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.

Presidential Summit of the Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders

The summit, held at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington, D.C., will feature a town hall with President Obama, a Congressional Forum, and an Expo with more than 100 organizations engaged with Africa. [...] The young African leaders are convening in Washington after six weeks of academic study and leadership training at 36 higher education institutions across the United States.

Tags: mandela washington fellowship, africa, african youth, leadership, international exchange, government pd, non state pd, president obama, united states, education

China Gearing Up for Large-Scale Cultural Expo Silk Road

The international cultural exhibition fair Silk Road will open in Dunhuang (China's Gansu Province) on 20 September. This forum will bring together representatives of more the 50 countries, Communist Party Secretary of Gansu Province Wang Sanyun told reporters partaking in the Eurasian media seminar on 28 July, BelTA informs.

Tags: china, Cultural Diplomacy, government pd, international exchange, culture, silk road, one belt one road initiative, economic development

Use of Soft Power: Myth and Reality

The United Nations’ adoption in 2014 of an International Yoga Day was remarkable for many reasons. [...] No International Day resolution has been co-sponsored by so many countries or has been passed in such a short timeframe. It was definitely a remarkable achievement for Indian diplomacy. It has also been hailed as a demonstration of India’s soft power.

Tags: smart & soft power, history & theory, united nations, international image, International Yoga Day, india, joseph nye, culture, media, diaspora

Will Pokémon Go Power Up Japan’s ‘Cool Economy’?

Is Pokémon Go a game changer for the Japanese economy? Is it a sign that Silicon Valley-style innovation is reinvigorating corporate Japan’s notoriously insular management? Might this be the first big success story for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s “Cool Japan” initiative, a key element in the structural reforms promised but so far undelivered by Abenomics?

Tags: pokemon go, digital diplomacy & new tech, japan, shinzo abe, innovation, smart & soft power, economic development, cool japan, international image

AIT Camp to Foster Cultural Exchanges

The American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) yesterday said that its annual summer camp is to promote exchanges between Taiwanese students and their counterparts from Singapore, Indonesia and Vietnam. The program is to bring together 50 university students to discuss regional development and cooperation, the AIT said.

Tags: taiwan, american institute in taiwan, singapore, indonesia, vietnam, international exchange, culture, education, regional development, cooperation

U.S. Drops Snark in Favor of Emotions to Undercut Extremists

The Obama administration has revamped a program designed to lure foreign fighters away from extremist groups like the Islamic State, focusing on a series of new advertisements and social media posts that seek to appeal to emotion rather than logic. Money for the program, which is managed by the State Department’s Global Engagement Center, tripled this year, to $16 million, after administration officials concluded that past efforts that had attempted to scare potential militants away from the extremist groups were not working.

Tags: counter extremism, counter violent extremism, terrorism, public engagement, social media, Digital Diplomacy & New Technology, global engagement center, united states

Turkey Launches Belated #DigitalDiplomacy Blitz

In the age of digital diplomacy, governments often turn to social media following a crisis, be it a terror attack or natural disaster. Social media may be used by governments in order to comment on crises as they develop, offer a narrative of events and demonstrate that the government is functioning and attempting to regain control of the situation. 

Tags: turkey, digital diplomacy & new tech, social media, twitter, government pd, political crises, international image, erdogan, #TurkeyPurge

China Has Its Own Birthright Tour

Young overseas Chinese can now go on an (almost) free two-week trip to China. Since 1999, the Office of Overseas Chinese Affairs (OOCA), an office of China’s powerful State Council, has organized annual trips, called “root seeking camps,” to help Chinese children growing up abroad stay in touch with their national heritage. Many of these camps used to charge tuition and fees. 

Tags: china, birthright, chinese diaspora, government pd, smart & soft power, international exchange, culture, education, international image, human rights

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