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.

Lebanon Prime Minister Saad Hariri Calls for Economic Development

BEIRUT: Prime Minister Saad Hariri on Sunday called for job creation across the Middle East to boost regional stability and counter extremist ideology. “This goal can only be achieved through the stimulation of economic growth and full partnership between the public and private sectors,” Hariri said, speaking at the 17th Doha Forum in Qatar.“In the age of globalization, extremism has become globalized, and so have terrorism and dangers,” he continued. “There is no way to confront them except by a globalized response.”

Tags: economic development, refugees, lebanon, doha forum, government pd

Sri Lanka To Improve Its Higher Education With World Bank Support

The World Bank Board of Directors today approved $100 million in financing to support Sri Lanka’s higher education sector. This new initiative will help increase enrollment in priority disciplines, improve the quality of degree programs and promote research and innovation in the higher education sector. Building on experience in the higher education sector since 2003, the new Accelerating Higher Education Expansion and Development (AHEAD) operation is the first in Sri Lanka to use the World Bank Program for Results lending instrument. 

Tags: world bank, sri lanka, higher education, STEM programs, Cultural Diplomacy

Armenia and Turkey’s Genocide Row: Battleground Hollywood

The long-lasting battle between Turkey and Armenia over the acceptance or denial of the Armenian genocide has gone to Hollywood, which has wheeled out two historic epics to offer competing perspectives on the World-War-I-era massacre. The Promise and The Ottoman Lieutenant are both panoramic love stories set in the chaotic twilight of the Ottoman Empire, but worlds apart.

Tags: united states, armenia, turkey, genocide, historical dispute, historical memory, hollywood

USAID Trains, Empowers 105 Persons Living With Disabilities

One hundred and five Kogi residents living with various disabilities have been trained on various skills by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).[...] Mrs. Bola Oyelembu, the State Coordinator of USAID, in a brief speech at the ceremony, said that the initiative was to open windows of opportunity for people living with disabilities. “The programme aims at giving them some hope and encouragement; we wanted to let them know that they are loved and cherished by the society,” she said.

Tags: usaid, Disable people, nigeria, united states, training, foreign aid

Indian Entrepreneurs Are Lending Their Technologies To Countries In Need

Forget that fancy word ‘smart city’. A country or community must have uninterrupted electricity 24 hours a day, clean water, knowledge of agricultural pattern to grow crops through the year and no wastage of water. Securing these few resources (water and energy in the form of food and electricity) are essential for sustainable living.It’s when a community does not have these resources that migration to regions occur triggering a domino effect of over population, and a high pressured race to grab resource now under supplied. 

Tags: csr, india, technology, zimbabwe, civil society, non-state pd

How Indonesia Promotes Diversity for Global Harmony

Indonesia is seeking to promote diversity for global harmony through the Indonesian Arts and Culture Scholarship (IACS) 2017 program by inviting 60 international students from 47 countries.The IACS, or locally known as the BSBI, has been organized since 2003 and is aimed at showcasing Indonesia's commitment to enhancing cooperation in social and cultural fields around the world. From 2003 until 2016, the scholarship has been awarded to 718 alumni from 63 countries.

Tags: indonesia, cultural exchange, BSBI, IACS, government pd, asean, south pacific

Aamir Khan’s Soft Power Coup in China

Aamir Khan may have staged a soft power coup in China. His earthy, grassroots advocacy in Dangal of gender rights, set in semi-urban but aspirational India, has struck an emotional chord with a young, curious, tech-savvy generation of the “Middle Kingdom”.Netizens have already set alight Weibo — the Chinese equivalent of Twitter — with fulsome praise of Mr. Khan, and the breezy, non-condescending, but powerful messaging of his film. One viewer has praised the actor as India’s national treasure.

Tags: Cultural Diplomacy, movie diplomacy, india, Aamir Khan, feminist values, netizen, weibo, china, Middle Kingdom

Falling for Feijoas: The Fruit New Zealand Wants The World to Love

To most New Zealanders, imagining life without feijoas is almost unthinkable.[...] Pole to Pole, based in New Zealand’s Bay of Plenty region, export Zeijoa-brand feijoas around the world. Its target market is clear: New Zealand has one of the largest diasporas of any country in the world, with an estimated 600,000 citizens in Australia alone. Forget about not being able to vote, or the university fees hike: New Zealanders never feel less at home in Australia than for the three months of the year friends and family back home are experiencing peak feijoa fatigue.

Tags: fruit, new zealand, australia, diaspora, feijoas

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