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.

Aussie Chef Brings Flavorful Fun to Oregon

Chef Outta Water presents a series of food events from Thursday, Sept. 28, to Sunday, Oct. 8, that are an exchange of flavors, friendship and business opportunities between Australia and Oregon. Australian Chef Michael Brine from Townsville, North Queensland, will be the ‘chef outta water’ teaming up with Astoria’s Chef Chris Holen as part of a local makers and food producers tour though Astoria, Portland, Hood River, Bend, and McMinnville. Brine will use his skill to pair ‘down under’ flavors with Oregon produce.

Tags: gastrodiplomacy, soft power, australia, oregon, united states, gastronomy, food diplomacy, exchange, culinary tourism

Sudan Hoping for Chinese Tourism Rise

Sudanese officials are seeking to attract Chinese tourists, touting the impressive scenery and cultural heritage their country has to offer. At a tourism promotion event in Beijing on Wednesday, Sudanese officials also hailed a good relationship with China in making the case that Sudan could be an ideal destination for Chinese tourists. "We have unique tourist sites, ancient cultural heritage and beautiful natural scenery - that's Sudan's real treasure," Omer Eisa Ahmed, Sudanese Ambassador to China, told hundreds of potential tourists and Chinese travel agents at the event.

Tags: tourism diplomacy, sudan, china, soft power, beijing, tourism, people to people exchange

Why Design is Becoming the World's 'Soft Power'

The first London Design Festival was launched in 2003. Since then, around 130 cities across the world have set up their own version. Why? Design is key to building a successful creative economy and a festival is a major gateway to individual creative industries.

Tags: soft power, design, london, art festival, op-ed, beijing, britain, china, brexit

Strengthening People-to-People Relations in ASEAN Through Movies

The Mission of the Republic of Korea to ASEAN, the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of Cambodia to ASEAN, and the ASEAN Secretariat had come together to launch the Korea-ASEAN Cinema Week 2017, which is aimed at strengthening people-to-people relations in the region. [...] "We appreciate this melting pot of values as we pursue shared objectives and bring our vision closer together in building that sense of community and seeing the entire region as a family," he added.

Tags: asean, film diplomacy, asean countries, cinema week, people-to-people diplomacy, regional branding

Japanese Embassy Organises Music Performance

The Japanese Embassy in collaboration with the Pakistan National Council of the Arts organized a joint music performance of Pakistani and Japanese artists titled ‘NIHON Unplugged: Music from Japan and Pakistan’ at the auditorium of National Art Gallery yesterday. [...] To mark the 65th anniversary of diplomatic relations, the Embassy of Japan in Islamabad held a variety of cultural events in various cities of Pakistan throughout the year to further strengthen the existing friendly relations among the people of two countries.

Tags: Cultural Diplomacy, japan, pakistan, music diplomacy, cooperation, relationship management, friendly relations

What is Peacebuilding? Ask the Public

This International Peace Day a striking 84% of people in the UK, US and Germany agree that ‘human beings have the right to live in peace: free from conflict’. [...] Peacebuilding is often an invisible sub-sector of international development. There is no one definition of the term, but it is considered by the United Nations and those that work in the field as a process which goes beyond ending violence to establish the conditions for durable peace and prevent the recurrence of violence.

Tags: op-ed, international development, international peace day, nonviolence, peacebuilding, uk, united states, germany, public opinion

Caravan of Love Takes Peace Message to Indian Families Touched by Hate

Hate crimes, especially on religious grounds, have become increasingly prominent since Modi’s Hindu nationalist government was elected in 2014. [...] Mander has gathered a group of dedicated volunteers who helped to crowdfund the entire trip. They are an eclectic mix – lifelong activists, including a mother and son, along with photographers and seven young priests-in-training from a seminary in Delhi. [...] “We want to create a network of peace communities in every district,” said Suroor Mander, one of the organizers.

Tags: india, caravan of love, peace, Modi, grassroots activism, peace communities, volunteer diplomacy, grassroots, international advocacy

What Can Tech Firms Do to Fight Terror?

The companies say they are acting on this problem. Facebook says it has begun to use artificial intelligence to spot images, videos and text related to terrorism as well as clusters of fake accounts. Meanwhile, Twitter says it suspended 299,649 accounts in the first six months of this year - 75% of these before their first tweet. The companies are now sharing databases of suspicious material, and they have set up the Global Internet Forum to bring together the major players on the issue.

Tags: digital diplomacy & new tech, technology, terrorism, facebook, twitter, google, artificial intelligence, global internet forum

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