mexico
This is a city for the bold, for those who love art, architecture and adventure and are open to its beautiful chaos. At first glance, the capital — also known as DF for its "Distrito Federal" administrative designation — may seem like a concrete oasis.
The U.S. government is seeking to boost the number of Americans studying in Latin America, which was one reason for coinciding visits Wednesday by both Secretary of State John Kerry and former Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, who heads the 10-campus University of California system.
This week in public diplomacy, we saw Turkey focus its efforts on cultural diplomacy.
It is well known that Turkey has expanded its soft power through international aid, which was about $3.4 billion in 2012. It is quite likely more than that now. Regarding a specific case, in September 2014, a memorandum of understanding was signed between the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TİKA), and the Mexican Agency for International Development (AMEXCID) on close cooperation in terms of regional and international aid projects.
Listen to this PRI interview with former Mexican Ambassador Sarukhan who was among the very first successful digital diplomats to use Twitter extensively in his post.
Although Mexico and India were on opposite sides of the globe, the brown, spicy, aromatic curries that he was offered in India sparked memories of Mexico’s national dish, mole (pronounced MO-lay). Is mole, he wondered, “an ingenious Mexican version of curry, or is curry a Hindu adaptation of a Mexican sauce?”
“[Twitter] has become a very powerful tool to conduct public diplomacy,” Sarukhan says. “Public diplomacy is about engaging and about winning hearts and minds.”