USC Center on Public Diplomacy - PD News (August 23)

August 23, 2017 via email For 10 Years, the Twitter Hashtag Fueled Social Activism and Dad Jokes RECODE Ten years ago today, the Twitter hashtag was born with a very simple tweet. [...] And while Twitter is celebrating today by promoting the rise of popular, non-political hashtags like #FollowFriday, #NowPlaying and #ThrowbackThursday, the hashtag’s most meaningful contribution in the U.S. and abroad has been its ability to rally the internet around more serious ideas and issues. Read More... UK Considers Internet Ombudsman to Deal with Abuse Complaints THE GUARDIAN Ministers in the UK are considering creating an internet ombudsman to deal with complaints about hate crimes and are pressing ahead with proposals for a levy on social media companies to help pay for the policing of online offenses. [...] The idea of an internet ombudsman is already being developed in France and Australia. Each country is creating an agency to act as an independent body that will mediate between members of the public and social media firms. Read More... ICCR to Host Mime Festival, Workshop STATE TIMES Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), Ministry of External Affairs in association with the Department of Students Welfare University of Jammu is going to organize first ever Mime Festival and Workshop in Jammu. Read More... Mayor Honored for Promoting City and Encouraging Citizen Diplomacy ALBUQUERQUE JOURNAL Albuquerque Mayor Richard Berry on Tuesday received two honors — both of them for promoting Albuquerque on the world stage and for advancing citizen diplomacy. The first award was from Global Ties ABQ on behalf of the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. The award recognizes Berry’s “extraordinary commitment to encourage citizen diplomacy and to foster commercial, educational, and cultural exchange between Albuquerque and nations from all over the world.” Read More... The BBC Has Launched A New Pidgin Digital Service BLAVITY BBC premiered its new Pidgin service on Monday, August 21, hopeful that the station will attract the estimated 75 million Pidgin speakers in Nigeria, as well as Pidgin speakers in Cameroon, Ghana and Sierra Leone. Pidgin, for the unfamiliar, is a hybrid language that mixes English with one or more other languages. About 5 million Nigerians speak Pidgin as their first language. Read More... Tea Diplomacy in The Age of “Fire and Fury” DIPLOMATIC COURIER In an era marked with alarming language of “fire and fury,” it is useful to add a bag of tea to boiling water and let it steep for until reason gives diplomacy a chance to percolate for an amiable situation. As a beverage, tea lubricates good conversations, without the hangovers that come along with alcoholic concoctions. Read More...