Graham is one of several expert speakers who will address a conference titled "Global Competence in the 21st Century" on Oct. 23 at the Rochester Institute of Technology Inn and Conference Center. The conference will explore the role of "citizen diplomacy," especially the role of business. The premise is that in a changing and smaller world, ordinary citizens and businesses play an increasingly important role in diplomacy — in building and sustaining productive and friendly relationships with other countries.

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Iranians on the other hand, again unlike many countries in the Middle East, love the West and particularly the human products of it like education, philosophy, and social science. When Jürgen Habermas came to Iran, he was received like a rock star—so there is a big appetite to talk about democracy in Iran. So, they are pushing the boundaries in a very constant struggle. They are using Internet as a means to develop their activities and these kind of things should be seen in the West.

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With the mediation by the Azeri non-governmental sector, a permanent Georgian-Russian commission was set up in Baku last week. The latest developments in Georgia provoked bitter diplomatic crisis between politicians. So, the founders of the commission believe public diplomacy could be engaged, and say that people themselves should settle Georgia-Russia relations.

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All is not what it seems in the new cold war, if such a thing exists—and most leaders in NATO insist emphatically that it does not. The world is too interdependent, they say, to allow that sort of global standoff. Russia is not the Soviet Union...To talk about responding with what Gates calls "nonmilitary tools of national power"—what others call "soft power"—sounds soft, period. ( But when you have the preponderance of power, you can husband your resources and still contain your adversary.

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Former Canadian ambassadors have come out swinging at the Conservative government's decision to cut funds to arts and cultural programs that helped artists promote their work, and the country, abroad. And while opposition parties say they want to make sure the issue figures prominently in the election, the ambassadors argue the cuts are another blow to Canada's fledgling public diplomacy efforts.

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Election time usually means increased government spending, but this year Canadian artists have been baffled by the recent Conservative cutbacks. The end of the summer saw $40.47 million in cuts to the arts and cultural budget. “The cuts go to the heart of [the Tories’] approach to government intervention in the arts: they fundamentally disapprove of it. They don’t understand the way art as culture is generated,” said Lagacé Dowson. “The Conservatives seem more concerned with building up military and strategic alliances than pushing forward on an agenda of cultural diplomacy,” she said.

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The Group of Seven industrialized countries is outmoded and should be replaced with a new entity that would include growing economies in Asia and Latin America, World Bank President Robert Zoellick said Monday..."We will not create a new world simply by remaking the old," he said. "It should be numberless, flexible, and over time, it could evolve" to fit changing circumstances, including new emerging powers, while serving as a network for frequent interaction.

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Al Qaeda is killing more Muslims than what it calls ‘infidels’, something that is going to be a ‘game changer’ for the terrorist group, according to Peter Bergen of the New America Foundation...He suggested that an earnest effort should be made to address standing Muslim grievances, such as Palestine and Kashmir, which are a potent source of disaffection but the US has done nothing to resolve those problems. He said the US needs better public diplomacy in the world of Islam and it needs to become culturally sensitive to Islam and Muslims.

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