The UK is preparing to show off the best of its culture in a year of exchange agreed upon during the UK-China Summit in London last year.  The 2015 UK-China Year of Cultural Exchange will comprise two ‘seasons’ of culture – a UK season in China in the first half of 2015 and a China season in the UK in the second half of 2015.

Tags: united kingdom, china, cultural exchange, international exchange, international relations

Nation-branding isn’t a new thing. But the pervasiveness of social media has allowed governments to take ownership of their own social feeds and engage in niche and real-time conversations online, with most countries’ governments having dedicated social media accounts on Twitter and Facebook.

Tags: twitter, facebook, Digital Diplomacy & New Technology, social media, nation branding, government pd

As the State Department confronts a number of global challenges ranging from extremism in the Middle East and Russian aggression in Eastern Europe, a surprising provision in the White House’s newly unveiled budget proposal for Foggy Bottom would boost funding for Central America, where a mass migration of unaccompanied minors to the southern United States has exposed profound societal problems in the region.

Tags: obama, central america, mass migration, poverty reduction, U.S. Agency for International Development, society, obama administration

Andy Lack, the new CEO of the Broadcasting Board of Governors, which oversees U.S. international agencies such as Voice of America and Radio Free Europe, has identified Russia’s propaganda offensive as one of his job’s major challenges, along with the rise of ISIS on social media and Boko Haram. “We are facing a number of challenges from entities like Russia Today which is out there pushing a point of view, the Islamic State in the Middle East and groups like Boko Haram, “ Lack said. 

Tags: international broadcasting, united states, russia, putin, broadcasting board of governors, russia today, voa, radio free europe, propaganda, boko haram, social media, isis

The President's 2016 Budget is designed to bring middle class economics into the 21st century. This Budget shows what we can do if we invest in America's future and commit to an economy that rewards hard work, generates rising incomes, and allows everyone to share in the prosperity of a growing America. It lays out a strategy to strengthen our middle class and help America's hard-working families get ahead in a time of relentless economic and technological change.

Tags: 2016, budget, international development, america, united states, middle class, education, infrastructure, research, training, growth

The Prime Minister’s Office uses employees from the National Public Diplomacy Division’s information and communications technology department to monitor the Israeli media for items about Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s wife, Sara, and their children, Haaretz has learned.From internal documents, emails and conversations with current and former department employees, it emerges that flagging down reports on Sara Netanyahu or the family’s private affairs is an even higher priority than collecting news items on diplomatic, security or economic issues.

Tags: netanyahu, monitor, communication technology, israel, media agenda, public diplomacy

Addressing ambassador and experts at the Digital Diplomacy Day, Foreign Affairs minister George Vella said that diplomacy is a mixture of innovation and tradition, with its basic aspects dating back to practically the dawn of civilisation, but its needs changing as technology has progressed and continues to progress so fast.

Tags: digital diplomacy, diplomacy, modern technology, government pd, social media

The Houthi coup and other recent developments in Yemen have raised many questions about the country's religious fabric, especially the relationship between its large Zaidi community and Twelver Shia Islam, the main religion of Iran.

Tags: iran, influence, yemen, faith diplomacy, islam, non state pd