January 11

"It's remarkable that you can have an organization [Voice of America] financed by the government, legally controlled by the government, run by someone appointed by the president of the United States and still have it be accurate, balanced, and comprehensive. People don't really believe it."

--Geoffrey Cowan, VOA Director, March 1994-November 1996, cited in Alan L. Heil, Jr., "Voice of America: A History" (New York: Columbia University Press, 2003), p. 449; text of VOA charter at; image from

"[W]e aim to overcome some of the walls between domestic policy and foreign policy. This is a piece of public diplomacy."

--Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu

CONTEST

Public Diplomacy Web Contest: Let me know if you are interested! - Ms. Leah C.I.S.E.: Coursework, General announcements: For the eighth year in a row, the Doors to Diplomacy contest invites international and American students to promote positive online global relations. The deadline for entries is March 23, 2010. For the contest, teams of two to four students, ages 12–19, and up to two adult coaches create Web projects on international issues and propose diplomatic solutions. Winners will be announced in May 2010. Each student member of the two winning teams receives a $2,000 scholarship, and their coaches’ schools earn a $500 cash award.

PUBLIC DIPLOMACY IN THE NEWS

Bitcentral product remedies Alhurra's "limited access to news content" - Kim Andrew Elliott Reporting on International Broadcasting: “Sometimes real news can be culled from a press release. Alhurra was trying to compete with the likes of Al Jazeera, Al Arabiya, and BBC Arabic TV with ‘only limited access to news content from off-site facilities’?"

"VOA doesn't even have a Baluchi language service!" (updated) - Kim Andrew Elliott Reporting on International Broadcasting

Ghazni Members Participate in the Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity Event - Prt Ghazni:

Image from article: ”Ms. Mahtab Farid, Dept. of State Public Diplomacy Officer assigned to Ghazni Provincial Reconstruction Team, writes Dari/Farsi Calligraphy as part of the fund raising for the 18th Annual Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity held on Forward Operating Base Ghazni, Afghanistan on Jan. 10.”

Republican Attack Machine : Controlling the Spin - Sherman DeBrosse, theragblog.blogspot.com: “In 1981, Ronald Wilson Reagan began the practice of using psychological warfare techniques on or against the American people. At the time, this was called ‘public diplomacy.’ Make no mistake about it, this amounts to pouring poison into the stream of democratic discourse.”

Mardin echoes Turkey's call for just global system - Emine Kart, Today's Zaman: "At the end of a packed, five-day brainstorming conference held in Ankara, senior Turkish diplomats travelled to Mardin with their maestro, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu, to underline the need for a fresh philosophical approach to creating a new international order based on respect for multiculturalism and the equality of all humanity.

At the Ankara conference, which included about 200 current and former ambassadors under the auspices of the Foreign Ministry, Davutoğlu said Ankara needs to come up with a systematic and coherent vision unique to Turkey in its dealings with regional and international affairs, without forgetting public diplomacy, to draw support from the public audience both at home and abroad.” Image Ahmet Davutoğlu, his wife, Sare, and their children visited the Kasımiye Madrasah in Mardin on Saturday from article

Public diplomacy takes stage in Mardin - Fulya Özerkan, Hurriyet Daily News: “Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu toured the southeastern city of Mardin as part of a brand-new strategy to explain Turkey’s foreign policy throughout the country, especially in long-neglected Anatolia.” See also.

Davutoğlu tears down walls between foreign, domestic policy - Emine Kart, Today's Zaman: "As part of the ‘zero problems with neighbors policy' public diplomacy and surface diplomacy, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu, who is reshaping Turkey's foreign policy, has announced a new project that will involve both the Foreign Ministry and the Interior Ministry. Noting that he has spoken with Interior Minister Beşir Atalay on the matter, Davutoğlu said:

‘We envision deploying diplomats who are assigned to neighboring countries to work with the governors offices in border provinces. For example, if a diplomat is going to be assigned to Aleppo, he will work in Hatay for 15 days first. Some district governors who will be assigned to border provinces will work at border consulates before they take office. In this way we aim to overcome some of the walls between domestic policy and foreign policy. This is a piece of public diplomacy. We are going to work to enable these worlds to intermix as much as possible.’” Image from

Davutoğlu moves to strengthen structure of the foreign ministry - Hurriyet Daily News: “In an effort to meet the needs of more active and more inclusive diplomacy, the Foreign Ministry moved to restructure both its duties and foundation. The draft law envisaging the restructuring of the ministry will soon be submitted to Parliament. The move came just days after the ministry concluded a week-long conference on the future of Turkish diplomacy. Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu said the ministry needed a better structure to deal with global issues. ... The law ... foresees the establishment of a public diplomacy secretariat that would make the activities of the ministry more public. Also, Turkish diplomacy will greet younger ambassadors, as the appointment system will be based on performance rather than the age.” See also. Image from

2010 - the year France and Russia - Народная дипломатия-Public diplomacy.

Image from

Why China matters - Michael Dickson, Jerusalem Post: “The Chinese view of Israelis is pretty two-dimensional; they are impressed by what they perceive as an intelligent nation, yet they are bemused by the continuing conflict in the region. As in all societies where Jews are scarce and knowledge of Israel is limited, stereotypes fill the void. Public diplomacy, therefore, has an important role to play.”

IPREX Boosts European Capability with New Partner – wbpr – in Germany - press release, Earthtimes: “IPREX, the worldwide corporation of independent public relations and communication firms, has boosted its client service capability in Europe by electing wbpr as an additional partner in Germany, joining long-standing partner m/e brand communication of Düsseldorf. ... Building on its considerable knowledge of government communication and its experience in international work, wbpr recently established a Public Diplomacy Team dedicated to reputation management for major political units including countries. Members of the team, which is headed by a former diplomat, have conducted programs in many countries, from Russia to southern Africa, and from Brussels to the Middle East.”

RELATED ITEMS

'Hillary effect' cited for increase in female ambassadors to U.S. - Mary Jordan, Washington Post:

There are 25 female ambassadors posted in Washington -- the highest number ever, according to the State Department. Image from

It's the visas, stupid- Joel Mowbray, Washington Times: The Department of Homeland Security, which holds partial regulatory authority over visa policy, has had running battles with State over visa issuance. Law enforcement-minded DHS officials believe in erring on the side of security, while State again and again has sided with foreigners seeking access to the United States. For State to enforce existing law and err on the side of security, the department must undergo a complete about-face from its current operating procedures.

Privatized War, and Its Price – Editorial, New York Times: During the presidential campaign, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton competed over who would take the toughest line against mercenaries.

It is clear that the only way for President Obama to make good on the rhetoric is to get rid of the thousands of private gunmen still deployed in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere. The government has not prosecuted a single successful case for killings by armed contractors overseas. Image from

Don't panic. Fear is al-Qaeda's real goal - Fareed Zakaria, Washington Post: Overreacting to terrorist attacks plays into al-Qaeda's hands. It also provokes responses that are likely to be large-scale, expensive, ineffective and possibly counterproductive.

U.S. ambition alone won't forge Mideast peace - Jackson Diehl, Washington Post: At the moment, the United States is ready in the Middle East -- something that hasn't always been true. But it's not clear that any of the other parties -- Palestinian, Israeli or Arab -- are.

Taking the Measure of Obama's Foreign Policy Saying that the U.S. will 'bear witness' to brutality around the word is, in effect, to say that we will send flowers to funerals - Eliot A. Cohen, Wall Street Journal:

Much of foreign policy consists of a rough and ready game of adaptation to unforeseen, occasionally awful events. Indeed, Mr. Obama has been fortunate that his first year in office did not witness a real foreign-policy crisis. We have yet to see how he will meet that test. Mr. Obama likes to give speeches. And it still leaves plenty -- articulating the need for and meaning of American primacy, for example -- for 2011. Image from

Learning From Europe - Paul Krugman, New York Times: Europe is often held up as a cautionary tale, a demonstration that if you try to make the economy less brutal, to take better care of your fellow citizens when they’re down on their luck, you end up killing economic progress. But what European experience actually demonstrates is the opposite: social justice and progress can go hand in hand.