Voice of America Director David Ensor was recently interviewed on Conversations with Nicholas Kralev. He discussed VOA’s journalistic independence and credibility, steering clear of creating propaganda, and why VOA remains an important element of American foreign policy in the 21st century.

The Diplomatic Courier recently interviewed Jed Shein, Director of New Media at the Israeli Embassy. The Embassy uses digital engagement as a way to promote Israel’s brand across the world, said Shein, noting that “Israel places a special emphasis on social media and making sure that everyone is online.”

VOA’s Sonny Young reports on the soaring popularity of football in post-civil war Somalia. For nearly two decades, the country had no national government and could spare few resources for sports. Recently, FIFA has started training local coaches and players to revive football in Somalia.

In his interview with Judy Woodruff on PBS’s NewsHour, former CPD Director, Philip Seib, explains the difference between Al Jazeera America and Al Jazeera Arabic. Professor Seib stated, “I think that has been set up to be a news organization that represents not only the Al Jazeera brand, but the Qatar brand.” Seib also comments on the network’s budget and accessibility in America.

The Italian Embassy in Washington, DC, hosted an evening event on digital diplomacy titled, “Real-Time World, Real-Time Diplomacy: The Challenges Ahead.” The distinguished panel chaired by Darrell West from the Brookings Institution included P.J. Crowly, the former State Department Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs, Katie Dowd, the Senior Adviser to the Chief Technology Office at the White House, Zeehat Rahman, the Senior Adviser to the Secretary of State for Global Youth Issues, and Gianni Riotta, author.

The 2013 CHASS National Forum held in the Parliament House Canberra on ‘Civility in Australia’ included a panel titled, ‘Soft Power and Public Diplomacy.’ The discussion was chaired by Professor Naren Chitty, and panelsists included, Professor Jocelyn Chey, Professor The Hon Gareth Evans, The Hon John Howard, and Professor Joseph Siracusa.

At an event hosted by the British Council, John Holden discusses the three main findings of a recently published report on cultural diplomacy and soft power. The first finding of the report states that the digital age has changed the definition of culture. Second, with this changing definition, the “the cultural players” have also changed. They now include business, individuals, artists, sub-national governments, philanthropists, and cities. Thirdly, as Holden states, communication and culture are playing an even more important role in social change.

Ríos to Rivers is an organization that seeks to connect youth from Chile and Colorado through kayaking expeditions in both the United States and Chile. The international exchange program will allow Chilean kayakers to learn about mega dams in the United States, while the U.S. kayakers will learn more about the geography and rivers of the Chile. The exchange program, occurring this summer, is particularly significant due to the mega dam propositions happening on five major rivers on the Chilean Patagonia border.