With tension mounting over a confusing visa directive concerning Chinese language teachers in the US, the two sides had quickly reached out for dialogue and successfully found a solution within a couple of days to avoid any further misunderstanding. On May 17, without consulting the Chinese side, Lerner signed a controversial visa policy directive and sent it to US universities that sponsor Confucius Institutes, through which the Chinese government promotes Chinese language and culture overseas.

Tags: public diplomacy, us department of state, confucius institutes, visas, confucius institutes project

There is much misconception in the general public about the role and functions of diplomats in today’s world. The popular view of diplomats being past masters in deception is the opposite of the truth. Good diplomacy does not try to deceive. When once a diplomat gains a reputation for intrigue, his value gets badly affected.

Tags: government pd, public diplomacy, diplomats, diplomatic theory

The latest matters at hand kicked off with the burlesque. Norwegian-Iranian satirist Amir Asgharnejad, a sort of Norwegian version of Borat, claimed he was stripped and forced by Azerbaijani policemen to step on an Iranian flag in the Baku airport, Norwegian media reported. Norway reportedly nearly pulled its Eurovision contestant, Tooji, out of the contest over the incident and a diplomatic exchange is ongoing.

Tags: Cultural Diplomacy, public diplomacy, azerbaijan, norway

The U.S. Department of State has overstepped its authority in issuing a policy against the use of paid recruiters for overseas students. That was the charge made during a panel discussion on Friday, the final day of the annual meeting of Nafsa: Association of International Educators. Mitch Leventhal is a founder of the American International Recruitment Council, or Airc, a group that develops standards of ethical practices and a system for certifying overseas recruiters.

Tags: public diplomacy, cultural exchange, us department of state, visas, international students

Jon Carson, the White House Director of the Office of Public Engagement, will deliver keynote remarks during the opening session of the Uncommon Alliances Forum on June 4 in Washington, D.C. The event is a one-day interactive workshop about public-private partnerships and is co-sponsored by the U.S. Department of State and the Institute for Corporate Responsibility at the George Washington University School of Business.

Tags: government pd, public diplomacy, us department of state, corporate diplomacy, gwu

Half The Sky, the best-selling book written by Pulitzer Prize winning couple Nick Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn, is turning into a revolutionary gaming concept, targeting women in the developing world. Three mobile games, to be released in June for feature phones, teach women important entrepreneurial, health and business skills by playing casual games.

Tags: media, public diplomacy, social media, new technology, non-state pd, women, half the sky

It's a story that's so fantastic, so full of twists and turns, that it would be hard to make up. Manjiro left Japan for his first fishing trip at age 14, but was swept away from the coast and shipwrecked, Preus explains. After surviving for five months on an island, he was picked up by an American whaling ship and brought to the U.S., where he studied and had many adventures.

Tags: united states, Cultural Diplomacy, public diplomacy, japan

The culture that teaches that a king could become a slave and a slave could become a king in their midst and that the way a child is born is the same way a slave is born put the Yoruba culture up front amongst world cultures, East, West, North and South. In Western Nigeria it is not so much where you come from but how willing to assimilate and be accommodated as one of theirs, never had ethnic roundup. Always survive by their wish for others sometime to a fault.

Tags: Cultural Diplomacy, public diplomacy, africa, nigeria, yoruba culture