The Public Diplomacy Program - IDC

idc.ac.il; on idc, see.

This unique program, which offers both theoretical and practical tools in the field of Public Diplomacy, is a join[t] program of the Sammy Ofer school of Communication and the Lauder school of Government.

​21th century conflicts are being fought simultaneously on a few battlefield, one of which is the media. The “image war,” in which each side in the conflict attempt to justify their ideas, beliefs, and actions, represents an important front in the comprehensive struggle between antagonists. Through the usage of Public Diplomacy political actors can try to influence foreign publics and try to create favourable policies towards them in the international arena.

The Public Diplomacy Program caters to leading students from all the schools at the IDC, in their senior year, who wish to acquire a deep understanding of academic and practical tools to engage in diplomacy in our information age.

The program combines content from governance, communication, psychology and marketing, and provides students with a rich toolkit that will enable them to deal with a variety of challenges in the diplomatic and advocacy arenas; with emphasis on the understanding of the foundations of modern diplomacy and the activities of various organizations in the global arena, political and security dilemmas which are central in Israel and abroad, the role of public diplomacy, the media coverage of conflicts, the psychology of promoting messages to diverse audiences, nation branding and digital marketing.

In addition to the rich academic content, students are also exposed to a variety of practical tools dealing with content creation, messages promotion, and the shaping of public opinion in the digital age, through various workshops throughout the program.

Students will be given the opportunity to apply the tools they learn throughout the program, and to acquire practical experience through a unique internship at Act.IL – a joint project of the IDC and Israeli American Council, that engage in pro-Israel network in an attempt to optimize content creation for target audiences. The project's vision is to create an online community that will act to promote a positive influence on the international public opinion towards the State of Israel via social media platforms. It wishes to moderate the impact of the BDS and other movements that call for the de-legitimization of Israel.

The students of the Public Diplomacy Program will work as interns in the project and will receive practical experience in the creation and distribution of digital content, working directly with organizations that are active on campuses, and more.

For their work as interns (in which the students will invest time and efforts beyond the academic courses) the students will receive a scholarship and some will even be invited to join the project team and travel to missions in the United States.

The program is being taught in English, and is spread out over an academic year (22 credits).


For additional information please contact Dr. Moran Yarchi, the co-head of the public diplomacy program: myarchi@idc.ac.il