PUBLIC DIPLOMACY IN THE NEWS

JUN 24, 2008
Iran and religious diplomacy
CASMII
Bishop John Bryson Chane, a leading voice of religious diplomacy, is the eighth Episcopal bishop of Washington, a diocese that encompasses 93 congregations and about 45,000 church members in the district of Columbia, and Maryland. He has traveled to Iran on two occasions at the invitation of former Iranian president Mohammad Khatami and has spoken with numerous religious leaders and at numerous cultural events as well as at seminaries and universities in the cities of Tehran and Qom.   Read more...

JUN 24, 2008
Sustainable Approaches to Cultural Diplomacy
Cultural Diplomacy News
Future cultural diplomats will need to recognize this fact and work more closely to implement programs with a wide range of soft powers, in the economic sphere as well as in the cultural one. Sustainable investments in cultural diplomacy are the best way of achieving longer term results, rather than the ‘Madison Avenue’ short term and short sighted approaches that have characterised US cultural diplomacy in recent years.  Read more...

JUN 24, 2008
Artists to fete Viet Nam-Canada ties
Vietnam News
Two Vietnamese-Canadian artists will perform with the Viet Nam National Opera and Ballet in a concert to celebrate the 35th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries as well as commemorate Canadian Day.  Read more...

JUN 23, 2008
Rep Calls for Investigation of Alhurra
ProPublica
The ranking member of the House foreign relations committee thinks it's time Congress takes a hard look at Alhurra. In a letter today (pdf), Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) requests that Chairman Howard Berman (D-CA) "hold immediate oversight hearings and initiate an investigation" of the troubled U.S.-backed channel.  Read more...

JUN 23, 2008
Long road back to China for coach
International Herald Tribune
James Li is American 1500m and 5000m star Bernard Lagat's personal coach and the associate head coach at the University of Arizona. He is also the manager of the U.S. Olympic men's track team. There may not be a more vital member of the entire American delegation. A handsome, soft-spoken man, Li was born in China and educated at its most prestigious sports institute. Many of China's top sports officials are his peers. When no one from the United States could get a peek inside Beijing's Olympic Stadium, Li knew whom to call. One of the stadium managers slept on a bunk above him for four years in college. "I believe this is my time," said Li, who became a U.S. citizen in 1998.  Read more...

JUN 23, 2008
U.S.-Funded Arab Language TV Network Under Scrutiny
PBS
A U.S. government-funded Arab language television network, Al Hurra, has been the focus of recent criticism over both its lack of viewership and content choices. Two experts discuss how the network has fared and its ties to U.S. diplomacy efforts in the Middle East.  Read more...

JUN 23, 2008
Resistance snuffed out as Olympic torch tours Tibet
The Independent
China paraded the Olympic torch through the streets of Lhasa at the weekend in a blaze of red flags, eager to present a picture of national unity and domestic harmony just three months after the Tibetan provincial capital was rocked by anti-Chinese riots.  Read more...

JUN 23, 2008
U.S. Network Falters in Mideast Mission
The Washington Post
Al-Hurra -- "The Free One" in Arabic -- is the centerpiece of a U.S. government campaign to spread democracy in the Middle East. Taxpayers have spent $350 million on the project. But more than four years after it began broadcasting, the station is widely regarded as a flop in the Arab world, where it has struggled to attract viewers and overcome skepticism about its mission.  Read more...

JUN 23, 2008
Meeting of young Israeli and German diplomats held in Berlin
Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs
A unique meeting between delegations of young Israeli and German diplomats, instigated by FM Livni and FM Steinmeier, was held last week in Berlin...Among the topics discussed at the meeting was the stance of the West regarding the Iranian nuclear program, Israel's image as perceived by the German public, and Germany's image as perceived by the Israeli public.  Read more...

JUN 23, 2008
Samsung Shapes Korea’s Image
The Korea Times
For many foreign nationals, it's not Korean culture or history, but rather Samsung's latest electronic products that define Korea. A new survey shows that top corporate brands including Samsung and LG Electronics have become the dominant images that shape how other countries understand Korea.  Read more...

JUN 23, 2008
In Algeria, a Tug of War for Young Minds
The New York Times
First, Abdel Malek Outas’s teachers taught him to write math equations in Arabic, and embrace Islam and the Arab world. Then they told him to write in Latin letters that are no longer branded unpatriotic, and open his mind to the West...At a time of religious revival across the Muslim world, Algeria’s youth are in play.  Read more...

JUN 23, 2008
Town in India rocks
International Herald Tribune
This annual incantation is more than one man's act of madcap devotion. It is also a peephole into the love affair with Western music that goes on every day in this pine-wooded outpost in India's northeast. Shillong, a British-era hill town that is now home to dozens of boarding schools and colleges, is its hub, especially when it comes to rock.  Read more...

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