Virtual programming is a key tool in cultivating your public diplomacy garden. This article is based on the white paper Creating a Virtual Programming Ecosystem. To learn more, download the white paper here. By Loren Hurst If there is one lesson to be drawn from the Covid-19 pandemic, it’s that online interaction as a…
The Biden Administration’s nominee for a major part of U.S. public diplomacy received a favorable hearing from the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Assistant secretaries for educational and cultural affairs are traditionally primus inter pares in State’s public diplomacy leadership circle. In 2019, the bureau’s budget was $700.9 million. Only the U.S. Agency for Global Media…
The largest activity of the Public Diplomacy Council is probably one that most members don’t know about. I refer to the Citizen Diplomacy Research Group. Formed in June, 2020 by PDC member and sociologist and nonprofit executive Paul Lachelier with assistance from the PDC’s Debbie Trent, this affinity group includes a good number of PDC…
By Dr. Sherry Lee Mueller, PDC President This July 4th requires a reckoning of who we are and our place in the world. This first July 4 after the tragedy of January 6 must be about more than spectacular fireworks, tantalizing tastes, and backyard BBQs. Almost a century ago in 1922, Elihu Root, who served…
1. U.S. IMAGE REBOUNDS DUE TO “THE BIDEN EFFECT”: Many Americans — and most foreigners — feel that four years of the Trump presidency did considerable damage to the country’s reputation around the world. Since June 10, 2021, they have some solid, independent research to support that conclusion. A Pew Research Center survey of 16 publics…
1. PUBLIC DIPLOMACY VETERAN RETURNS TO EL SALVADOR: It is always good to see when the services of an experienced PD professional are appreciated. The best recent example of this is Secretary of State Blinken’s May 26, 2021 designation of Ambassador Jean Manes as Charge’ d’ affaires ad interim to the Republic of El Salvador. She…
1. UNITED STATES PULLS OFF “LEADERS SUMMIT ON CLIMATE”: This year’s “Earth Day” was different. It really was “Earth Days” — plural. April 22-23, 2021 were rather remarkable days for the Biden Administration and U.S. public diplomacy. Timed for the annual “Earth Day” observance, the White House and State Department quite smoothly managed a two-day Leaders…
1. GLOBAL TIES U.S. MARKS 60 YEARS OF CITIZEN DIPLOMACY: The March 22-26, 2021 National Meeting of Global Ties U.S. — the nation-wide network of partners and community supporters which makes the successful, State Department-funded International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) possible — was historic. Not only did the huge annual gathering mark the 60th anniversary of…
A recent opinion article in The Hill argues that exchange programs are “one of America’s most effective soft power tools” and “produce a tremendous return on investment”. The piece, authored by Paula Dobriansky, former Under Secretary of State for Global Affairs, Edward Gabriel, former ambassador to Morocco, and Marisa Lino, former Assistant Secretary for International…
1. A STUNNING DAY FOR PUBLIC DIPLOMACY: Friday, February 19, 2021 was not “just another news day” for America. If you were a U.S. diplomat, especially a public diplomacy officer, it was arguably a great day. Several things happened within just a couple of hours to significantly explain and advance U.S. policy of partnership, cooperation, engagement…