The Public Diplomacy Council and its members, events and activities
1.THE NOT-SO-OPEN “OPEN DOORS” REPORT:The new — and always useful — Institute of International Education (IIE) annual report on international students is out with findings that are not surprising given the pandemic. Funded by the State Department’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, the latest Open Doors Report on International Educational Exchange found that a “snapshot survey” last…
This past week the Public Diplomacy Council hosted a very special event centered around cultural diplomacy. PDC member and American pianist Pauline Yang shared her musical outreach during public diplomacy visits organized by Ambassadors in Japan, Ethiopia, and Portugal. Her stellar presentation was inspiring and a breath of fresh air when so many virtual events…
Joe Biden’s election as president is prompting broad reexamination of the United States’ diplomacy under the glare of a skeptical world. The U.S. electorate voted for an improvement in relations with traditional allies as well as for greater respect around the globe, and President Biden’s experience and approach to governing will go a long way…
1. THE OH-SO-POLARIZED U.S. ELECTIONS: The rather sad, nail-biting U.S. elections are finally behind us. I say “sad” because our public diplomacy officers around the world were relatively limited as to what they could say and do about the long, drawn-out process. Many opportunities to explain U.S.-style democracy and our complex voting system and changing media landscape…
Less than a month after Donald Trump won the 2016 election, but before his inauguration, I was one of those who thought that when he sat behind the Resolute desk, he would understand the need to set aside his “candidate” personality in the face of “presidential” responsibilities. I was bold enough to write out the…
1.REMEMBERING THE U.S. EMBASSY TAKEOVER IN IRAN: Amidst all the U.S. election excitement, a two-para, November 4, 2020 statement from Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo didn’t get much attention. It was issued to mark the 41st anniversary of the day Ayatollah Khomeini’s followers broke into the U.S Embassy in Tehran and took more than…
1. A CALL FOR PEACEFUL U.S. ELECTIONS: Less than a week before the November 3, 2020 U.S. general elections, Freedom House — the independent watchdog organization that advocates for democracy and human rights around the world — issued a rather remarkable press release, which called on “politicians and journalists to protect the electoral process.” In…
1. MERIDIAN GOES VIRTUAL OVER GLOBAL HEALTH DIPLOMACY: Kudos to Meridian International Center for pulling off its groundbreaking, 5 ½-hr virtual event on October 23, 2020. Approximately 1,000 people around the world engaged in the nonprofit’s ninth annual Meridian Summit convened and produced by Meridian President and CEO Ambassador Stuart Holliday, former Coordinator of State’s…
1. THE BTS PHENOMENON AND “K-POP” DIPLOMACY: If you haven’t heard of BTS, you either have no access to old or new media, or you live on another planet! The wildly successful, squeaky clean, seven-member boy-band from South Korea continues to take the world by storm with its popular music and powerful social media messages.…
In two years’ time, shortly after graduating from the Harvard Kennedy School, we will join the U.S. Department of State Foreign Service to begin serving as American diplomats. At that time, we will be presented with the same question that all diplomats must answer: where do we wish to serve? Our answer to that question…