Hans N. (Tom) Tuch, an early and persistent advocate of public diplomacy as an indispensable element in the conduct of U.S. foreign affairs, died on September 7, 2020 at his residence in Bethesda,MD. He was 95. The cause of death were complications following a recent fall. His seminal book, “Communicating with the World: U.S. Public…
This next installment of my Q&A Series marks the start of a new chapter; having highlighted some of the Public Diplomacy Council’s new Rising Professional members this summer, I am shifting the series’ focus to feature several of the PDC’s more experienced members in the coming weeks. My intent to highlight the importance of intergenerational…
1. U.S. CRACKS DOWN ON CONFUCIUS INSTITUTES: The days when China could quite freely sponsor Confucius Institutes (CIs) to promote Chinese language and culture on U.S. campuses are over. The State Department has decided to designate the Confucius Institute U.S. Center (CIUS), which is the Washington, DC-based de facto headquarters of the CI network, as…
This spring, the Public Diplomacy Council (PDC) welcomed a new category of Rising Professional members into its ranks. Over the past three weeks, I have had the pleasure of interviewing Rangel Fellow Mojib Ziarmal Ghaznawi, Wes Davison, and Shannon McNaught. This fourth installment of my Q&A series features yet another multifaceted Rising Professional member who…
This spring, the Public Diplomacy Council welcomed a new category of Rising Professional members into its ranks. Over the next several weeks, PDC blog readers will have the opportunity to get to know some of these new members via my Q&A series. I was inspired by Olivia Chavez’s interview with Dr. Sherry Mueller (“Wanted: Young…
LIVING UP TO OUR VALUES: These are turbulent times, and it is impossible to keep up with all of the 24/7 media reports, events, photo ops, and reactions coming from all corners of American society and, indeed, of the world. Besides the well-publicized statements of concern from current and retired political and military leaders and…
1. George Floyd and America’s Image The tragic, painful, and unprecedented events surrounding the murder of a black man, George Floyd, at the hands of a white policeman in Minneapolis continue to deeply affect the country and damage America’s image around the world. Our ambassadors and PD officers are surely being challenged to explain how…
The March 29 edition of the Washington Post carried the sad news of the passing of one of our country’s foremost cultural diplomats: Yale Richmond. Yale’s geographic area specialization was Russia and Central Europe. When he began working in the region, Russia was still the Soviet Union and the United States referred to anything west…
Our People and Our Values Are the Core of U.S. International Leadership A Statement by PDC and PDAA Boards of Directors October 31, 2019 As Board members of the Public Diplomacy Council and the Public Diplomacy Association of America, non-partisan organizations of professionals committed to U.S. global leadership, we support all public servants who…
In June 1970, the Marine Corps Gazette published the text of a talk, “Effective Press Relations,” given to students at the Command and Staff College earlier that year by legendary USIA officer Barry Zorthian. As Public Affairs Officer at the American Embassy in Saigon from 1964 to 1968, he set up the Joint United States…