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.
Unesco identifies endangered cultural traditions
Mexican mariachi music, Chinese shadow puppetry and poetic duelling from Cyprus were among the cultural traditions which have been identified by the United Nations as in need of protection. Such "living" practices, which bind communities together and provide them with a sense of continuity, are in danger of being lost, some more than others
Open-Source Diplomacy
If the State Department proves unable to maintain America’s leadership—either in physical or now increasingly in virtual environments—other institutions, individuals, networks, or governments surely will fill the vacuum, and not always in ways that serve America’s interests.
A Chinese Century? Not Quite
In the narrowest sense, a superpower has the military might to force the world to acquiesce to hegemonic resolve (for example, the Soviet Union). Then there are economic superpowers that influence capital flows and global growth rates. When they struggle, the world does too. Finally, there are soft superpowers, nations that "own" universal values.
EU agrees on measures for developing countries
The European Council has recently amended certain financial insturments for developing countries. First, the EU's financial instruments have been modified so that they can cooperate with developing countries. These cooperations include, economic partnership, market access for European countries, people to people links and public diplomacy.
Japanese ‘fever’ hits young Indonesians
Japan, once the pride of Asia, might be economically weakening due to its long economic stagnation and the rapid rise of China in recent years. But, perhaps unnoticed, Japan has been emerging as a cultural powerhouse in Asia through its soft power projection.
NFL Tries to Tackle China Market Again
The league’s latest attempt to introduce American football to a Chinese audience was more modest: A traveling version of the “NFL Experience” interactive marketing event held Sunday in Shanghai gave locals – and plenty of Americans – a chance to punt, pass and kick like the pros. American football isn’t a natural sell in China.
The Big Think Behind the Arab Spring
Egypt's Kefaya ("Enough" in Arabic) movement was in many ways the forefather of the Arab uprising. It pioneered the use of social media, mastered the art of symbolic demonstrations, and pried open a space in the Egyptian media. This opening of closed regimes to raw information and opinion, a faith in the power of public ideas, was itself one of the key ideas underpinning the Arab uprisings.
Giant Panda Genes to Mapping Deadly E. Coli Show China’s Science Ambition
Gains in civilian technologies offer a less-threatening way for the country...to recapture a leading role as a technological power. Having access to technology and being a science destination of choice “enhances China’s soft power for sure,”...The government backing and growth prospects also help lure and retain talent, especially people who have spent time overseas.
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