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.
Digital Diplomacy: Understanding Islam through Virtual Worlds
The Understanding Islam through Virtual Worlds project specifically endeavored to consider how the Internet can lead to a greater firsthand understanding of Islam for policymakers, diplomats, and people worldwide, and to explore how the Internet allows people to experience the culture of Islam in a manner conducive to substantive dialog between cultures. The conclusions presented in this report are the result of nearly a year of research across the Internet, which we consider to be one virtual world fed by countless websites.
US to Send Badminton Team to Iran
The Obama administration is sending a women's badminton team to Iran this week as part of a broad bid to engage the Iranian people through educational and cultural exchanges, the State Department said Monday. Amid a wide-ranging review of U.S. policy toward the Islamic Republic, the trip is the new administration's first foray into such exchanges that began while President George W. Bush was in the White House.
Critics Say U.S. Radio Program for Darfur Goes Soft on Sudan
It was an inspired idea -- bring independent radio programming to one of the most isolated, war-scarred regions of the world, providing millions of displaced Darfuris with news about the political, military and humanitarian responses to their plight. Funded with a million dollars from the U.S. State Department, Radio Afia Darfur, a half-hour shortwave radio program, is beamed three times a day into war-torn Darfur, Sudan, and refugee-packed eastern Chad.
Debating the Ban on Domestic Propaganda
The recent public diplomacy conference was organized to critically reconsider Smith-Mundt. Many presenters supported changing the Act; specifically, removing or watering down its restriction on domestic dissemination. Among the reasons given were that the restriction, which effectively divides the world into U.S. residents and everyone else, is outdated in the global information age; that it hampers public diplomacy efforts.
“Media as Global Diplomat” Summit - Join a Webcast and Chat
An event on Tuesday morning in Washington D.C. (Tuesday evening Asia time) called Media as Global Diplomat, organized by the U.S.
Pentagon Recommends ‘Whole-of-Government’ National Security Plans
Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates has formally adopted the concept that national security planning and budgeting cannot be done by the Pentagon alone, according to the Defense Department's newly released Quadrennial Roles and Missions Review Report... "We are committed to using our operational and informational activities and strategic communication processes in support of the Department of State's broader public diplomacy efforts..."
Short-staffed USAID tries to keep pace
During her Senate confirmation hearing a few weeks ago, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton offered a blunt assessment of the U.S. Agency for International Development, founded under President Kennedy to revamp foreign assistance. "I think it's fair to say that USAID, our premier aid agency, has been decimated," she said. "It has half the staff it used to have. It's turned into more of a contracting agency than an operational agency with the ability to deliver."
Al Jazeera English To Air Appeal For Gaza Relief
Al Jazeera English has pledged to run public service announcements on UK prime time on Al Jazeera English in support of the appeal of Disasters Emergency Committee’s humanitarian aid initiative for the victims of Gaza hostilities. The channel will not charge any sum for the service. The announcements started running on January 26 and were aired to the citizens of United Kingdom and in many countries across the world. Al Jazeera English reaches an estimated audience of over 130 million households.
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