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.
State Dept. seeks democracy videos
The U.S. State Dept. has revealed its latest diplomatic tool: user-generated content. At the U.N. on Monday, representatives revealed the Democracy Video Challenge, a government initiative co-sponsored with half a dozen high-profile media orgs including NBC Universal, the DGA and the MPAA...James Glassman, undersecretary of state for public diplomacy, said the initiative was aimed to “convene people for a conversation.” Glassman is a Bush appointee, but stressed that the initiative was thoroughly bipartisan and includes nonmedia sponsors like the Intl.
A global revolution
Currently somewhere between Los Angeles and New York, the BBC's US08 Election bus is an embodiment of the dizzying pace of change at its global news operations. Travelling from coast to coast, reporters, presenters and analysts will file to BBC World Service English, 12 World Service language channels, BBC World News, BBC News service back home, BBC Arabic TV, Radio 1 and Radio 5 Live.
Ukrainians’ Opinions About Other Countries
Proximity rules in Ukrainians' feelings toward other countries, leaving the U.S. low in popularity rankings. That said, Ukrainians seem to have given all countries progressively higher marks over the past couple of years, with the U.S. favorability rating increasing to 49 percent of respondents in 2007 (54 percent among higher-educated respondents) from 43 percent the previous three years. Russia and Belarus top the list, albeit with residents of eastern and southern Ukraine more favorably inclined towards their Slavic neighbors than those living in central and western areas.
Russia beaten by little Georgia
In the Georgia-Russia war, public-relations and public-diplomacy experts marvel at the preparation and effectiveness of Georgia’s media “blitzkrieg.” As soon as Russia counterattacked with tanks and troops, Georgia President Mikheil Saakashvili went on the media offensive, logging five hours of airtime on global news stations in just a few days. Journalists around the world were flooded with e-mails explaining Georgia’s situation, and pro-Georgian Web sites were advertised in major newspapers.
With friends like these, the US hardly needs enemies
It is accepted even in Washington that the Bush administration’s bungled policies in the Middle East have left it with a terrible image. In spite of twists and turns, and readjustments in public diplomacy, the US has failed to encourage a benign perception of its intentions. Determined to claim some success, however, the Bush team, in its last months in office, says the purpose of public diplomacy is not so much to improve the US’s image as to undermine that of al-Qaeda.
Britain and Italy: conference on literary and cultural relations
The Sixth International Conference on Anglo-Italian Literary and Cultural relations is being convened by Prof. Peter Vassallo and Prof. Gloria Lauri-Lucente on September 22 and 23 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The conference is organised in collaboration with the British Council and the Italian Cultural Institute. Scholars will focus on a variety of topics relating to the conference's central theme of Anglo-Italian cross-cultural influences.
A Video Contest to Illustrate Democracy
The Democracy Video Challenge represents an unusual government-private sector educational research group partnership, with YouTube acting as the host of the submitted videos (youtube.com/democracychallenge) and NBC Universal, the Directors Guild of America and Motion Picture Association of America agreeing to screen the winning submissions and meet with the winners as they spend a week visiting New York, Washington and Hollywood. The winners will also meet with government officials and democracy-advocacy groups in the United States.
Russian Invasion Energized Georgian Blogosphere
Russia's invasion of Georgia, including its cyber attacks on Georgian websites, had the effect of making the Georgian blogosphere more important than ever before, not only leading to an increase in the number of blogs and their level of activity but also to a shift in where the blogs are hosted, the languages used and the subjects covered.
Pages
Visit CPD's Online Library
Explore CPD's vast online database featuring the latest books, articles, speeches and information on international organizations dedicated to public diplomacy.