February 26

"[T]he world's most inefficient collection of news agencies."

--Audience research analyst in the U.S. International Broadcasting Bureau Kim Andrew Elliott, regarding US government non-military international broadcasting; image from

PUBLIC DIPLOMACY

Quieting the Voice of America - Helle Dale, Heritage Foundation: "While the budget for international broadcasting has certainly grown since Cold War days, it is again in a downward trend as leadership contemplates budget cuts of $17 million to $720 million in the President’s FY 2013 budget. Deep cuts in broadcasting are projected, including a number of broadcasting services to countries that are undeniably deprived of free media—Tibet, for instance. President Obama’s proposed budget comports badly with the aspiration stated in the Broadcasting Board of Governors’ (BBG) 2012–2016 Strategic Plan to become the 'world’s leading international news agency' by 2016. While broadcasting to fragile and repressive societies is being cut, other accounts have been spared, like management." Via

VOA's Middle East Voices has Bahrainis "Tweeting like mad" - Kim Andrew Elliott reporting on International Broadcasting.

Image from article

Seventieth anniversary of VOA Polish. Eighth anniversary of its demise - Kim Andrew Elliott reporting on International Broadcasting

Memo To POTUS---Eyes Only: From The Department of Pre-War Planning And Threat Exaggeration - Danny Schechter, pacificfreepress.com: "Here are excerpts from a 'secret document' whose authenticity cannot be authenticated, perhaps because I wrote it myself. ... Thanks to our media friends and assets, we have been orchestrating a campaign that, at the same time, demonizes Iran’s leaders, while reinforcing our own posture as favoring defensive diplomacy, promoting global security and peace while refusing be led by aggressive Israeli demands. Our financial sanctions are being explained as a way to press Iran to limit its nuclear ambitions, and not bankrupt the regime. Our media and public diplomacy campaign is working. The public can be conditioned into supporting us.

The Pew Center has released a study showing, 'The public (now) supports tough measures – including the possible use of military force – to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons. Nearly six-in-ten (58%) say it is more important to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons, even if it means taking military action. Just 30% say it is more important to avoid a military conflict with Iran, even if it means that country develops nuclear weapons. These opinions are little changed from October 2009. There have been reports in recent weeks that Israel may soon attack Iran’s nuclear facilities. About half of Americans (51%) say the United States should remain neutral if Israel takes action to stop Iran’s nuclear program, but far more say the U.S. should support (39%) than oppose (5%) an Israeli attack.'” Image from

Japan Week Kicks-Off on March 1, 2012 - Candace Ren, Ren's Micro Diplomacy~ a public diplomacy and soft power blog

@HeatherCosson Heather - Renae Cosson, Twitter: "Enjoyed meeting @suPD alum @FelipeEstefan in DC this morning. Public Diplomacy students will slowly take over the city."

Cosson image from her twitter profile

Job [opening] title: Senior Public Diplomacy, Press and Cultural affairs officer (Sr Editor)Unit/mission: Public Diplomacy, Press and Cultural Section - dc.the-netherlands.org: "The Public Diplomacy, Press and Culture Department [of the Dutch Embassy in Washington] is responsible for the communications strategy and implementation of the Dutch missions in the US and for the implementation of the International Cultural Policy in the Washington DC region. The team delivers three types of communication services: public information (about corporate and consular matters); public relations; and public diplomacy. All three types of services translate into a digital dimension, whether it be (micro)sites, blogs, or social media."

CULTURAL DIPLOMACY

How the Logic of Law Enforcement Leads to Spying on Muslims - Haroon Moghul, religiondispatches.org: "[T]he frame refuses to die: Muslims are guilty until proven innocent, and the proving takes as long as this war we’re in, which has no clear conclusions. We had and still have the choice of reframing America’s relationship with the Muslim-majority world around economics, politics, cultural diplomacy and the like, instead of a narrow and securitized frame wherein ideas take center stage without context."

Critic review: “Politics and the Dancing Body” at the Library of Congress - Danielle O’Steen, washingtonpost.com: "'Politics and the Dancing Body' at the Library of Congress ... casts the history of modern American dance in a new light — as an art form that explored, protested, and promoted the tumultuous U.S. landscape between World War I and the Cold War. ... In 1941, the government, through Nelson Rockefeller as the coordinator of inter-American affairs, sent dancers around South America to counteract anti-American sentiment. One participant was Lew Christensen, whose 'Filling Station' told the story of ordinary Americans such as 'Mac,' a gas station attendant dressed in a stylized, plastic version of the classic uniform. The State Department also sent Graham’s company on a tour in 1955 through Asia, including Burma, India, Pakistan, Japan and the Philippines.

A poster from [Martha] Graham’s performance in Japan depicts an odd version of the dancer as part movie star and part body-builder, showing her as, above all, an American export and commodity. Such promotion of American culture was not unique to dance. In 1946, for instance, the State Department purchased 79 paintings by American artists — among them Romare Bearden, Ben Shahn, and Georgia O’Keeffe — and toured the collection from Latin America to Prague. Sending arts on tour allowed the United States to control its image abroad. In 1962, when the Soviet Union was condemning America for its racial injustice, the State Department sent African American dancers Alvin Ailey and Carmen de Lavallade on a tour to Australia and Asia. Then eight years later, in the midst of the Vietnam War, Alvin Ailey’s company became the first American modern dance group to visit the Soviet Union — as shown in a snapshot of the dancers as tourists in Leningrad. ... In 2010, the State Department launched the cultural diplomacy program DanceMotion USA, which will send four groups abroad. First up is the hip-hop company Rennie Harris Puremovement, which will tour Egypt, Israel, and the Palestinian territories next month. The $1.7 million project represents a small portion of the Bureau for Educational and Cultural Affairs’ nearly $500 million budget. Yet it speaks to the continued interest in using dancers as ambassadors, in the promulgation of the American way." Image from article

The sacred side of Duke Ellington is revealed at Strathmore in series finale - washingtonexaminer.com: "Ken Kimery, an Ellington scholar and executive producer of the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra ... will perform at Strathmore tonight as part of the Discover Ellington series finale. ... The Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra is the orchestra in residence at the National Museum of American History.

Theirs is a mission to explore, present, promote and perpetuate the historical legacy of jazz. 'Ellington was not just a bandleader; he also such a part of our American history, a cultural asset,' Kimery said. 'Beyond just the concert stage, he is still [regarded] for his contributions, his humanity and his cultural diplomacy. He is a barometer for many of us who strive to come close to the lives he lived during his lifetime.'" Image from article

Awards season events promote cultural diplomacy in LA - Max Emanuel Donner, examiner.com: "Cultural ambassadors play an important role in making Los Angeles the Creative Capital of the World. The U.S. capital remains in Washington D.C., so the term is figurative. Figurative is also a good description for the svelte 'Fashion Ambassadors' that Alitalia has flown to Los Angeles from Italy as part of the Los Angeles Italia week of cultural activities. ... The Instituto Cervantes selected New York for its special program 'Spain goes to the Oscars.' ... While Los Angeles had to defer to New York in hosting this program, the success of Los Angeles Italia may improve our chances to welcome a new cultural diplomacy program from Spain next year."

The urgent need for dialogue between culture and European politics‎ - EurActiv: "[C]ommentary ... by the Centre for Fine Arts in Brussels (Bozar) [:] ... Despite its limited jurisdiction, the European Commission has ambitions in the field of culture, as demonstrated by its recent proposal for a new programme for 2014–2020 entitled Creative Europe, a cultural support initiative with a budget of €1.8 billion (of which €900 million will be allocated to cinema), an increase of 40% for culture within the EU’s overall budget. Nevertheless, the total sum earmarked for culture by the EU is still inadequate.

Direct aid to cultural projects only accounts for 0.05% of the budget for 2007–2013, i.e. around €0.13 per European citizen per year. By comparison, European support for agriculture represents around 42% of the same budget. This disproportion reflects a lack of vision for the continent’s future, and calls for a fairer financial redistribution over the long term. At the same time, we also regret the absence of culture in other key domains such as EU foreign policy." Image from

Border melts as India, Bangladesh celebrate Mother Language Day‎ - TwoCircles.net: "With hundreds and thousands of people from either side of the border present and vivid functions and commemorations of the language martyrs, India and Bangladesh Tuesday jointly organised the International Mother Language Day. Men, women and young students belonging to India and Bangladesh, joining the celebrations, breached the borders and walked deep into either country's territory when artists from the two sides performed dances, rendered songs and recitations, and staged drama since the early hours of the day. Members of parliament, legislators, ministers, important personalities took part in the International Mother Language Day programme held at the zero point on this border, three km from the heart of Tripura's capital, Agartala. ... [A] member of the Bangladesh Parliament, Ziaul Haque Mrida said: 'India-Bangladesh cultural diplomacy would definitely resolve many vague and unsettled issues, benefiting the people of the two neighbours.' International Mother Language Day, first announced by Unesco(United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation) Nov 17, 1999, is observed Feb 21 every year worldwide to promote awareness of linguistic and cultural diversity and multilingualism."

Tripura hosts Bangladesh film festival‎ - TruthDive: "In a bid to boost relations between India and Bangladesh, Tripura recently hosted a Bangladesh film festival here. The Nazrul Kala Sethra in Agartala

hosted a five-day long film festival, titled ‘Bangladesh War of Liberation in Celluloid’ screening six films on the Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971. ... The festival was a part of Dhaka’s renewed attempt at cultural diplomacy and encouraging people to people contacts. 'This is a part of our pursuance of cultural diplomacy and people to people contact is an aspect of that. So through these films, we would like to project the historic war of Liberation of Bangladesh to the new generation of Bangladesh and the world,' said Mahbub Hassan Saleh, Bangladesh’s Deputy High Commissioner to India." Image from

Minister decries loss of cultural values‎ - The Nation: "The Minister of Tourism, Culture and National Orientation, High Chief Edem Duke has emphasised that most of the challenges confronting the country are as a result of the breakdown of our cherished cultural values. Chief Duke disclosed this while presenting an address at the 2nd National Institute for Cultural Orientation (NICO) management retreat which theme was 'Consolidating the Gains of the Past.' The event held at City Global Hotel Owerri, the Imo State capital. ... Speaking at the event, the Executive Secretary, NICO, Dr. Barclays Foubiri Ayakoroma disclosed that there is no gainsaying the fact that our inability to keep pace with the development strides of other countries is traceable to the erosion of our cultural norms. He highlighted that the security challenges and most of the contradictions we are experiencing as a people today are as a result of the belief in money over good name, patriotism and intellect. Dr. Ayakoroma

stated that in the past couple of years, the institute had engaged various stakeholders and governments in various cultural content initiatives in the pursuit of their mandate, such as quarterly media workshop for art writers. This, he said, was with a view to aligning the reporters with cultural matters that are essential for national integration and cultural diplomacy. He stated that their past cannot be glossed over without mentioning the Nigerian Indigenous Language Programmes, which, according to him, they intend to re-energise and revitalise beyond the current educational policy level on languages." Ayakoroma image from

Khojaly initiatives of the Karabakh Foundation - news.az: "Khojaly Art Initiative Launched by the Karabakh Foundation[:]Acting on its recommendation of a cultural-diplomacy initiative in response to Khojaly, the Karabakh Foundation announces a Khojaly sculpture contest. Sculptors are encouraged to create a lasting legacy that interprets the impact of the massacre of Azerbaijanis in Khojaly. The Foundation is assembling a blue-ribbon panel to judge the art work, which will be installed in a prominent location."

ENOC recognised for its corporate social responsibility initiatives BOLDtalks 2012 - Jordan Directions: "Emirates National Oil Company (ENOC) won a special recognition for its corporate social responsibility initiatives at BOLDtalks, an open dialogue that hosts international speakers for varied discussions, held at the Dubai Community Theatre andArts Centre. ENOC also supported the third series of the open platform that broadens the community’s horizon through active dialogue and open discussions, as its ‘green partner.’ Inspirational speakers addressed the gathering with topics ranging from cultural diplomacy and child labour, to maximizing the brain potential."

3 Indian-origin Americans roped in Obama campaign team‎ - Day and Night News: "An eminent Hollywood actor, Kalpen Modi is the former White House Associate Director for the Office of Public Engagement. ... In his duties as Liaison to Asian American and Pacific Islander communities, he worked on creating the White House Initiative on Asian American and Pacific Islanders (WHIAAPI). He also worked on arts outreach, focusing on cultural diplomacy and arts education."

RELATED ITEMS

Egyptians Combat State Media Propaganda‎ - Real News Network: The dissemination of mass media from state broadcasting to the general population, including in areas where there is no internet or alternative news, has had a profound impact on misinforming Egyptians. Activists say since before and after the revolution, the regime's propaganda has played a key role in demonizing tahrir revolutionaries and inciting violence against them. State media anchors and journalists label protesters as domestic enemies, slandering them as thugs, prostitutes, drug dealers and criminals.

The regime's propaganda machine has only provoked activists to step up grassroots campaigns targeting the notorious state media building, better known as the Maspero. Image from, with caption: On October 20, 2011 hundreds of Egyptian activists marched from downtown Cairo to Maspero (State TV HQ) protesting against the Military rule and to show solidarity with the massacre vicitms who were killed by the Army back in October 9 in front of Maspero.

WWII propaganda board game - mippyville.blogspot.com

Image from entry

See to the most important passengers: The warped Nazi propaganda film of Titanic - David Gerrie, dailymail.co.uk: It's the most bizarre telling of the Titanic story – a Nazi film overseen by Hitler’s propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels. Titanic, conceived in 1940, was meant to depict Britain as a society ruled by greedy plutocrats. Now the incredible full story of its making has finally come to light. Made on a vast budget equivalent to

£100million today, the film was intended to boost German morale as the Nazis prepared for the invasion of Britain. But like the doomed liner, the film itself met a calamitous end. Never shown in Nazi Germany, its director was found hanged by his own braces and is sus-pected of having been murdered by the Gestapo. And the ship that took the role of the Titanic, the Cap Arcona, was later sunk with 5,000 concentration camp prisoners on board, a vastly greater loss of life than the 1,517 who died in the Titanic disaster. A new Channel 5 documentary, Nazi Titanic: Revealed, tells the story of the film using Goebbels’s private diaries and unseen home movies shot behind the scenes. Image from article, with caption: The 1940 film took nearly two years to make and was never screened in Nazi Germany.

O TEMPORA, O MORES

--Via FW on facebook