CPD Summer Institute Wraps Up

LOS ANGELES -- Matthew Parks, Public Relations Manager of the Western Cape Provincial Parliament of South Africa, and Malusi Mogale, Spokesperson to the Minister of the Department of International Relations and Cooperation of South Africa, role play during a press conference during the "Framing and Public Diplomacy" course July 23, 2010. Parks represented the Government of Chad and Mogale represented the African Union.

The USC Center on Public Diplomacy wrapped up its fifth annual Summer Institute here July 30.

The intensive two-week course, designed to immerse participants in the critical study of public diplomacy, involved 30 public diplomacy practitioners representing a wide range of sectors, including defense, foreign ministries and international organizations.

The exclusive program, which has garnered global attention, covered a large array of topics related to public diplomacy, including: cultural diplomacy, the impact of non-state actors on public diplomacy, media and entertainment diplomacy, influence and framing, crisis diplomacy, evaluating public diplomacy, and more.

During Summer Institute, participants honed their leadership and team skills by tackling critical public diplomacy issues within small teams in each class. Further, participants had opportunities to listen to special guest speakers on their areas of expertise, including an executive from Sesame Street Workshop discussing Sesame Street's global efforts, and leaders in academia discussing the significance and impact of public diplomacy relative to international relations.

"The diversity and sophistication of the Summer Institute participants illustrated the increasing traction of public diplomacy around the world," said CPD Director Philip Seib. "One of the best aspects of the Institute is that we, as instructors, learn a lot from the participants."

This year, Summer Institute's participants represented 13 countries: Morocco, United Arab Emirates, United States, Brazil, Netherlands, Spain, Taiwan, Australia, Jordan, South Korea, Ghana, South Africa, and India.