PUBLIC DIPLOMACY IN THE NEWS

MAY 1, 2008
India samples slice of Persian culture
Thaindian News
Cultural diplomacy between India and Iran, with shared past spanning more than 1,000 years, took a giant leap with the inauguration of “Days of Iranian Culture in India” at the National Museum here Wednesday. The three-day Iranian cultural showcase, inaugurated a day after Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was here for a six-hour stopover visit, is the first of its kind in the country to promote the “historic land” as a vibrant tourist destination.  Read more...

MAY 1, 2008
India to begin cultural exchange programme with Iran
The Hindu
In a bid to boost people to people contacts between Iran and India, the two countries will soon sign a new MOU on tourism and start a cultural exchange programme.  Read more...

MAY 1, 2008
Sports diplomacy on show for China’s Hu in Japan
The Guardian
Japanese fans were delighted by Wen's pitching to a university baseball team and his impromptu sprint around the field during a visit last year. Wen and Fukuda reprised the moment months later when they played a game of catch in Beijing. This time around, Fukuda is set to continue the tradition with Hu over a game of ping-pong, Japanese media has reported. The choice of baseball, huge in Japan, and ping-pong, a Chinese national obsession, was no accident, analysts say.  Read more...

APR 30, 2008
An Offensive Lesson
USA Today
"Be very offended." That is what the world is learning from our presidential race, which is being closely followed across the globe. And just as our contenders parse every statement made by their opponents and surrogates in search for anything offensive, countries abroad are following suit. Never before have so many governments apparently been so offended by perceived slights to their images  Read more...

APR 30, 2008
Columbia activist travels to Iran
The Maneater
“We will learn firsthand about the lifestyles, beliefs and culture of ordinary Iranians at a time when our elected leaders and potential leaders use inflammatory, destructive rhetoric and misleading generalizations to refer to an entire country of fellow human beings,” Tinker Fortel said. “When our government fails to make decisions on behalf of the common good of humanity, we must work as individuals to take that responsibility into our own hands — this is what civilian diplomacy is all about.”  Read more...

APR 30, 2008
India, Iran turn to cultural diplomacy
Thaindian News
The Iranian vice-president will launch the Iran Culture Week - a mosaic of Persian poetry, music and dance - later in the night. “The culture week will provide an opportunity to people here to become more familiar with the Iranian culture,” he said. “An Indian Culture Week will be held very soon in Tehran. It’s important that the peoples of the two nations become more familiar with each other,” he said. “It will help us in strengthening India-Iran relations.”   Read more...

APR 30, 2008
The world doesn’t want Leninism with its shopping malls
The Daily Star (Lebanon)
So why is all of this - Tibet on the one hand and American soft power on the other - so significant? It's simple. The century ahead will not be a struggle between China and the United States for global leadership. This is not a balance-of-power gladiatorial contest. There will, however, be a battle of ideas.  Read more...

APR 29, 2008
Long road to the Beijing games
Al Jazeera English
The Olympics were seen as a stage to introduce China to the international community, bring it closer to the rest of the world — a culmination of it’s liberalisation since the early 1980s. Instead, the past few weeks have shown the Olympics has the potential for the opposite effect. The global slap the Chinese have felt has stirred up fierce nationalism - and many here are wondering why the approval of the international community should even matter.  Read more...

APR 29, 2008
Survey Shows Majority of Arabs Hold Negative Views of United States
Voice of America
The survey polled 4000 respondents living in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Jordan, Morocco and the United Arab Emirates. Eighty percent said their opinions were shaped by the policies of the U.S. government, not by American values or culture. Eighty-three percent of respondents identified the Arab-Israeli conflict as a key issue and 55 percent said they believe that despite U.S. efforts to broker a compromise between the two sides before the end of this year, a lasting peace is unlikely.  Read more...

APR 28, 2008
Cuban bloggers buck system with candor
The Washington Times
Only a month has passed since ordinary Cubans won the right to own computers, and the government still keeps a rigid grip on Internet access. But that hasn't stopped thousands from finding their way into cyberspace. And a daring few post candid blogs about life in the communist-run country that have garnered international audiences.  Read more...

APR 28, 2008
Gov’t goes on public diplomacy offensive
Today's Zaman
Turkey plans to establish a Public Diplomacy Agency (PDA) to undertake public relations operations parallel to Turkish foreign policy.  Read more...

APR 28, 2008
Dancing to the Indian tunes
Deccan Herald (India)
For long Indian cinema has held such fascination for the Afghans that many of those you meet actually insist on speaking in their limited Hindi that they have picked up from watching Hindi films rather than allow the opportunity of polishing up on one’s rusty Pashtu. And correspondingly Indian cinema has had its fare share of the tough-talking-with-a-heart-of-gold Pathans with even entire films actually based in the country.  Read more...

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