomacy is our effort to engage on environmental issues with the people of other countries in a way that communicates our values, culture and policies...Our green diplomacy ranges from environmental protection for areas of cultural heritage...to recycling projects in Cyprus, water aid in the Balkans and forestry projects in Russia.
Mission of US-funded broadcasts in Cuba debated
Two decades after Congress established the U.S. Office of Cuba Broadcasting, lawmakers and experts still can't seem to agree on the program's mission. Should its TV and Radio Marti networks send the communist island unbiased news about Cuba and the outside world? Or should their stories only support the U.S. government's policy toward Cuba, as they mostly do now?
The World Can’t Wait for ‘Indy’? It Won’t Have To
Foreign box office receipts for American movies often far outstrip domestic ticket sales, making it more important than ever to satisfy the Internet-savvy, plugged-in, impatient teenage consumer in Korea or Bulgaria or Egypt.
U.S. needs ‘soft power’ leader, and he could be our man
For citizens of the world who are familiar with the sight of our Golden Arches or the sound Windows XP makes when they boot their Dell laptops, Mr. Obama is an emerging global icon. And, with apologies for commodifying him, he may yet prove to be America's next great export.
Discount diplomats can’t push PM’s agenda
The budget papers also show a bleak landscape when it comes to resources for the protection and advancement of Australia's interests abroad through diplomatic and other activities...Public diplomacy, an important and growing area of diplomatic activity in almost all foreign services across the world, is also missing out. It receives an infusion of funds for the 2010 Shanghai Expo but virtually nothing for existing recurrent programs or any expansion of them. This is despite the recommendations of a Senate committee last year.
Indian diplomacy tunes into Bollywood hits
When External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee and his officers board the flight to Pakistan this Tuesday, their luggage will include four-CD audio sets titled "Bollywood: 60 years of Romance". This special compilation of Hindi film songs will be gifted to Pakistani diplomats during Mukherjee's tour to promote one of India's biggest strongest manifestations of soft power, Bollywood.
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