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.

World Bank to Support South-South Knowledge Exchange on Higher Education Reforms

Officials from Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia working on higher education reform will exchange experiences with Malaysian counterparts at a 4-day workshop beginning today, supported by the World Bank and the British Council Malaysia.

Tags: government pd, non-state pd, tunisia, education diplomacy, malaysia, academic exchange, world bank, morocco, algeria

PSY and Korean Soft Power

So what does that mean about the influence of Korean culture, the image of Korea and the popularity of Korean artists worldwide? Are the viral videos of PSY a testament to Korean soft power? Or reflective of the changing landscape of new media in which hundreds of millions of netizens decided to share this humorous music video by a ‘funny Asian guy’ with their friends?

Tags: soft power, Cultural Diplomacy, media, public diplomacy, social media, south korea, internet diplomacy, youtube, psy

Laughing, Tweeting and Eating: The Soft Power of Shaquille O’Neal

Over the past several years, the idea of soft power has gained currency with political theorists. It is a way to describe a nation’s ability to persuade others to do what it wants without the hard power of force, threats or bribery. It includes culture, trade, diplomacy and engagement.

Tags: united states, soft power, media, social media, twitter, internet diplomacy

Ties ‘Facing Public Opinion Challenge’

On Monday, several Chinese State media commentaries issued to coincide with Mr. Li’s visit argued that public diplomacy was one of the biggest challenges facing the relationship, whether in dealing with the boundary dispute or addressing “ill-conceived preconceptions” in both countries.

Tags: china, media, government pd, public diplomacy, india

Zimbabwe: Italian Embassy in Drive to Boost Business Ties

Relations between Zimbabwe and Italy are set to further improve after the Italian Embassy in Harare launched introductory courses in the Italian language to interested Zimbabweans free of charge with a view to strengthening the growing business and cultural ties between the two countries.

Tags: Cultural Diplomacy, public diplomacy, cultural exchange, education diplomacy, italy, zimbabwe

Jon Stewart - the New Voice of America in China?

The new Voice of America for young Chinese. Humor may not always translate well, but Jon Stewart is picking up a lot of fans in China. His gloves-off political satire is refreshing in a country where that's a rarity. Especially when it's directed against their own leaders.

Tags: china, united states, Cultural Diplomacy, media, public diplomacy, jon stewart

Ethnic Groups Voice Optimism, Anger Ahead of White House Visit

Burma’s ethnic leaders have accused the United States of providing inadequate support for the Southeast Asian country’s peace process and are urging US President Barack Obama to stress the issue during his meeting with Burmese counterpart Thein Sein on Monday at the White House.

Tags: united states, government pd, public diplomacy, public opinion, barack obama, myanmar, burma

Japan Considers English Specialist Unis

The 30 universities would enter student exchange partnerships with overseas colleges, and would conduct more than half of their lectures in English. The government would support another 100 universities to develop “special education programs for practical English”, the newspaper reported.

Tags: government pd, public diplomacy, australia, japan, education diplomacy, academic exchange, language exchange

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