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.
UAE Provided Dh173bn in Foreign Aid
The Ministry of International Cooperation and Development said the UAE has provided Dh173 billion in foreign aid to 178 countries and geographical areas between 1971 and 2014. The report noted that the UAE ranked as the world's most generous donor in 2013 and 2014 and became an international role model of relief and assistance of millions of people affected by natural and man-made disasters and crises.
Cuba, An Ally We Need
We are on the threshold of an historic opportunity to mend a badly broken relationship with our Caribbean neighbor, but Cuba is much more than a neighbor - she is a long lost relative, a source of wonderful culture, incredible artists and musicians, and several civic examples that we could all learn from. She could also become one of our greatest allies in the Western Hemisphere.
Beijing’s Pivot Towards Africa
China’s approach to winning friends around the world has long been characterised as cheque-book diplomacy, with big events overseas invariably accompanied by top-dollar deals. But President Xi Jinping’s ongoing visit to Africa seems to point to a shift, with China more concerned about politics than pure economics.
Muslim Civil Rights Advocates See the Limitations of Social Media Activism
As soon as news broke that the San Bernardino, Calif., shooters were Muslim, skilled Muslim activists took to social media platforms to denounce Syed Rizwan Farook, 28, and his 27-year-old wife Tashfeen Malik. But after the New York Post’s online headline “Muslim Killers: Terror eyed as couple slaughters 14 in Calif.,” the term “Muslim Killers” began trending with more than 10,000 tweets.
Power of Volunteerism Can Help Build More Sustainable World, Says Ban on International Day
To celebrate the power of the volunteerism, United Nations Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon is marking the International Volunteer Day by emphasizing that volunteering fosters creativity, “draws strength from our passions and connects us to those who need us most.”
For Refusing to be Bought and Sold
Alizadeh secretly recorded a video for her rap song, “Brides for Sale.” “I scream for a body exhausted in its cage,” she sings in Farsi, “a body that broke under the price tags you put on it.” After posting the video on YouTube in October 2014 [...] she was offered a scholarship to a high school in central Utah. The ordeal is the subject of Sonita, a documentary that was selected to be screened at the International Documentary Film Festival in Amsterdam this November.
With Dancers and Cocktails, a Cuban Ambassador Tentatively Begins Cultural Charm Offensive
Meridian International Center President Stuart Holliday said the venue was a natural spot for Cabañas to make one of his first forays into the world of cultural diplomacy — a U.S. organization that’s into “bridging cultures” offers a sort of soft opening for Cuban diplomats to begin their charm offensive.
Museum of the Future: Tool of Soft Power?
Gail Dexter Lord -co-founder and co-president of Lord Cultural Resources– and Ngaire Blankenberg – senior consultant at Lord Cultural Resources -proposed an update of the concept of soft power, by operating in particular a displacement of its scope (Cities, Museums and Soft Power, The AAM Press, 2015).
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