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.

What Are Conflict Cafes and Can They Actually Change the World?

This is Conflict Café, a month-long pop-up restaurant that uses food as a vehicle for dialogue on conflict and peace building. Organized by London-based peace building charity International Alert, each week of the pop-up brings a new chef and cuisine from the many regions in which the organization works. 

Tags: conflict cafe, gastrodiplomacy, soft power, culinary diplomacy, Cultural Diplomacy, international alert, conflict kitchen, london, united states, syria, colombia, peace building, awareness

How Hackathons Could Make World Peace a Reality

Activist and technologist Hera Hussain runs workshops for a global network of social entrepreneurs known as MakeSense and, as the founder of advocacy group Chayn—an open-source project that leverages technology to empower women against violence and oppression so they can live happier and healthier lives—spends a great deal of her time working on issues at the intersection of tech and gender.

Tags: non-state pd, digital diplomacy, middle east, Cultural Diplomacy

Botswana: Fashion is Meant to Express, Not to Impress

Go with the ‘fro: celebrating Botswanan women in the 21st century. Botswanan fashion artists Gatsh Fros set up a shoot for the launch edition of what they say will be the country's first ever fashion magazine.

Tags: non-state pd, Cultural Diplomacy, botswana, africa, fashion diplomacy

Syrian Composer Spreading Harmony with Pianos for Peace

Malek Jandali wants to use what he calls the “soft power” of his art to bring about a solution [to the effects of war]. A classical composer and part-time Atlanta resident, Jandali wants to use music to unite, and he plans to do that in an unusual way.

Tags: Cultural Diplomacy, non-state pd, international exchange, middle east, syria, music diplomacy

Who is Peng Liyuan? China's First Lady Famous For Singing Attends US Visit With Husband Xi Jinping

Liyuan's public persona has not disappointed in providing a spark of personality to China's image abroad. The high-profile spouse, widely regarded as the most visible since since Jiang Qing, the late wife of revolutionary leader Mao Zedong, has played a significant role in diplomacy.

Tags: Cultural Diplomacy, non state pd, asia pacific, china, xi jinping, peng liyuan

Israel Courts African-American Evangelicals, Despite Some Hurdles

The International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, a charity supporting dozens of social projects in Israel and the Jewish diaspora, as well as Israel's tourism ministry [...is] part of a new outreach effort to African-American churches by the interfaith group, which has offices in Jerusalem, Chicago, Toronto and Seoul.

Tags: international exchange, faith diplomacy, non state pd, middle east, israel

Global Diplomacy Has Gone Digital and Australia Has Been Left Behind

The rapid acceleration of digital technologies has been rupturing the conservative profession of diplomacy for the better part of a decade [...] Without deft digital diplomacy, Australia leaves itself unable to respond to the risks that [their] citizens and exporters increasingly face overseas.

 

Tags: government pd, nation branding, australia, oceania, digital diplomacy

Under Image of Che Guevara, Francis Says Christian Service 'Never Ideological'

In his first major address during a 10-day trip combining visits to the long-isolated but neighboring nations of Cuba and the United States, Pope Francis on Sunday gave a wide-ranging treatise on the Christian call to be at service to one another. [...] [T]he pope continued: "Service is never ideological, for we do not serve ideas, we serve people."

Tags: pope francis, cuba, papal diplomacy, united states, raul castro, cuban revolution

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