In an essay entitled “The Middle East: Regional Disorder,” Columbia University Professor Lawrence G. Potter warns of the impact on global security of catastrophic developments in that troubled region. It’s a prime reason for U.S. and international public diplomacy, in all its forms. Writing in the 2019 edition of the Foreign Policy Association’s annual Great…
“One Individual, One Community at a Time” Imagine an American non-profit, non-partisan organization that reaches out to improve lives in cities, towns and villages around the globe. President Dwight Eisenhower first had that dream in 1956. It has now enhanced mutual respect and understanding through worldwide exchanges for more than seven decades. Roger-Mark De Souza,…
The words and deeds of Dr. Martin Luther King have inspired many peoples and nations, for his hopes for a world of equality, respect, and human rights are their dreams too. In foreign capitals on the holiday honoring Dr. King’s birthday, Ambassadors will share his legacies with local leaders at receptions, and Public Diplomacy officers…
After the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in 1963, the U.S. Information Agency – at that time the arm of U.S. Public Diplomacy — helped extend and solidify the late President’s legacy by producing a famous film — John F. Kennedy: Years of Lightning, Day of Drums. The 86-minute memorial documentary recalled the achievements…
Peace Corps Director Dr. Josephine (Jody) Olsen highlighted the Peace Corps’ contribution to the U.S. image and mutual understanding at the First Monday Forum on December 3. The talk reminded me that around the clock, two U.S. agencies join hands to help countless souls in other countries improve their lives in the finest tradition of…
If you have voted for a new parliament in Afghanistan, or are a U.S. citizen planning to cast your ballot November 8, pause — and consider the contrasts. These came to mind at a briefing by the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM), which surveys its audiences and shares results. In Afghanistan, half of eligible…
Saudi Arabia, in an official statement, confirmed on October 19 the death of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the kingdom’s Istanbul consulate. This occurred, the statement said, after discussions by Saudi officials with Khashoggi “did not go as required and developed in a negative way (that) led to a fight and a quarrel between some…
Some important essays and articles on Public Diplomacy in the era of the U.S. Information Agency were published in its in-house magazine, USIA World. Copies of the magazine have never been archived on the internet, so its valuable record of USIA programs and concepts is largely unavailable for reference by scholars and practitioners. In…
I needed some cheer on this rainy Friday in Washington, and I found something that put me in a better mood. A government report. American Spaces, the collection of places where people overseas can learn about America, are growing faster than the weeds in my yard. Last year, visitor numbers increased to 58 million —…
You may not think this column relates directly to public diplomacy but, in fact, it is all about public diplomacy. Certainly when President Obama was award the Nobel Peace Prize in 2009, it was considered a public diplomacy coup. Just being considered for the prize these days is a public diplomacy victory. Indeed even in…