Although democracy retains its allure, the Arab uprisings that began last year were about democracy primarily as simply a means to an end.

The real goal of those who took to the streets was to grasp a better future for themselves and their families. Having a job, getting enough to eat, being assured that children could receive decent education and medical care – these constitute the substance of everyday life that so many in the Arab world had long been denied and were determined to claim.

Turkish soap operas, which are widely watched all over the Middle East, are well-known for being one of the most influential tools of Turkish soft power. This soft power, however, does not stem merely from TV soaps, but has also manifested itself in other areas – especially the economy.

Qatar’s Education City is a prime example of the flourishing partnership and dialogue between the US and the Muslim world, a senior US official has said.
Kathleen Stephens, acting under secretary of state for public diplomacy and public affairs and former ambassador to South Korea, made the observation.

An interesting new blog post from the U.S. Center for Citizen Diplomacy discusses World Learning’s recent partnership with America-Mideast Educational and Training Services, INC. (AMIDEAST)...another interesting blog post from the U.S. Center for Citizen Diplomacy reveals that the Partners of the Americas recent program, “A Ganar Juarez” (Lets win Juarez), a program implemented in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico had the goal of helping young adults, find jobs and develop entrepreneurial skills.

CPD Blog Manager: Naweed Lemar

The American Music Abroad program is designed to communicate America’s rich contributions to the global music scene as it fosters cross-cultural communication and people-to-people connections to global audiences. Today, American Voices is proud to administer the American Music Abroad program on behalf of the U.S.

True public diplomacy differs because it has a broader reach, it goes beyond the influential few to the masses, it seeks out a new audience and encourages the communities overseas to adopt a positive and open outlook. This is vitally important for a small country like Australia.

Ireland is using St. Patrick’s Day as the basis for a global branding campaign to publicize the country’s cultural and educational assets, Jimmy Deenihan, its minister of arts and heritage, told the Irish Chamber of Atlanta’s annual breakfast celebration March 16.