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.

Consul General of Israel to New England Reaches Out to Teen Leaders for Peace

The Consul General of Israel to New England, Nadav Tamir, in partnership with Friends Forever, a global non-partisan advocacy and awareness organization dedicated to peace...Muslim and Jewish Israeli youth leaders selected for this year’s Life Raft Program visited the United States to conduct team building activities and community service programs, interact with business executives, as well as engage each other in a dialogue on the importance of mutual respect.

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Nomination of Dr. Rajiv Shah as USAID Administrator

Dr. Raj Shah is a leader in the development community, an innovative and results-oriented manager, and someone who understands the importance of providing people around the world with the tools they need to lift themselves out of poverty and chart their own destinies. By nominating Raj to lead the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), President Obama has reaffirmed that development must be a core pillar of American foreign policy.

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Global classroom sets stage for cultural exchange

East Carolina University theater students had to do some digging to uncover their latest stage production, an adaptation of the Peruvian folk of “The Three Shovels.” Students used the Internet to locate a tale of the farmer who loses his shovel in a magical lake. But the story didn't come from Amazon.com. It came from the people near the Amazon region of Peru through a link between ECU and a university in Lima.

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Calm Down, Chávez

So it was cause for concern when Chávez used last Sunday's program to declare in his characteristically combative style, "Let's not waste a day in our main aim to prepare for war and help the people prepare for war." In a politically unsettled and polarized South America, where arms purchases have nearly doubled over the past five years, reaching almost $50 billion last year, could his Venezuela be the spark needed to light a conflict?
The target of Chávez's ominous warning is Colombia, Venezuela's Andean neighbor.

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Understanding Brunei’s cultural trove through Asean programme

“Asean-COCI People to People Exchange Programmes in particular, have always successfully formed the basis for grassroot level knowledge for all its participants with each individual experiencing first-hand, a deeper accolade of understanding in the host country’s culture and lifestyle. In other words, it is the opportunity to equip ourselves with the knowledge about a certain culture and civilisation. It is here that we can manage to delve a little deeper into whatever misunderstandings and preconceptions we might have.”

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Board to Death

The eight-person Broadcasting Board of Governors, which oversees the five media entities—Voice of America foremost among them—tasked with broadcasting American culture and journalism around the globe. In theory, the board is supposed to serve as a “firewall” between the broadcasters’ mission of journalistic objectivity and the political whims of legislators, who would often rather see taxpayer dollars go towards burnishing America’s image abroad. By statute, the president and minority party nominate four governors each to keep a bipartisan mix. But right now, the BBG is only half full.

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Who should the Coalition try to impress?

One, please understand the hearts and minds that you are trying to win. Most of these minds are illiterate, unschooled and locked in the last century. Most of these hearts are raw, romantic, sentimental and pure as a pearl. Help them start where they actually are and not where you want them to be. At their present level of socio-economic development, Afghans do not truly need a majestic parliament building, a palatial house for the president, five star hotels and nicely suited dummies as rulers in Kabul and Kandahar.

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Cultural Diplomacy and Disney’s appeal abroad

I am still a little confused about the driving force behind cultural diplomacy and whether it is a coordinated effort by the government or simply a consequence of one country’s culture interacting with another. For example, there has been discussion in class about the ‘Korean wave’ and how the Korean government has sought to expand the demand of its cultural industries abroad.

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