"Is it our abundance of agricultural produce or the millions of oil barrels we export annually? Is it the contributions of Nigerian technocrats home and abroad or the ignominy of having corrupt officials? Or maybe we are simply known for our poor development...

The Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) recently released its 2013 budget request, which slashes Voice of America (VOA) funding by more than $17 million while increasing funding for major bureaucratic offices inside the International Broadcasting Bureau.

Four decades ago, the US Department of Defense created the Internet; today, by most accounts, the US remains the leading country in terms of its military and societal use. But greater dependence on networked computers and communication leaves the US more vulnerable to attack...

From a public diplomacy standpoint, much can be done in the area to ensure that US interests are not lost in the region. Public diplomacy initiatives can reinforce US relations; aid in the state-building process, if it is undertaken; and support emerging leaders once they are elected in Mali and Azawad.

On the last day of the Masters of Public Diplomacy delegation’s visit to Washington D.C., some of us had the opportunity to visit the Delegation of the European Union to the United States. The delegation included University of Southern California alumna and Senior Communications Advisor, Stacy Hope; Assistant Press Officer, Ren Althouse; and three Press & Public Diplomacy (PPD) interns.

This issue also adds a layer of complexity for foreign governments with digital diplomacy and public diplomacy programs that use social media. They will need to develop an understanding of the meanings and context of hashtags as they evolve and to understand how words may be played with and what the use of former colonial languages may be signalling, if anything.