via email from University of Southern California Center on Public Diplomacy
Feb 12, 2017
Refugees Use Twitter to Urge Social Media Users to Take More Action
EVENING STANDARD
A new campaign by Amnesty International has given refugees the chance to take to Twitter as they urge for more action to be taken in the on-going migrant crisis. Social media users who tweet about the crisis have been receiving direct video responses from residents of refugee camps in Lebanon and Kenya. The ‘I Welcome’ campaign has allowed refugees to respond to tweets asking social media users to take action and do more than just share their outrage. Read More...
Clerics in Mumbai Use Social Media to Battle IS
THE TIMES OF INDIA
You can fight a visible enemy with guns and bombs. But how do you face the fury of online radicalisation and recruitment of youngsters who are misled with misquoted verses and other sacred statements. By quoting the right verses with their proper contexts and interpretations, of course. This is exactly what the famous Mahim Dargah, in collaboration with Goregaon-based Madrassa Darul Uloom Faizan-e-Raza, is doing. They are fighting the terrorist outfit Daesh or Islamic State (IS) through social networks and helping stop youths from getting swayed by extremist propaganda. Read More...
Congolese Music Festival for Peace Draws Tens of Thousands
DAILY AMERICAN
Enrique Makasi's hometown of Beni in eastern Congo is under frequent siege from rebels, and music is the way he tells the world what is happening. Performing before tens of thousands at the Amani Festival in the regional capital, Goma, the 26-year-old singer hopes to give voice to the hundreds slain and build solidarity to promote peace. [...] Nearly 36,000 people gathered in Goma over the weekend for the three-day festival of music and dance aimed at promoting peace and boosting the eastern Congo's generally negative global image. Read More...
Iranian National Day Celebrated
THE NATION
The Ambassador of Islamic Republic of Iran, Mehdi Honardoost hosted a reception at a local hotel in Islamabad to mark the 38th anniversary of the victory of Islamic Revolution and the national day of Iran. Federal Minister of Commerce, Khuramm Dastgir Khan was the chief guest while Raja Ashfaq Sarwar Provincial Minister of Punjab for Labour & Human Resource was also a special guest as he was representing Mian Shahbaz sharif, the Chief Minister Punjab. During the ceremony national anthems of Pakistan and Iran were sung by the students of local school. Read More...
USM Muslim Student Inspires Others to Rally Behind American Dream
PORTLAND PRESS HERALD
Nearly 12 years ago, Hamdia Ahmed boarded a plane bound for America. She had spent nearly all her young life in the Dadaab in Kenya, the world’s largest refugee camp, along with hundreds of thousands of other Somalis fleeing civil war. [...] Now the 19-year-old sophomore at the University of Southern Maine is finding her voice advocating for Portland’s Muslim and immigrant community, which is on edge since Donald Trump was elected president using anti-immigrant rhetoric and vowing “America first” policies, such as tightening the borders. Read More...
Sri Lanka Navy Part of Pakistan's AMAN-17 Multinational Naval Exercise
COLOMBOPAGE
Sri Lanka Navy is taking part in Pakistan's AMAN-17 multinational naval exercise kicked off on February 10 in the North Arabian Sea in Karachi. The multinational naval exercise is held from February 10 to 14 with the participation of 37 countries. Nine nations including Australia, China, Indonesia, Turkey, Sri Lanka, the United Kingdom, the United States, Japan and Russia are participating with warships or aircraft. Read More...
Feb 11, 2017
Trump and Japan's Abe Take a Swing at Golf Diplomacy
REUTERS
President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe hit the links on Saturday, as the two leaders looked to forge a bond over a round of golf diplomacy. [...] After four hours at the club, Trump tweeted a picture of himself and the prime minister on the golf course. "Having a great time hosting Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in the United States," Trump said in the tweet. Shortly after, Trump and Abe left the club to head to a private lunch. Read More...
AFRIMA Makes Case for Culture, As AU Elects New Chairperson
THE GUARDIAN
The International Committee of All Africa Music Awards has called on the new leadership of the AUC to forge a deeper integration of Africa through cultural exchange, as a way of creating a brighter future for her teeming youth and future generations. [...] “It is worthy of note that African artists are breaking stereotypical and geographical boundaries to make their mark on the music, culture and entertainment scene around the world. Read More...
Why NATO Needs a European Pillar
POLITICO
Europeans have every reason to worry about U.S. President Donald Trump. He has declared NATO “obsolete.” He’s spoken more glowingly about Russian President Vladimir Putin than about most Western European leaders. And he’s suggested he will apply his transactional vision of diplomacy to his country’s alliances. [...] Its European members must show unity of purpose and vision: The time has come to create a European pillar of NATO. Read More...
United Colours of Incredible India
THE ECONOMIC TIMES
Convergence — that is what Incredible India is seeking to bring into the increasingly digital campaigns to market the country to tourists. One of the objectives of the Incredible India 2.0 campaign is fostering engagement between Centre and state initiatives, as well as extensive collaborations with industry, to promote tourism. [...] The ministry is promoting a give-and-take approach. Read More...
How to Put America First—While Engaging the Rest of the World
THE WORLD POST
The dominant foreign policy vision animating left and right in recent years has been promiscuous intervention. While elites disagreed on tactics and targets, both major political parties shared a belief that Washington should micro-manage the world. [...] However, national interest is not enough. America’s approach should be enlightened, in which a concern for others tempers Washington’s role around the globe. Read More...
Pact UK Preps First UK-China Cultural Exchange
REALSCREEN
British producers association Pact UK will host its first UK-China cultural exchange. The Feb. 13 meeting will see 21 senior programming executives from major Chinese broadcasters in London meeting with over 70 production companies and broadcasters. Following the launch day, Chinese executives will spend the rest of their week in placements with 23 indies selected to take part in the exchange. Read More...
Feb 10, 2017
Mexico Must Be Prepared for Trump's War of Words
THE HUFFINGTON POST
Trump’s plans to build a wall at its south border, deport millions of undocumented immigrants and renegotiate NAFTA force Mexico to reconsider the friendly relation it used to maintain with the U.S. The Obama era is gone and the cooperation narrative that existed between the two countries is being challenged. Mexico needs to defend or create new narratives to confront Trump, and win allies in the United States to help Mexico defend its interests. Read More...
Great Deal of Similarity Between Cultures of Pakistan and Japan
THE NEWS
The Consul General of Japan in Pakistan Toshikazu Isomura has said that he was looking into the possibility of appointing a teacher at Sindh University’s Area Study Centre to teach Japanese language to the students of Sindh University. Read More...
Denmark's Foreign Service will Soon Send an Ambassador to the TechWorld
NPR
A few days before Rex Tillerson's confirmation as secretary of state, Tillerson's Danish counterpart stood before an audience at a Copenhagen conference on the future of diplomacy and announced he would soon be naming a new ambassador. That would hardly be news — except this ambassador will not be heading to the U.S. or any other country. Instead, he or she will be serving as Denmark's chief diplomatic connection to the tech industry at large. Read More...
Diaspora Conference to be Held in Guyana
DEMERARA WAVES
“Hosted by the University of Guyana with support from a team of leaders in the diaspora and other stakeholders, the Conference is organised around two overarching pillars: human, social and entrepreneurship development and diaspora philanthropy and diplomacy,” UG said in a statement. Read More...
Malaysia, N.Korea Sign MOU on Cultural Exchange
NK NEWS
North Korea and Malaysia have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) focused on “culture, arts and heritage,” North Korean state media said on Thursday, renewing and building upon a previous agreement from 2002. Read More...
U.S. Cultural Diplomacy Matters
KOREA JOONGANG DAILY
This week in Gwangju, we also see cultural diplomacy in action. "With support from the U.S. Embassy in Seoul, some 100 participants and their families and communities have come together with a team of dancers from Battery Dance, a New York-based contemporary dance company, to help build understanding and bridge divides." Read More...
Why Listing the Muslim Brotherhood As a Terror Group is a Bad Idea
THE WASHINGTON POST
"The greatest damage might be in the realm of public diplomacy," write Nathan Brown and Michelle Dunne of the Carnegie Middle East Center. "Using a broad brush to paint all Muslim Brotherhood organizations as terrorists would be understood by many Muslims around the world as a declaration of war against non-violent political Islamists — and indeed against Islam itself." Read More...
Feb 9, 2017
Rio Food Fair Junta Local Takes a Stand this Saturday
THE RIO TIMES
This Saturday, February 11th, food fair Junta Local will take place from 10AM in the grounds of Botafogo’s Christ Church. With free entry and continuing until 6PM, the artisanal culinary fair hopes to promote cultural inclusivity and exchange through different international cuisines. Read More...
Annual Cuba Book Fair Opens in Havana
HAVANA TIMES
The Fair will hold numerous activities in secondary venues in the Vedado district of the city such as the Dulce María Loynaz Center, the Casa del Alba Cultural and the Cuban Association of the United Nations. The Cuba Pavilion, the headquarters of the National Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba and the University of Havana will also offer opportunities for cultural exchange and enrichment. Read More...
A Letter to a Reader in Russia
CPD BLOG
Despite the new U.S. President's well-known openness toward the Kremlin, I can think of no relationship where public diplomacy and exchanges are more important or harder to do than the relationship between the U.S. and Russia. Read More...
Danish Students on Cultural Exchange Programme
GRAPHIC NEWS
A group of Danish students numbering over 200 and their teachers from Hald Ege Boarding School in Denmark have arrived at the Malshegu community in the Sagnarigu District of the Northern Region on a week-long cultural and educational exchange programme to learn more about Ghanaians and their culture. Read More...
Abe Aims to Start Cabinet-Level Talks with US
TAIPEI TIMES
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will propose new Cabinet-level US-Japan talks on trade, security and macroeconomic issues, including currencies, when he meets US President Donald Trump today, a Japanese government official involved in planning the summit said. Read More...
The Public Broadcaster's Role in the Fake News Era
POLICY OPTIONS
The journalistic standards and values that CBC-RC represent are crucial in this era of misinformation. In order to uphold these values and the trust Canadians put in us, we must invest even more in fact-checking, in-depth reporting and investigative journalism. Read More...
Feb 8, 2017
Mexico At a Crossroads
CPD BLOG
Currently, President Peña Nieto and his entourage are being presented with an opportunity to redeem themselves. If they manage to get a good deal throughout this turmoil, they have the opportunity to mend Mexico’s international image–as well as their own. Read More...
The Cuban Hustle
STAT NEWS
Cuba is proud of its government-run health care system and its skilled doctors. But even with a raise two years ago, the highest paid doctors make $67 a month, while nurses top out at $40. That leaves many feeling demoralized — and searching for ways to improve their lives. Read More...
Power of the Plate: Pop-up Dinner Series Protests Trump’s Travel Ban
NATIONAL POST
Peace Meal Kitchen is an exercise in gastrodiplomacy – fostering cultural exchange and increased understanding through food. As NPR wrote in 2014, while the concept is fairly new in terms of its place in cultural diplomacy as a whole, “the idea itself can be traced back to the ancient Romans, who often made peace with their enemies over a good meal.” Read More...
Taipei International Book Exhibition Opens with New Highlights
TAIWAN NEWS
The Taipei International Book Exhibition 2017 opened at the Taipei World Trade Center Wednesday, featuring representatives from hundreds of publishers along with a wide range of activities, including keynote speeches, lectures, reading sessions, publication introductions and cultural performances. Read More...
Arts Projects Funded to Take Welsh Culture to India
BBC NEWS
Welsh and Indian creative professionals will travel to each other's countries to work together and produce new works including books, music and dance. [...] It is a joint Wales Arts International and British Council scheme which aims to help build relationships between the two countries. Read More...
Sri Lanka has Potential to Become Next Asian Tiger: US
ECONOMIC TIMES
The US can be a natural partner to Sri Lanka as it progresses on the challenging transformative journey, to develop the nation as a modern democracy, rapidly integrating with the world of business and trade, in peace and friendship, for the mutual benefit of both countries, the Ambassador said. Read More...
Impact of “America First” on US-Kosovo Relations
HUFFINGTON POST UK
Kosovo always enjoyed a special relationship with the United States. After Trump’s election, however, a resurgent Russia (Serbia’s backer) and an intransigent United States puts the special relationship at-risk. [...] Kosovo must demonstrate its value to the Trump administration. Greater security cooperation would serve Trump’s “America Firs