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.

Canada and Israel expand relations

Canada and Israel took another step forward to strengthen bilateral relations by signing an agreement to jointly foster economic and social development in the developing world. The pact was signed last week in Ottawa by Margaret Biggs, the president of the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), and Daniel Carmon, director of Israel’s Agency for International Development Cooperation (Mashav).

Tags: Cultural Diplomacy, middle east, government pd, public diplomacy, israel, canada

Why India is reluctant to host Israeli Prez Shimon Peres

The India-Israel friendship has been flying very well under the radar for years, arguably to the benefit of both sides. But Israel now wants a public acknowledgement of the bond. It would like India to invite President Shimon Peres for a visit to put a seal on the relationship and take it to a higher level.

Tags: middle east, government pd, public diplomacy, india, public opinion, israel

A Palestinian boycott of Israeli goods won’t hurt Israel

Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad called upon Palestinians on Saturday to boycott Israeli products, as a response to the Netanyahu government’s decision not to transfer to the PA the taxes and customs duties it is due to receive.

Tags: middle east, government pd, public diplomacy, israel, palestine, hamas

Israeli embassy’s Facebook page says Palestinians would ‘lynch’ Jesus and Mary

The official Facebook page of Israel’s embassy to Ireland this morning posted, and then abruptly deleted, a provocative message arguing that “hostile Palestinians” would “lynch” Jesus Christ and his mother, Mary, if they lived in today’s Bethlehem... The Facebook message, which begins “A thought for Christmas,” included an image of Jesus and Mary. It was live for about two hours before being deleted.

Tags: government pd, public diplomacy, social media, israel, new technology, religion, facebook, ireland

America’s First Big Digital Defeat

The open Internet, available to people around the world without the permission of any government, was a great liberation. It was also too good to last. Authoritarian governments this month won the first battle to close off parts of the Internet.

Tags: united states, media, government pd, public diplomacy, non-state pd, united nations, internet freedom, telecommunications, internet politics

Conversations With Whales: The eRepublik 2012 Summit

Last weekend I partied in Romania. I had been invited there by a game developer, eRepublik, to attend an event celebrating the fifth anniversary of their game (also called eRepublik). eRepublik is one of my favourite consulting clients, so I was happy to be invited to participate in the festivities in downtown Bucharest and see what they had been up to.

Tags: soft power, Cultural Diplomacy, public diplomacy, romania, gaming, virtual diplomacy

Citizen Ambassadors of Nigeria

The goal of the author of Citizen Ambassadors of Nigeria is to bring to the forefront a theory called track two diplomacy by which non-officials like businessmen, academics, retired civil and military officials, public figures, and social activists engage in ambassadorial works targeted at improving the image of a country.

Tags: soft power, Cultural Diplomacy, nation branding, public diplomacy, nigeria

Shasta County Board in California had its 1st Hindu invocation in 162 years

Shasta County Board of Supervisors started its day in Redding (California, USA) with Hindu prayers on December four for the first time since its 1850 creation, containing verses from world’s oldest existing scripture.

Tags: united states, Cultural Diplomacy, government pd, public diplomacy, faith diplomacy, california, hindu

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