Crowdsourcing support can become a process where new ideas are mined and become part of a policy package for difficult relationships. [...] It has been said again and again that this is the age of digital diplomacy. For diplomacy to be digital requires, as one ambassador has said, that  “we do things differently and develop new skills – the secrecy and exclusivity of the diplomatic bag no longer applies.

Tags: op-ed, digital diplomacy, foreign policy, internet, social media, connectivity, dialogue

More parts of the north-east will be dancing to an international beat this summer when a major festival spreads its influence further than ever. Musicians from 18 countries spread rights across the globe are due to arrive later this month as part of the Aberdeen International Youth Festival (AIYF).

Tags: Cultural Diplomacy, youth exchange, youth diplomacy, aberdeen, international youth festival, scotland

The Bureau of Foreign Trade and Taiwan External Trade Development announced that the Taiwan Excellence logo, the mark of outstanding Taiwanese achievements, will appear on the jerseys of the Italian volleyball team, Top Volley Latina. This season the entire team will wear the Taiwan Excellence emblem on their jersey. The move supports the success of Huang Pei-hong, the only Taiwanese member of this international team and promotes Taiwanese recognition through sports. 

Tags: soft power, taiwan, italy, taiwan excellence, international recognition, volleyball

Can a building that meets rigorous security standards also be beautiful, and if so, at what cost? Modern embassy design revolves around this question. [...] Yet embassies aren't just meant to shield Foreign Service officers from harm. They are also the face the United States presents to the world. For many people, it's the first point of contact with its government, and a visual key to American values.

Tags: design, american values, government pd, foreign service, embassy, united states, architecture

The first ever opera festival in the Arab world debuted yesterday, and it took place in Amman. [...] In a statement to The Jordan Times, Barhoum said, “Throughout my career, I have been blessed to work with people from around the globe. Through my music and art, I have realized the importance of cross-cultural connections, and I have seen first-hand how music provides an important bridge that unites cultures from all over the world. With music, we speak one language; a language we can all understand without interpreters.”

Tags: music diplomacy, Cultural Diplomacy, amman opera, jordan, cross cultural exchange, zeina barhoum

A New York theatre venue is hosting nine prominent playwrights from Georgia for a festival premiering their plays within the ongoing Georgian-American Theatre Feast in the city. [...] The Georgian-American Theatre Feast is the latest event run by Red Lab Productions, an international collective with focus on holding performance arts events in promotion of cultural diplomacy.

Tags: Cultural Diplomacy, georgia, new york, theatre, playwrights, red lab productions

In postwar France, two men had a bold, even utopian idea: a peace-loving network of ‘world cities’. [...] The symbol of the global city remains an effective one. As the idea of globalisation falters and tensions between nations ratchet up once more, is the world ready to revisit the older idea of global cities?

Tags: historical memory, global pacifism, mondialism, global citizen, world cities, city diplomacy, cahors, france

The World Bank is working with the UK Government to set up the London Centre for Global Disaster Protection (LCGDP). [...] The centre has been established in partnership with the World Bank and Germany in a bid to grow the role of insurance in mitigating damage caused by natural catastrophes in less economically developed economies (LEDCs) and encourage countries to better manage risk.

Tags: international development, catastrophe center, world bank, london, uk, germany, disaster relief