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.
'Vaccine Diplomacy' in the Middle East
Idea: We need to develop vaccines for neglected tropical diseases in the Middle East and North Africa. [...] Hotez, who was appointed U.S. Science Envoy for the Middle East in 2015, brought his knowledge of these neglected tropical diseases to the turmoil in the Middle East and discovered the makings of a new global epidemic.
Nation’s First Israeli-American Community Center to Open
The facility will provide leadership training, with programs on public diplomacy and pro-Israel advocacy, officials say, equipping young Jews in a fight against the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement against Israel. The movement, launched by Palestinians a decade ago, calls for greater Palestinian rights.
Valentino Doubles Down on Styling White Models in Cornrows for its Spring Campaign
In the photo series, shot by Steve McCurry in a Maasai village in Kenya's Amboseli National Park, the team recreated the runway show look, which also incorporates dreadlocks wrapped into a bun — and has subscribed to the Vogue school of using people of non-European cultures as a backdrop for white models wearing European designers' clothing. Valentino has tried to make clear that the collection and accompanying beauty looks were created in the name of cross-cultural exchange.
An Invitation for H.R. 158 Supporters: 'See You in Iran'
As a challenge to this phenomenon, in September 2015, a group of young Iranian students established "See You in Iran," a Facebook platform where former and future Iran travelers can connect and exchange information. Non-Iranians can share their unfiltered narratives about their visit to Iran, and future travelers can ask questions about their upcoming trips. Through this mechanism, "See You in Iran" aims to promote travel and provide an unguided understanding of Iran, a country that been demonized in the West for a long time.
Obama Shifts Online Strategy on ISIS
The Obama administration on Friday announced an overhaul of its efforts to respond to online propaganda from the Islamic State after months of acknowledgments that it had largely failed in its attempts to counter extremist recruitment and exhortations to violence on social media. The administration has emphasized that it needs the assistance of some of the nation’s biggest technology companies, and a group of top White House and national security officials flew to California on Friday to plead their case with executives.
Obama Administration Plans Shake-up in Propaganda War Against ISIS
The Obama administration is overhauling its faltering efforts to combat the online propaganda of the Islamic State and other terrorist groups, U.S. officials said, reflecting rising White House frustration with largely ineffective efforts so far to cut into ISIS’s use of social media to draw recruits and incite attacks. Officials will create a counterterrorism task force, which will be based at the Department of Homeland Security but aims to enlist dozens of federal and local agencies.
Assessing China’s Plan to Build Internet Power
The latest iteration of China’s decade-old strategy of promoting indigenous innovation, “Internet Power” signals that the Party is no longer just reactive to the existential threat of the Internet; it is now seeking to utilize it for its own economic and political ends.
Pyongyang's Strange Model of Nuclear Diplomacy
What remains unclear is whether North Korea's claims are valid that it had tested a 'hydrogen' device with potentially destructive capabilities many times that of an atomic bomb. A consensus view among nuclear experts is that Pyongyang is exaggerating its technical proficiency for its own purposes aimed both at bolstering the North Korean regime in the eyes of its own people, and at the same time reminding its neighbours of its deterrent capabilities.
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