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.
John Bitter, The Jax Symphony Director and Denazifier
The forgotten story of how one of Jacksonville's young and talented Symphony Directors reconstructed the cultural milieu of Germany, including its denazification, immediately after World War Two. Join us after the jump for the story of how John Bitter, who was only 25 years old when he became the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra director during the 1930s went to Berlin to draw the poison out of its high culture.
Radio Days in South Sudan
To reach people in a conflict, sometimes low-tech is the best tech. The local communities in South Sudan’s Greater Upper Nile region have borne the brunt of the politically driven violence that began in December 2013. Since then, nearly 2 million people have been forced from their homes. Farmers have been unable to plant their crops due to continuing insecurity, increasing the threat of famine, and outbreaks of disease like Cholera have struck refugee camps and conflict-affected areas alike. In the midst of this, communication has broken down.
Stung by FIFA furore, Qatar's Soft Power at Risk
DOHA, June 1 (Reuters) - "It will blow over" tends to be Qatar's unofficial response to criticism of its World Cup bid, but with a FIFA corruption scandal exploding onto the world's front pages, the Gulf state has glumly realised it may have a real fight on its hands. Super-rich Qatar would suffer no economic pain if it lost the right to host the world's top soccer event. At stake is influence, including its use of sport as a platform to operate on the global stage, opening doors to finance, media, diplomacy, property and tourism.
Soft Diplomacy: ‘Doraemon’ Scores Top Take for Animated Movie in China
BEIJING – The latest “Doraemon” movie has scored the biggest box-office revenue for animated films in China, brightening the atmosphere between the two countries as they gradually mend strained ties.
“Stand By Me Doraemon,” a three-dimensional movie, was released in theaters across China last Thursday. It was the first Japanese movie shown in China after the Japanese government effectively nationalized the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea in September 2012, touching off strong reactions among both the Chinese leadership and public.
The Football Player Who Killed ‘Football Diplomacy’
In March 2003, Recep Tayyip Erdogan became the Prime Minister of Turkey, replacing Abdullah Gul; the latter took the post of the Foreign Minister. Meanwhile, Ahmet Davutoglu was invited to become the Prime Minister’s chief foreign policy adviser. This triumvirate would shape Turkish foreign policy for the next decade. The “Armenian opening” was one of the most challenging tasks for these foreign policy makers of Ankara.
Cultural Economy and the Soft Power of the Forgotten Portfolio
Should public servants consider cultural impact when developing policies? Julianne Schultz says cultural policy has been undervalued, but combating Australia’s cultural deficit has been stymied by equating culture with arts, and arts defined quite narrowly as the non-commercial sector. It’s time to think much more seriously about culture. For years we have bought the Clinton truism, “it’s the economy, stupid”, but this simple binary no longer provides sufficient guidance for the future.
The EU Approach to Science Diplomacy
The EU approach to science diplomacy, I wish to see, is simple. Investing in science and research for its ability to establish unity, as much as for its ability to stimulate intellectual and economic progress. Known in America for a long time, science diplomacy is an emerging term in the EU context, and a recent one at broader international level.
Click of Mahjong Tiles in US Heralds Powerful Cultural Diplomacy for China
Mahjong is nearly ubiquitous in China. The clicking of tiles is a subtle background noise that visitors might notice as they stroll the streets and parks of the country. Mahjong is not new to the world outside of China, but its rising popularity is making the game into a de-facto form of Chinese cultural diplomacy. [...] Foreign visitors took note of the game's popularity and entrepreneurs exported the game from China to the US in the 1920s.
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