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.
UN International Media Seminar on Mid. East Peace Concludes with Calls to Expand Public Dialogue
The seventeenth International Media Seminar on Peace in the Middle East concluded today, as the head of the United Nations Department of Public Information encouraged journalists to do more to expand the public dialogue about the situation in that region and to help bridge the divides that separated Israelis and Palestinians. “You have enormous power to reach out to the widest possible audience to change the mindsets […] for better understanding and a peaceful future for all people in the Middle East,” said Kiyo Akasaka, Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information.
Iranian Cultural Week Underway in Syria
Idleb Governor, Khalid al-Ahmad, deputy of Iran’s cultural attache Mehdi Khaledzadeh and several other Iranian and Syrian cultural dignitaries attended the opening ceremony. Khaledzadeh made the opening speech and said that Iran and Syria enjoy cultural and historical commonalities, adding that Syria has always been a center of attention for Persian writers and poets.
More History on a Murrow Obsession
Edward R. Murrow's famous remark about the importance of "the last three feet" to bridge personal contact was not unexpectedly raised at last week's conference that I attended at George Washington University, on the 50th anniversary of the Nixon-Krushchev "Kitchen Debate" at the 1959 U.S. Exhibition in Moscow. But few may know that Murrow raised the last few feet issue informally, and more than once, with colleagues at CBS News in New York long before he uttered them as director of the U.S. Information Agency.
Koreans Lack Cultural Confidence
During a seminar to explore the potential of Han Style as a global cultural presence held at the National Assembly, "hallyu" (Korean wave) experts and foreign participants pinpointed Koreans' loss of cultural confidence and ineffective public diplomacy as two major obstacles to globalizing home-grown cultural products.
China’s military cautiously tries out new openness
The Chinese soldiers shot down targets, overpowered black-clad terrorists and then lined up at attention in front of journalists...The People's Liberation Army's new mantra of transparency and public diplomacy is partly meant to reassure outsiders about China's rising military strength.
Congressional Committees Raise Concerns Over Pentagon’s Strategic Communications
The Pentagon spends nearly $1 billion a year on its strategic communications, its contribution to the "war of ideas" that until recent years had been the sole province of the State Department's public diplomacy effort. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have resulted in the military getting money more easily than the diplomatic corps, and the dominance of military personnel in those countries has led to an increasing military role in information operations.
China’s New Arabic TV Station
China officially announced the launch of its long-rumored Arabic TV station CCTV the other day. It thus joins the United States, the UK, France, Germany, Russia and Iran -- and possibly soon India -- in having a state-backed satellite television station broadcasting in Arabic.
The New School and the Israel Conservatory of Music Announce Partnership
The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music has announced it will partner with the Center for Jazz Studies at the Israel Conservatory of Music (ICM) in Tel-Aviv, Israel, to enable Israeli students to earn a degree in jazz on the college level.... New School Jazzs founder Arnie Lawrence had deep connections with the early Israeli Jazz scene, encouraging faculty and student exchanges between the two countries as far back as the 1980s.
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