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.
Obama Reaches Out To Muslims On Middle East Trip
Obama calls the "current trajectory" in Mideast "profoundly negative" for Israeli, U.S. interests. On Thursday, Obama will be in Cairo, where he will deliver a highly anticipated speech that the White House has characterized as a message to the Arab world — and a high-profile opportunity to reshape America's image among Muslim countries in the region.
Obama Will Try to Form a Personal Connection in Middle East
Aides say the president in his much-awaited speech in Cairo to the Muslim world will emphasize commonalities and mutual respect in an effort to heal a rift that widened in recent years. Aides also say the president is expected to discuss his roots with the Muslim world.
More Americans Turning to Peace Corps
With President Obama extolling the volunteer agency as an exemplar of public service and U.S. diplomacy, applications have jumped. The idealism is tinged with pragmatism, amid joblessness at home.
Perspectives: Social Media as Public Diplomacy
Simply put, social media is public diplomacy. It permits direct and indirect international engagement and empowers individuals as well as groups. Similarly, the same limits that restrict America’s use of social media apply to public diplomacy as a whole. Any improvement in social media will have immediate and lasting effects for the whole government.
Egypt Launches ‘Moderate’ Satellite TV
A group of prominent clerics has announced the launch of a new satellite channel in Egypt that will promote the face of what it calls moderate Islam, in order to counter the "distortion of Islam into a violent, intolerant force." The non-governmental channel, Al-Azhari, is the brainchild of clerics associated with Al-Azhar University, considered the highest authority of religious teachings in Sunni Islam...The channel will air on both ArabSat and NileSat, the main satellite carriers in the Middle East, making it available to Muslim and non-Muslim viewers throughout the Middle East and beyon
Obama’s Egypt Speech: What He Should Say to the Muslim World
To provide context for this event, the Saban Center at Brookings’ Project on U.S. Relations with the Islamic World has asked leading experts and policy-makers from the United States and the Muslim world to submit commentary on what they hope to hear from President Obama’s speech.
Obama Faces Challenges, Mixed Expectations On Speech To Islamic World
But outside of political and intellectual circles, many Cairo residents appear to be enthusiastic about Obama's visit. Faten Mustafa, a mother of two children in Cairo, tells RFE/RL she is ready to welcome Obama: "I hope the visit leads to an improvement in relations -- and a solution to the long-standing Israeli-Palestinian problem," she says. "And I also hope that the visit helps improve the image of the Arab world to outsiders and the image of America within the Arab world."
Checking the Enemy’s Ideology
Obama's speech in Cairo must be complemented by a campaign to empower Muslims who do not share the Islamists' vision for humanity. The administration should take its time and get this right. Traditional State Department public diplomacy should be enhanced, but its overall mission should be expanded and new tools are needed.
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