Dressed in a nun’s habit, with the crowd on its feet and a tattooed rap-star judge fighting back tears, Sister Cristina belts out a hip-shaking rendition of “No One,” by Alicia Keys, that brings down the house at auditions for Italy’s equivalent of The Voice.  Her performance quickly goes viral on the Internet, topping 47 million views on YouTube. Now, gossip magazines have splashed her on their covers in her habit and featured her in articles.

Tags: faith diplomacy, italy, europe, music diplomacy, internet diplomacy, catholicism, soft power, social media, new technology

The online ruckus over the planned Philippine Independence Day celebration on Orchard Road in Singapore is the latest ominous sign of rising xenophobia in the prosperous city state.

Tags: diaspora diplomacy, new technology, social media, media, philippines, public opinion, singapore, non-state pd, non-state actors, southeast asia, xenophobia

Can learning about the opposing side’s suffering lead to reconciliation? Palestinian Professor Mohammed Dajani believes it can, prompting him to take a group of his students to visit Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp.

Tags: Cultural Diplomacy, faith diplomacy, palestine, conflict, israel, middle east, jewish, muslim, holocaust, education diplomacy, public diplomacy

Last month, Russian President Vladimir Putin dismissed the internet as a CIA project. During a speech at a media forum in St. Petersburg, he said Russia would have to "fight for its interests" online. New laws passed in the last few days show just how serious he was.

Tags: russia, press freedom, journalism, vladimir putin, ukraine, media, blogs, internet, social media, censorship

Beverly Hills city council has condemned the government of Brunei for introducing new laws that impose harsh penalties, including death by stoning for homosexuality and adultery, and called on it to either change its laws or sell two of its most famous hotels. The council unanimously passed on Tuesday a resolution criticising Brunei, which has drawn fire for a controversial penal code announced last month. Brunei owns the Beverly Hills Hotel and the Hotel Bel-Air, two properties in its Dorchester Collection.

Tags: brunei, sultan of brunei, shari'a law, lgbt, human rights, beverly hills, beverly hills hotel, hotel bel-air, celebrity diplomacy, city diplomacy, ellen degeneres, gay rights, united states

I attended the 3rd Los Angeles Turkish Film Festival (LATFF) this past March at the Hollywood’s legendary Egyptian Theatre. When I first heard about the festival last summer from a friend, I honestly thought it would be almost impossible to hold a successful Turkish event in Los Angeles. First, I was so much absorbed in my work on Turkey’s popular culture exports and their role as public diplomacy tools.

Tags: turkey, diaspora, diaspora diplomacy, los angeles, los angeles turkish film festival, film diplomacy, Cultural Diplomacy, public diplomacy, united states, senem cevik

We sometimes feel like L.A. gets no respect. This megalopolis of billionaire media moguls, extraordinary global food and influential SoCal culture is still often treated by New York media as a backwater of undiscovered delights. But at least the U.K.'s Guardian newspaper gets us. 

Tags: los angeles, city diplomacy, city branding, nation branding, substate diplomacy, california, united states, global cities

Cities can spend a fortune on branding and promotional slogans – but they don't always go to plan. Edinburgh's attempts to rebrand as "Incredinburgh", at a reported cost of £300,000, were scrapped. The city of Leeds got some stick a while back when it was noticed that "Leeds. Live it. Love it" bore a startling resemblance to "Hong Kong. Live it. Love it!" (The advertising agency insisted it had come up with the slogan independently.)

Tags: city diplomacy, city branding, nation branding, edinburgh, daejeon, branding, new york, atlantic city