The seventh annual CPD Summer Institute in Public Diplomacy concluded on August 3rd. Twenty-three participants spent two weeks engaging in vigorous study, critical debate, and dynamic teamwork designed to enhance the practice of public diplomacy.

CPD Director Philip Seib spent time in Washington, D.C. speaking at events at the German Marshall Fund and at the State Department's Bureau of Conflict and Stabilization Operations.

In this video, Shafiqul Islam discusses water diplomacy with peers at the Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship Conference. Islam leads an IGERT Water Diplomacy team at Tufts University, aimed at educating the next generation of water professionals to resolve complex water problems.

Suzan Johnson Cook, Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom, presented the 2011 International Religious Freedom Report at the US Department of State. The report is the most comprehensive source of information on freedom of religion in the world. This year’s report documents key trends on religious practices globally, including an increase in antagonism among religious sects worldwide, as well as some notable political achievements in improving religious freedoms.

Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs Tara Sonenshine held a conversation at the American Security Project about her plans for U.S. public diplomacy. In her remarks, Sonenshine stated that honest public discussion is an important element of PD, and pushed the notion that information is oxygen. The primary challenge of PD, as she sees it, is explaining the United States, including its policies, practices, and ideas in a way that expands into the public discourse. She explained that the U.S.