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.
Armenia and Azerbaijan hold talks
The presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan met yesterday for talks over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh territory, one day after the Azerbaijani president, Ilham Aliyev, threatened military action against the Armenian-controlled region should negotiations fall through. Mr Aliyev and his Armenian counterpart, Serzh Sarksyan, met at the French consul general’s residence in Munich, Germany, to discuss the mountainous territory, which has been the focus of a frozen 15-year conflict between the two ex-Soviet republics.
Exhibit of Chinese Terra Cotta Warriors Is Largest Ever in US
The exhibit Terra Cotta Warriors: Guardians of China's First Emperor has opened at Washington, D.C.'s National Geographic Museum. This is the fourth and last city on a US tour before the ancient statues and artifacts return to China. Susan Norton, Director of the National Geographic Museum, says the show is already a success. "It is beyond our wildest dreams. As of this morning we sold over 96,000 tickets. This is unheard of," she said.
On a roll in India!
It is all shock and awe for a team of German school students and their teachers who are currently on a week long visit to Thiruvananthapuram. From eating having to use their fingers to terrifying traffic, the five-day trip seems to have left a lasting impression on the visitors. They are here on a week-long cultural exchange programme organised by the Goethe Institute.
Record Number of Foreign Students Provides Storytelling Opportunity
The Commerce Department says international students contribute $17.8 billion to the U.S. economy. How important are these students to the schools near you? What are your schools doing to recruit them? Below I've posted links to tons of data to help you get local. By the way, a holiday week like this is a great time to do stories on foreign students who may be stuck on campus while everybody else goes home.
Peoples’ Culture: Abu Dhabi translates 1650 tales from 50 countries
KALIMA, the translation project at Abu Dhabi Authority for culture and Heritage, announced the launch of a new initiative "Peoples’ Culture", which includes seventy books that will be launched immediately to celebrate the second anniversary of its foundation. The initiative, which will be presented for the first time to Arab readers, includes the translation of hundreds of tales and stories from the world's popular heritage.
Don’t neglect India
Barack Obama has been criticized for kowtowing to the Chinese and the Russians over the past few months. So far this is all about atmospherics. The administration has not made any unilateral concession of substance to either country. It is taking a strategic view that developing strong relationships with both countries, particularly China, will yield long-term benefits. Strangely, however, that focus has been lost in dealing with Asia's other rising giant, India.
Minister says “Extremely Hungary” cultural season in New York a success
The series of events dubbed Extremely Hungary, organised by the Hungarian Cultural Centre in New York, were running on a three-year budget of 700 million forints (EUR 2.6m), funding well spent on the best of contemporary productions in music, literature, fine arts, dance and film, Hiller said. The programme's benefits were threefold: it has won further future cooperation between the institutions involved, improved the country image and earned a good press coverage for Hungary and Hungarian culture.
A short-sighted agenda
India has increasingly proved that it can influence the world via soft power, the power of its capacity to live peacefully and democratically with difference, the power of the modernity of its tradition, the power of its creative writers and popular films. Perhaps the Obama team should advise the president not to put too many of his eggs in the China basket so that enough go into India's.
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