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.
Secretary Clinton to Conduct Digital Town Hall of the Americas
Digital Town Hall of the Americas will be streamed live on the Department of State’s Social Media Hub for the Fifth Summit of Americas (http://townhall.america.gov), powered by Howcast. Content will also be featured on Ustream, Facebook, MySpace, YouTube, Twitter, Orkut, and Hi-5. Secretary Clinton will answer questions submitted through these sites prior to the event as well as from the local Dominican audience in attendance.
Bridging Cultures by Connecting Classrooms
Delegates from 10 countries in the Middle-East met in Kuwait for the British Council's two-day conference on Internationalism in Education. They came together to share their stories; discuss future plans and factors that hinder or encourage the success of the Connecting Classrooms Project. Towards creating active global citizens, the British Council is enabling young Yemenis to learn about their own cultures and increase their understanding of other societies through intercultural dialogue with their peers in the United Kingdom.
New Zealand artist displays potential of generosity
The Institute for Cultural Diplomacy says its field is as old as explorers and traveling merchants. For virtually every embassy in Seoul, people to people exchange is one of the cornerstones in forging strong relations between two countries.
Can Iran Change?
Ever since Mahmoud Ahmadinejad first ran for President of Iran, four years ago, he has shown a canny understanding of communications. He has a blog, called Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s Personal Memos, in which he expounds on God, philosophy, and his childhood, and answers e-mails from readers.
Persian Manuscripts to go on Display in Armenia
Holding manuscript exhibit shows that Iranians and Armenians care about the preservation of their scientific achievements since ancient times and also for the reading of books, mentioned Armenian Minister of Education and Science Spartak Seyranyan during the event. Iran’s cultural attaché in Yerevan Mohammadreza Shakiba said during the ceremony that interchanges between civilizations are possible through books and such an exhibition is an epitome of friendship between the two countries.
Speak Loudly and Carry a Soft Stick: Foreign Policy, Hollywood Style
“American Idol After Iraq: Competing for Hearts and Minds in the Global Media Age,” due for publication in May by Wiley Blackwell, and written by both Nathan Gardels and the long-time film executive and producer Mike Medavoy. The book concedes that hard power will always be needed for hard cases, including, one assumes, the AK-47 wielding thugs who created an international crisis off the coast of Somalia. But it argues that cultural institutions and businesses have a role in exercising “soft power”—the ability to obtain desired outcomes without coercion or payments.
Obama and American Muslims
Barack Obama’s statements in Turkey this week, welcome as they are, play out against a backdrop of increasing tension between his administration and Muslim American organizations. Unless these tensions are addressed quickly and effectively, they risk undermining his public diplomacy.
Japan Looks to Manga Comics to Rescue Ailing Economy
As part of 15 trillion yen of fresh stimulus measures unveiled today, Japan hopes to raise the percentage of its exports of "soft power" - manga, animated films, video games and pop music - from 2% of the total to 18% over the next decade, creating half a million jobs...The cultural affairs agency has reportedly requested 12 billion yen to create a national centre for media art that would promote Japanese pop culture overseas.
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