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.
PM, Brown Launch New Academic Exchange Program
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown launched a new academic exchange program on Sunday night during Brown's visit to Israel, signing a joint declaration establishing BIRAX - The Britain-Israel Research and Academic Exchange Partnership.
Rock the Casbah
This professor of Middle Eastern history walks into a bar in Fez, Morocco...Practicing a first-person brand of shuttle diplomacy as he moves between countries and cultures, musicians and Islamic activists, LeVine manages to unpack enough cross-cultural incongruities to mount his own mosh pit follow-up to “You Don’t Mess With the Zohan.”
Western Olympic Ads Cheerlead for China
Pro-China Olympic themed advertising campaigns for Western companies are part of an advertising blitz the likes of which this ostensibly communist nation has never seen. McDonald’s is running a “Cheer for China” television ad. Nike ads feature China’s star hurdler, Liu Xiang, and other Chinese athletes besting foreign competitors. Earlier this year, Pepsi even painted its familiar blue cans red for a limited edition “Go Red for China” promotion.
Coke Paints Beijing Red for Olympic Games
China's capital is decked in red: Red billboards hang at bus stops; a red kiosk sits on a popular shopping street; at the Olympic Green, the nexus of next month's Olympics, a sprawling red building is under construction. The promotions — including a museum two-thirds as large as the World of Coca-Cola, Coke's namesake museum in downtown Atlanta — are part of a record Olympic marketing blitz by the beverage giant to capitalize on its global sponsorships of the Beijing Games and the Olympic torch relay.
A Fresh Face For the Olympics
Beijing, a city of 16 million that never seems to stop, slowed down Sunday and in some ways was unrecognizable...An official Olympics shutdown began Sunday, a drastic last-minute effort to lift the choking pollution that hangs over the city most days and smooth out the rougher edges of a populace that rarely puts on airs for foreigners.
UK Using Public Opinion to Change US Climate Policy
British officials are bypassing Washington and trying to influence American policy towards climate change by appealing to public opinion as embassies worldwide embrace "public diplomacy". Jim Murphy, the Foreign Office minister, told The Daily Telegraph that British diplomats should deal with ordinary people as often as governments.
Marching to Beijing’s Olympic Beat
"The Olympics are all about politics and the athletes are part of it," says Kevin Wamsley, director of the International Centre for Olympic Studies. This August more than 80 world leaders and athletes from 205 countries will be in the parade in Beijing validating, if not embracing, China and its leadership. It's a mark of how successful the IOC has been at selling its brand and "Olympism." "People seem to have a need to hang on to the pureness [of the Olympics] because it provides them with hope ." Wamsley says.
China Opens New Subway Lines for Olympics
Beijing today opened three new subway lines in a bid to reduce traffic on the city's streets and improve air quality ahead of the Olympics.
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