USC’s Center on Public Diplomacy is pleased to host Fulbright Professional Scholar Sarala Fernando for Fall 2011. While at the Center, she will research the training challenges faced by developing countries with small cadres of diplomats and the support of public diplomacy initiatives.

At a time when even the Chinese have realised the soft power of the media and been trying to understand it, speak its language and make it a national asset and not a national vulnerability, it is disquieting that your Government is reported to be thinking of setting up a small group to deal with issues concerning the accountability and regulation of media...

Because, Sri Lanka’s overseas public diplomacy or its public affairs program has not identified in advance the most influential media outlets in Western capitals, especially the epicenter of Western diplomacy Washington, to reach them and make them knowledgeable of the country’s current atmosphere and situation.

Its popularity underscores the quiet success China's “soft power” push is having in unlikely locations. The Tamil station, which broadcasts every day from a modest 12th floor office, has more than 25,000 registered listeners ... in Tamil Nadu and the rest of India, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Singapore...

Sri Lanka Consulate General in Mumbai in association with Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau and L.B. Associates, New Delhi have launched an image building project in India to brand Sri Lanka as an emerging MICE destination in the South Asian Region.

When outsiders think about South Asia, they typically picture a region that’s wracked by violent religious extremism, a place where groups like the Taliban, al-Qaeda and Lashkar-e-Taiba are active and deadly. Then there’s the image of clandestine nuclear proliferation...

According to the External Affairs Ministry, it is paying attention to strengthening the “public diplomacy” capabilities of Missions abroad and with the support of expatriate Sri Lankan communities seeks to change the negative perceptions about Sri Lanka that had hitherto prevailed.

Some tourist destinations thrown into the media glare by political turmoil or natural disasters are starting to incorporate these events into their marketing campaigns. Take, for instance, Chile's re-branded campaign slogan ‘Chile is good for you’.