CPD University Fellow and MPD Alumna cited in UK report on PD and the ‘12 Olympic & Paralympic Games

On February 6, 2011, the UK House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee released the report FCO Public Diplomacy: The Olympic and Paralympic Games 2012, which outlines how major sporting events have contributed to each host nation’s public diplomacy efforts, and offers a PD strategy for 2012 London Olympics. Nicholas J. Cull, CPD University Fellow and Director of the USC Master of Public Diplomacy program, and Meg Young (MPD '08), Consulate Officer at the U.S. Consulate General in Shanghai and a former intern at the USC Center on Public Diplomacy, were quoted on the public diplomacy impact of India’s 2010 Commonwealth Games and the 2008 Beijing Olympics, respectively.

Commenting on the possible detrimental effects of these games, Cull noted, “Just as hosting the Olympics can deliver a dividend to the host’s international image so there is a risk that a problem with the games could reflect negatively on the host. The negative press associated with India’s hosting of the 2010 Commonwealth Games is an example of what can go wrong.”

Drawing from Meg Young’s article written for the Winter 2009 issue of PD Magazine, the report presents lessons learned from the Beijing Olympics: “The 2008 Olympics offered the People’s Republic of China an unparalleled stage to demonstrate past achievements and future potential to a global audience. However, public diplomacy isn’t just about exposure, it has many facets. During the 2008 Games two of these facets came into interesting tension: image creation and credibility.”

Read the full report here.