The Public Diplomacy Council and its members, events and activities
Imagine spending 12 percent of the entire U.S. budget to help displaced and mostly impoverished Middle East, African and Afghan refugees to rebuild their lives? The Marshall Plan of 1947 did just that for war-torn postwar Europe. It was an indispensable helping hand for an entire generation recovering from devastation and dislocation after World War II. The…
This week’s Lunch and Learn session for public diplomacy staffers presented a panel of public affairs experts from the world of politics and corporate crisis communications. Public diplomacy and public relations are cousins, but with clear differences — nowhere more pronounced than in the area of crisis and political communication. This sparked a fascinating compare-and-contrast…
In recent years, over 65 million people around the world have been forced from their homes to escape famine, climate change, and war in the greatest human displacement since World War II. A sense of that mass migration is depicted in Human Flow, a film epic created by the internationally renowned Chinese artist Ai Weiwei…
The Council hosted a delegation of public communications executives from Dubai Monday morning as part of their International Media Diplomacy Program in Washington. The Protocol School of Washington and the Government of Dubai Media Office (GDMO) co-sponsored the event. Several Council members and Shawn Powers, staff director of the U.S. Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy,…
It is easy to be beguiled by the press of current events and neglect the important aspects of public affairs, building relationships that last. As I evolved in my PD career, I found that I moved from an emphasis on media to one of relationships built with exchanges and cultural events. I came to understand…
By Donald M. Bishop – The death, earlier this year, of Michael Novak — philosopher, journalist, and diplomat committed to Public Diplomacy and international broadcasting – reminded me of an extraordinary five days I spent with him in Bangladesh in 1995. Here are some memories of his visit — and insights for Public Diplomacy. In…
There is room for optimism that Congress will reject the Administration’s proposed deep cuts to exchanges programs and to public diplomacy in general. However, if you want to defend these programs, now is the time to speak out. Through our member Sherry Mueller, the Public Diplomacy Council joined major PD advocacy organizations to sponsor “Making…
By: Amb. (ret.) William A. Rugh There is an unwritten code of conduct among American diplomats that says they should never say anything that is untrue or inaccurate. They are not required to say everything they know because they must also keep secrets. But it is central to their mission to be truthful—not as a…
The Vietnam War in Retrospect: Four Lectures, Lecture “The Tet Offensive 1968” and “A Paradigmatic picture of the Offensive” Source: The Vietnam War in Retrospect: Four Lectures, Washington, School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University Author: Martin Herz Date: 1984 A career Foreign Service Officer who was Political Counselor in Saigon, Assistant Secretary of State…
By Ambassador Brian Carlson Years ago, during the Cold War, Soviet propaganda continually portrayed the United States and NATO nations as militaristic, provocative and dangerously over-armed. Every new Western weapons system and Congressional appropriation became more grist for Soviet-sponsored psyops mills around the world, while the USSR’s and Warsaw Pact’s own military spending and armaments…