The appointment of a new acting chief executive for America’s five taxpayer-funded overseas networks and two senior leaders of the Voice of America is a major achievement of the new Biden administration. At 2 p.m. January 20, Michael Pack, the departing CEO, announced his resignation at President Biden’s request barely two hours after Mr. Biden…
New Year resolutions that matter. There are millions of these, circulating the globe. Here are some of my favorites — past and present. All are a public diplomacy challenge to the U.S. and its allies, as noted below. 1.The tragedy of COVID-19 continues to be overwhelming, especially in developing countries. New York Times columnist Nicholas…
1. “VACCINE DIPLOMACY” AND PUBLIC CONFIDENCE AND EDUCATION: As the United States – and much of the world – braces for more coronavirus infections and deaths, the pressures to approve several vaccines and start widely and fairly distributing them intensifies at home and abroad. Public affairs and public diplomacy personnel face staggering challenges on the long…
1.ROLLING OUT “AMERICA IS BACK!”: The incoming Biden Administration has named its key foreign policy officials, most of whom are well-known, reassuring names to many within the public diplomacy community. Of the six appointees in the cluster, five have had extensive experience within the State Department. In announcing the appointments on November 24, 2020, President-elect…
The ingenuity of hopeful humanity, from a 27-year-old environmental activist in India to President-elect Joseph Biden in United States. Both have faith that a bright day for weary, afflicted humans the world over must follow a grim winter for mounting victims of the greatest pandemic tragedy (COV-19) this century. According to Washington Post reporter Taniya…
Are there faint signs of progress in global crisis areas as of November 3 approaches? 1. ISRAELI-ARAB PRELIMINARY STEPS TOWARD CLOSER RELATIONS? The recent joint announcement by the United States, Sudan, and Israel that the two Middle East countries have agreed to begin normalizing relations after decades of hostility appears to mark another possible initial…
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.…
President Trump’s battle with coronavirus and its spread to several of his top aides have dominated global media since the news broke October 1 that the president had contracted the disease. The President is one of more than 35 million persons around the world confirmed to have contracted the disease according to the World Health…
In a Council on Foreign Relations cautionary report August 24, the Council puts it baldly: “The U.S. government responds to scores of disasters each year, coordinating closely with state, local, and foreign partners. However,” the account warns, “more frequent and severe storms, fires, and floods are straining resources.” The United States has been a leader…
Around the world, those killed by the epidemic as of August 10 approached three-quarters of a billion. Fatalities in our own hemisphere account for more than half grim total, or an estimated 380 million — and rising. The U.S. still has the world’s most COVID-19 fatalities, at least 163,000. From Canada to Chile, total COVID-19…