April 18/19

“What we had to have was no mere surface unity, but a passionate belief in the justice of America’s cause that should weld the people of the United States into one white-hot mass instinct with fraternity, devotion, courage, and deathless determination.”

--George Creel, chosen by Woodrow Wilson as head of the Committee on Public Information during World War I, writing in his How We Advertised America: The First Telling of the Amazing Story of the Committee on Public Information That Carried the Gospel of Americanism to Every Corner of the Globe (1920), p. 5; Creel image from

ANNOUNCEMENT: European Union Open House and Europe Week 2009

"Washington, DC (March 24, 2009) – On May 9, 2009, the Embassies of the European Union (EU) and the Delegation of the European Commission to the United States will – in what has become an important annual event for Washington DC – open their doors to the Washington public, offering a rare look at the buildings and providing a unique opportunity to experience the diverse EU cultures. The EU Open House will also kick off Europe Week, which means seven days of Europe-related events all over the United States." Courtesy AP.

U.S.-Cuba Policy Takes Center Stage at Summit of the Americas – Euroenews 24, posted by Tom: "[P]ublic diplomacy comes on the eve of the fifth Summit of the Americas, a gathering of the hemisphere's 34 democratically elected leaders. Obama had planned to use his first presidential visit to the region to pledge a new partnership on climate change, public security, the economy and reducing poverty. But his administration is vulnerable to criticism over an economic downturn now threatening years of record growth in Latin America and over its approach to Cuba, even though the new president has largely inherited the legacy of both policies." Image from

U.S.-Cuba Policy Takes Center Stage at Summit of the Americas: In Opening Ceremony Speech, Obama Says U.S. 'Seeks a New Beginning With Cuba' - Scott Wilson, Washington Post: "In a speech Thursday evening, Cuban leader Raul Castro said he is willing to discuss his government's record on human rights and political reforms directly with the Obama administration. He said he has 'sent word to the U.S. government in private and in public' that he is willing to talk

on 'equal terms,' acknowledging that the Cuban government may have been wrong at times. … Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton expressed interest in Castro's comments. 'We welcome this overture. We're taking a very serious look at it.' The very public diplomacy [word missing here? JB] comes on the eve of the fifth Summit of the Americas, a gathering of the hemisphere's 34 democratically elected leaders. Obama had planned to use his first presidential visit to the region to pledge a new partnership on climate change, public security, the economy and reducing poverty." Image from

Cuba issue dominates start of Summit of the Americas - Jennifer Ditchburn, The Canadian Press: "Canada is now the biggest international donor to the Caribbean, and the second biggest to Haiti. But some insiders warn that the Conservative government has done little to raise the visibility of Canada in the region, and as a result has not significantly expanded its influence and leverage. 'We have been extraordinarily inept

at communicating to these countries what we have done,' said one Foreign Affairs source. 'That's in part because this government has decided that public diplomacy is something it doesn't like. The embassies and ambassadors and high commissioners are gagged.'" Image from

With shift in US Cuba policy, commentators mention Radio/TV Martí - Kim Andrew Elliott Discussing International Broadcasting and Public Diplomacy

Obama on Venezuela and Cuba - Seth Pfeifer, Perspectives on Public Diplomacy: "President Obama is meeting with leaders from both North and South American countries at the Summit of the Americas this weekend, and one of the issues surrounding the summit is whether or not Obama will interact with Venezuelan President, Hugo Chavez. … Similarly, Obama has cracked open our doors to Cuba since he began his presidency, allowing for more freedom of movement of both capital and of people between the US and Cuba. … Are these steps in the right direction for Obama if he wants to make America look like a country that is much more willing to hash out its differences with other countries rather than shut its doors to them as its policy had for the past 8 years?" Image from

The Handshake II: the Propaganda Boon and Nightmare - The Provocateur: "Following their embrace last night, Hugo Chavez saw another opportunity for a propaganda boon this morning. Jake Tapper is reporting that the book that Chavez gave President Obama the book, Open Veins of Latin America: Five Centuries of Pillage by Eduardo Galeano. It's a book that essentially blames U.S. imperialism for every problem in Latin America, and to add insult to injury, the book is in Spanish, a language the president doesn't speak.The video has become an instant sensation, but the propaganda value is only the latest in a string of propaganda coup for Chavez at this conference. The photo of the leaders taken last night was instantly posted in the web by the Chavez administration. The photo of the two men shaking hands enjoyed the top billing, page 1 above the fold, in the New York Times today. Now, the speculation is that relationships between the two nations are 'thawing'. The White House has been busy downplaying the two handshakes, but the propaganda value has been maximized by Chavez." Image from

A strong start for Mr. Obama – Editorial, Japan Times: "In Turkey, the president sought to redefine U.S. relations with the Muslim world. Repeating a message that his predecessor tried — and failed — to deliver, he said that "the United States is not at war with Islam. In fact, our partnership with the Muslim world is critical in rolling back a fringe ideology that people of all faiths reject." Equally — if not more — important was his attempt to reframe relations with the Islamic community. … This is public diplomacy at its best. Unfortunately, it is no substitute for problem solving. The challenges that Mr. Obama faces are daunting."

Restoration Of US-Turkey Relations? - Fadi Hakura, Daily News, Egypt: "Obama cut a dashing figure, mesmerizing the normally skeptical Turkish public with self-deprecating references to his inspirational life story of struggle and achievement. This trip can be characterized as a success in terms of public diplomacy." Image from

The Good, the Bad and the Questionable - Patricia H. Kushlis, Whirled View: "The Pentagon’s announcement of its public diplomacy office closure raises far more questions than the New York Times report answers. This is also compounded by the White House’s April 14 announcement of the nomination of Judith McHale to be the latest Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy at State. I have had, and continue to harbor serious reservations about McHale as the new Karen Hughes or James Glassman for any number of reasons. Most importantly because I think the Obama administration could have chosen someone with far greater experience than a Hillary Clinton acolyte, funder, fund-raiser and foreign affairs neophyte."

I have nothing against Judith McHale!

– Marc Lynch, Foreign Policy: "I hope that McHale is confirmed quickly and can get to work. And I want her to ... emerge as an effective advocate for public diplomacy and serious global engagement." Image from

Telecom-Savvy Picks: Former Discovery President McHale, Kerry, Harris In Line For Positions - John Eggerton, Multichannel News: "The Obama administration has been looking to tap some communications-savvy folks to fill its ranks, and not just at places like the Federal Communications Commission, where telecom knowhow is part of the job description. The latest is former Discovery Communications president Judith McHale. President Obama wants her to be the undersecretary of public diplomacy and public affairs at the State Department, after she co-chaired the platform committee at last year's Democratic National Convention."

Glassman re McHale, and Lynch re Glassman re Lynch re McHale - Kim Andrew Elliott Discussing International Broadcasting and Public Diplomacy. Image from

New State Department Public Affairs Hires - Laura Gross, Potomac Flacks: "President Obama has nominated Judith McHale, former president/CEO of Discovery Communications, as under secretary for public diplomacy and public affairs at at the State Department. Obama also nominated Philip Crowley to be assistant secretary of state for public affairs at State (aka spokesperson for Secretary Clinton). Crowley was director of homeland security at the Center for American Progress. He worked in the Clinton White House as special assistant to the President for national security affairs and senior director of public affairs for the National Security Council."

'We're Not Actually Advancing Religious Freedom': Thomas Farr says it's time for policies that actually improve liberty around the world - Susan Wunderink, Christianity Today: “Religious-liberty wonk Thomas Farr is calling for some big changes. A longtime diplomat, Farr also served in the U.S. State Department under the last two ambassadors at large for religious freedom. In his new book, World of Faith and Freedom: Why International Religious Liberty is Vital to American National Security, and in a report he coauthored with Dennis Hoover, he looks at the execution of the 10-year-old International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA) and finds it lacking. U.S. policy has hardly improved religious freedom abroad, he says. … Kurt Donnelly, director of the State Department's Office of International Religious Freedom, calls Farr's report a 'valuable contribution.' 'In line with some of Farr and Hoover's recommendations, we have begun making better use of the tools of traditional diplomacy, and we are doing more with the tools of public diplomacy and with targeted assistance programs,' Donnelly says." Image from

Faith-based Diplomacy - By Katherine Marshall - Washington Post/Newsweek, On Faith, posted on Faith in Public Life: "How can the United States harness the extraordinary organizational capacity of global religions and turn them into a force for peace and welfare? That's a question the Obama administration should confront early on. The faith factor can and should be a critical part of America's public diplomacy--and not a piece apart but integrally linked to the core question of how the "smart" new diplomacy needs to unfold."

Guest Post: Three (More) Steps to Better E-Diplomacy - David Earl, MountainRunner: "There are three crucial next steps that will likely be the difference between a disappointing legacy of good ideas and a lasting legacy of good diplomacy. They are: · Closing the global digital divide with open internet access, · Engaging, not lecturing, and · Expanding and restructuring the Foreign Service’s digital presence at home and abroad. First and foremost, the effort to use social media to reach large populations at a lower cost and risk to practitioners of public diplomacy is useless without audiences and populations having the means to access the information." Image from

Pentagon's strategic withdrawal from public diplomacy turf - Kim Andrew Elliott Discussing International Broadcasting and Public Diplomacy: "A rationalization of U.S. international communication may be under way: 1) Public diplomacy will be the purview of the State Department's public diplomacy section. 2) The Pentagon will limit itself to information operations in area where forces are deployed. 3) International broadcasting, under the Broadcasting Board of Governors, will provide news. The first two will have to coordinate, to make sure their messages are on the same page. The third must not coordinate with the first two, or it won't be genuine news."

DOD needs Web 2.0 strategy: Report outlines four broad uses - Ben Bain, FederalComputerWeek:

"Among the uses” Outbound sharing: a process that empowers people not in government during missions that include: stabilization and reconstruction, disaster situations, or public diplomacy efforts." Image from

Obama Shuts Down DOD Propaganda Office - Jonathan Stein, Mother Jones: "I'm guessing we won't be planting stories in the Iraqi media while simultaneously claiming we're fostering a free press, either."

Pentagon Closes Iraq Propaganda Agency Under Bush – Danny Schechter, News Dissector Blog: "Retired Air Force Colonel Sam Gardiner who appeared in my film WMD updates us on part of the Bush Propaganda effort that we exposed: WASHINGTON — A Pentagon office responsible for coordinating Defense Department information campaigns overseas has been abolished in an effort by the Obama administration to distance itself from past practices that some military officers called propaganda, senior officials said Wednesday. Military and civilian critics said the office, the Defense Department office for support to public diplomacy, overstepped its mandate during the final years of the Bush administration by trying to organize information operations that violated Pentagon guidelines for accuracy and transparency." Image from

Obama Administration Closes Pentagon’s Propaganda Office - Glenn Church, Foolocracy: "The Obama administration has closed the Pentagon’s public diplomacy office. The office has been widely accused of spreading propaganda. Although its mission was to promote accuracy and transparency, the office became involved in information operations in the last years of the Bush Presidency."

Pentagon Jams Web, Radio Links of Taliban - Yochi J. Dreazen And Siobhan Gorman, Wall Street Journal: “The Obama administration is starting a broad effort in Pakistan and Afghanistan to prevent the Taliban from using radio stations and Web sites to intimidate civilians and plan attacks, according to senior U.S. officials. As part of the classified effort, American military and intelligence personnel are working to jam the unlicensed radio stations in Pakistan's lawless regions on the Afghanistan border that Taliban fighters use to broadcast threats and decrees. U.S. personnel are also trying to block the Pakistani chat rooms and Web sites that are part of the country's burgeoning extremist underground. The Web sites frequently contain videos of attacks and inflammatory religious material that attempts to justify acts of violence."

US Scholarship-Junior Fulbright Program – Kelvin, "Established in 1946 by the U.S. Congress, The Fulbright Program supports educational exchanges that strengthen understanding and communication between the United States and over 140 countries. It is an effective and prestigious form of public diplomacy. The Program has enriched the lives of over 225,000 men and women and has brought some of the world’s finest minds to U.S. campuses. It offers insight into U.S. society and values to future leaders from around the world." Image from

Sartre Debates an Islamist - Jennifer Bryson, Public Discourse: "In the play Madah-Sartre: The Kidnapping, Trial and Conver(sat/s)ion of Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir by Algerian Francophone playwright Alek Baylee Toumi, French intellectuals Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir show up in Algeria at the 1993 funeral of Tahar Djaout, a writer who was assassinated by Islamists. … Sartre does not try to change Madah's mind by promoting all-things-French and all-things-existentialist the way State Department public diplomacy seems to believe that if they just repeat promotion of 'U.S.A.! U.S.A.! U.S.A.!' like a broken record it will sway our adversaries to turn away from hateful ideologies." Image from

Palestine – Nightwatch: "The Israeli and the Palestinian positions on statehood and mutual recognition are coming together, slowly. Both sides are using public statements – public diplomacy – to gauge blowback from core constituencies."

Smithsonian honors Benny Goodman – examiner.com: "'Jazz is a truly American style of music that has played an important role in our heritage,' said Brent D. Glass, museum director. 'Through the Smithsonian’s Jazz Appreciation Month activities, we will highlight jazz and its history and how the genre has an important function in global diplomacy.'"

Unlikely diplomats Ozomatli pick up globe-trotting spice - Tony Montague, Georgia Straight: "L.A.’s Ozomatli lives a charmed existence. In 2004 several members of the eight-piece band, famed for its free-wheeling style, faced police charges in Texas after leading partying fans onto the streets of Austin at the end of a performance. Luckily, they got off, and three years later the left-leaning L.A.–based musicians became official U.S. State Department cultural ambassadors, an astonishing achievement under the Bush administration given the band’s anti-war beliefs. … The octet thus linked up with a tradition of cultural diplomacy that includes such figures as jazz masters Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman, and Louis Armstrong."

San Francisco Bay Area vocalist LUA HADAR performs at Swan Bar in Paris - Express Press Release:

"Instantly accessible and truly exotic, Lua moves from stage to cabaret to jazz club with effervescent ease. A native New Yorker, from a musical family, Lua Hadar has performed as a singer and actor all her life. Her experiences in cultural diplomacy have taken her to places as diverse as Bali, Russia, Switzerland, Thailand, Japan and Italy."

The heart of the creative industry - Polish Market: "Culture is the heart of ‘creative industry’ – says Paweł Potoroczyn, director of the Adam Mickiewicz Institute (IAM), a government cultural institution set up by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage in tandem with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to promote Polish culture world-wide. As the ‘Polska! Year’ gets underway in the UK, organised by the Institute, Paweł Potoroczyn talks to Maciek Proliński about the event as the Institute’s role in promoting Polish culture in general. … Q: When the Minister of Culture and National Heritage Bogdan Zdrojewski appointed you as director of the IAM Institute he said that this marked the beginning of the road to end with a revolutionary change in the Institute’s performance. What is the course of this revolution right now? What is your vision of the Institute? A: I think the Minister used a metaphor because by its nature, culture is a process rather than a revolution. We have been trying to furnish the Institute with a strategy and method as well as to build a professional cultural diplomacy operating to top world standards." Image from

Italy Keen To Foster Closer Ties With Malaysia - Manik Mehta, Bernama - "Alessandro Busacca, Italy's ambassador to Malaysia, said in an interview with Bernama that a network of bilateral treaties and agreements, supported by widespread "genuine appreciation" of the so-called 'Italian way of life' in Malaysia reflected the growing intensity of ties. … Italy's top diplomat in Malaysia is also eyeing cultural diplomacy as a tool to increase Italy's visibility in Malaysia. More than 125 scholarships were awarded to Malaysians for higher studies in the Italian language and culture in Italy."

New Zealand artist displays potential of generosity - Yoav Cerralbo, The Korea Herald: "The [New Zealand] Institute for Cultural Diplomacy says its field is as old as explorers and traveling merchants. For virtually every embassy in Seoul, people to people exchange is one of the cornerstones in forging strong relations between two countries."

Grand requiem for war martyrs on Con Dao Island - VietNamNet Bridge: – "More than 400 Buddhist monks and followers will participate in the Grand Requiem for martyrs at the Con Dao Prison on Con Dao Island on April 25. ... According to the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Chairman of the State Committee for Overseas Vietnamese Affairs, this is an activity to implement the Foreign Minister’s instruction on cultural diplomacy. With the participation of representatives of three generations of overseas Vietnamese, the Foreign Ministry hopes to educate the young generation, particularly young overseas Vietnamese, on the history and the sacrifice of the previous generations for the country." Con Dao Prison, a historical relic on Con Dao Island.

British foreign minister to interview Amartya Sen - Sindh Today: "Britain’s foreign minister will be in a high-profile 'conversation' with Indian Nobel-laureate Amartya Sen before the world’s press Monday but organisers can’t say what they will be talking about. … Lord Neil Kinnock, Chair of the British Council, the cultural diplomacy arm of the British government, [said]: 'I am very pleased that the British Council has been able to bring [British Foreign Secretary] David [Miliband] and Amartya together at the London Book Fair. We are part of the biggest festival of Indian literature ever outside the sub-continent and I am proud of the British Council’s role in making this happen.'” Milibrand image from

Celebrity Diplomacy - A USC Center On Public Diplomacy Workshop – The Norman Lear Centertainment, USC Annenberg: "Lear Center director Marty Kaplan will moderate the roundtable 'How Insiders View the Issues Facing Celebrity Diplomacy' on Tuesday, April 21 at a workshop co-hosted with the USC Center on Public Diplomacy.

The workshop will explore the intersecting themes of the UN celebrity programs, the 'soft power' of Hollywood celebrities, and public diplomacy and seek to address the limits and opportunities, as well as the impact on careers and the causes for which celebrities work dealing with important international political and humanitarian issues." Image from

Belafonte’s trailblazing celebrity diplomacy - Jorge Heine, The Gleaner, Jamaica: "As President Obama’s recent European tour showed, public diplomacy is where the action is in international affairs today - leaders and public officials reach out directly to citizens, so that the latter influence governments. … Celebrities often do make a difference. Government spending on humanitarian programmes abroad is not always popular, and being able to count on the public support generated by celebrity endorsements helps politicians. … [Belafonte] even engaged in musical diplomacy, convincing Fidel Castro that hip hop was a significant art form, thus clearing the way for its expansion in Cuba."

Empowering and Engaging the First Three Feet: an upcoming symposium - Matt Armstrong, MountainRunner. Image from

Beyond Politics: The Coexistence Trust and Public Diplomacy in Muslim and Jewish Engagement: Religion in Global Governance, Center for Muslim-Jewish Engagement - USC Office of Religious Life, Arts & Events Calendar, University of Southern California: "The Center for Muslim-Jewish Engagement presents 'Beyond Politics: The Coexistence Trust and Public Diplomacy in Muslim and Jewish Engagement' ... The purpose of the Coexistence Trust, founded in 2005 and consisting of Muslim and Jewish Peers and Members of Parliament in the U.K., is to promote and further dialogue, cooperation and good relations between Muslim and Jewish communities internationally."

Radičová má dostatok podpisov, aby kandidovala na lídra - Webnoviny.sk: "United States Embassy Public Affairs Section Bratislava … . Misia, cieľ Public Affairs Section na ambasáde v Bratislave, je ovplyvňovať verejnosť na Slovensku v záujme USA, vysvetľovať americkú politiku, urobiť túto politiku dôveryhodnou. V cieľovej krajine to robiť prostredníctvom súkromných médií, novinárov, rôznych súkromných skupín, nadácií, občianskych združení a podporou proamerických think tanks. Na Slovensku sú to napríklad Inštitút pre verejné otázky alebo Slovenská spoločnosť pre zahraničnú politiku či Konzervatívny inštitút.

Po zániku USIA v 1999 sa začal pre túto činnosť používať nový termín Public Diplomacy. Pôvodné názvy informačná služba a informačná agentúra nezneli v zahraničí dôveryhodne a boli spájané so špionážou.Výraz Public Diplomacy mal takisto nahradiť sprofanovaný výraz propaganda, ktorý bol dovtedy používaný.Public Diplomacy v oficiálnom slovníku americkej zahraničnej politiky znamená vylepšovanie obrazu Spojených štátov v zahraničí metódami moderného marketingu a reklamy. Úloha je stále tá istá. "Ovplyvňovať verejnosť v cieľovej krajine tak aby ľudia súhlasili s našou politickou doktrínou, s našou formou slobody a demokracie, ovplyvňovať verejnosť v záujme USA, aby podporovala naše národné záujmy. Je to oficiálna snaha vlády Spojených štátov formovať informačné a komunikačné prostredie v danej krajine v našom záujme.' Uvedené citáty sú z dokumentácie Ministerstva zahraničných vecí Spojených štátov." Image from

Restoring Confidence in Government - William A. Galston, posted on Indiana Oracle: "After the end of the Cold War, Washington reduced the effectiveness of our public diplomacy by abolishing the independent U.S. Information Agency and folding its functions into the State Department, where its old mission of promoting American ideas and values conflicted with Foggy Bottom’s culture of ­conflict ­avoidance and diplomacy." Image from

Die politische Auslandsarbeit der DDR in Schweden: Zur Public Diplomacy der DDR gegenüber Schweden nach der diplomatischen Anerkennung (1972-1989) – Victorius, Schweden Bücher: Quotes Amazon: “Produktbeschreibungen KurzbeschreibungDie vorliegende Monographie analysiert erstmals die intensiven Bemühungen der DDR, durch Einsatz des außenpolitischen Instruments der Public Diplomacy im nichtpaktgebunde- nen Nachbarland Schweden das eigene Image zu verbessern. Die Untersuchung umfasst den Zeitraum nach der diplomatischen Anerkennung der DDR durch Schweden im Dezember 1972 bis zum Fall der Berliner Mauer im Herbst 1989.”

About Me: Circling Squares Thoughts and reflections on life and other problems: "Postgrad Student. UK. Politics. International Relations. Public Diplomacy. Half Baked Philosophy."

Death of Cliff Groce, VOA manager from 1950s to 1980s - Kim Andrew Elliott Discussing International Broadcasting and Public Diplomacy: "Mr. Groce, 84, was former deputy program manager of the Voice of America. 'As an editor, writer and broadcaster, he was a pioneer producer of Music USA, the jazz program hosted by the legendary Willis Conover for more than three decades. ... He served under five VOA directors and led a group advocating separation of the Voice from its parent United States Information Agency (USIA), in the final months of the Ford administration in 1976. ... VOA, however, remained a part of USIA until that agency was consolidated within the State Department in 1999. With the advent of the Reagan administration, Mr. Groce was among a dozen VOA senior managers who were reassigned or retired in late 1981 and early 1982.' From submitted obituary."

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