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.

No Longer Just Food: Communities Create Assets to Build Food Security in South Sudan

As USAID’s Food for Peace Officer assigned to South Sudan since October 2011, I have seen firsthand how U.S. government food assistance programs are simultaneously supporting communities’ efforts to create assets that strengthen their food security while providing vital timely assistance to food insecure South Sudanese.

Tags: united states, government pd, aid diplomacy, usaid, south sudan, food security

Syria Hackers Target New York Times Website

Media companies including the New York Times, Twitter and the Huffington Post lost control of some of their websites after hackers supporting the Syrian government breached the Australian internet company that manages many major site addresses. The Syrian Electronic Army, a hacker group that has previously attacked media organisations that it considers hostile to the government of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, claimed credit for the Twitter and Huffington Post hacks in a series of Twitter messages late on Tuesday.

Tags: middle east, new technology, twitter, syria, bashar al-assad, huffington post, syrian electronic army, new york times, hacking

MLK Jr. And The US Civil Rights Movement’s Impact On The UK

Today marks the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington, and of Dr. King’s pivotal “I Have a Dream” speech, an event that will be commemorated later on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, in the very same spot where Dr. King spoke. Staff at the British Embassy are honoured to join people from across the globe in marking the anniversary. As we reflect on this historic occasion, we look at some of the connections between Dr. King’s work and the UK

Tags: Cultural Diplomacy, united kingdom, civil rights, march on washington, british embassy, martin luther king

Public Diplomacy and the Third Metric

Huffington Post readers may be familiar with Arianna Huffington’s campaign to redefine success away from the two metrics of money and power toward a third which includes well-being, wisdom, and our ability to wonder and give back. The old, masculine signifiers of success lead to burnout, sleep deprivation and general grumpiness. Businesses should instead take care of their workforce, and indeed encourage their workers to take care of themselves. A healthy, happy, motivated workforce should be a symbol of success in its own right.

Tags: united states, soft power, public diplomacy, influence, power, third metric

Leading MENA Pay-TV Network Buys South Asian Content Provider

OSN, a leading pay-TV network in the Middle East and North Africa, announced on Monday its acquisition of one of the largest providers of South Asian pay-TV content, Pehla Media & Entertainment. “The strategic acquisition allows us to broaden our appeal to another sector of the market that is of high importance in this region, so we can offer the very best services across our now much wider range of languages,” OSN CEO David Butorac told Al Arabiya.

Tags: middle east, media, international broadcasting, south asia

Olympics in Washington? Group Interested In Making It Happen

Eleven years after a joint Washington-Baltimore bid to host the Summer Olympics was snubbed, a group based in the nation’s capital announced Tuesday its interest in trying again. This time, the initiative doesn’t formally include Baltimore, though preliminary plans call for staging events in Maryland’s largest city, as well as Northern Virginia and the District.

Tags: united states, Cultural Diplomacy, sports diplomacy, olympics, summer olympics, 2024 summer olympics, baltimore

Spanish Mayor Publishes Facebook Mock-Up of What Gibraltar Would Look Like During A Spanish Invasion

A Spanish mayor has sparked outrage by using his Facebook page to publish a picture of Gibraltar – as it would look if the Spanish army invaded. The image shows a Spanish flag flying high on the Rock, the silhouette of a bull on the lower slopes and triumphant marching Spanish troops in the foreground. The mock-up appeared on the page of Francisco Javier Pérez Trigueros, a nationalist whose previous posts include details on the history of the Spanish flag.

Tags: government pd, europe, united kingdom, facebook, spain, gibraltar

Hispanic Artist Transforms Gang Graffitis into Works of Art

A street artist is dedicated to repainting the graffiti daubed by street-gang members around his Chicago neighborhood, transforming the vandalized walls into naturalistic landscapes, comic-strip characters and historical figures of the United States and Mexico.

Tags: united states, Cultural Diplomacy, art diplomacy, mexico, hispanic, graffiti, chicago

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