John Brown's Public Diplomacy Press and Blog Review

Kimone Thompson, Jamaica Observer Image from article, with caption: THE development of the creative industries, entrepreneurship and social enterprises in the island, or at least in Kingston, are expected to get a boost from the rebranded Robeson American Center, which opened its doors in the capital on Tuesday. After upgrading work over several months, the centre — formerly Paul Robeson Information Resource Center — now has a technology focus and features robotics kits, a 3-D printer, python coding software, and multimedia video conferencing equipment. They, together with new modular furniture and layout, are designed to facilitate innovation clubs with a focus on science, technology engineering and mathematics (STEM) and entrepreneurship, as well as robotics and python coding workshops. State minister in the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries Floyd Green sees potential in the new offerings, particularly for schools and communities in proximity to the centre, ..

Tan Mei Zi, malaymail.com, 21 February 2019 Diana Chan chose to make ‘nasi ulam’ to showcase the amazing potential of local produce while honouring her Peranakan ancestry. — Picture by Ahmad Zamzahuri KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 21 — MasterChef Australia 2017 winner Diana Chan rolled up her sleeves this afternoon for an exciting masterclass with students from the Dignity for Children Foundation, a charity focused on empowering refugee youths.The social enterprise aims to provide a real-life training platform for underprivileged teens to hone employability skills, and Chan’s visit was a prime opportunity for them to flex their culinary muscles while picking up useful advice for their future careers.The Eat X Dignity cafe in Sentul was filled with the fragrance of local herbs freshly picked from the cafe’s garden as the chef busied herself with preparing a tasty spread of nasi ulam.Chan, who hails from Johor Baru, chose to make nasi ulam as the dish would allow local produce to shine while paying ..

NATO HQ (press release), last updated: 22 Feb. 2019 uncaptioned image from entry On 19-20 February, a group of Algerian parliamentarians from the Council of the Nation and the People’s National Assembly visited NATO Headquarters in the framework of our Mediterranean Dialogue public diplomacy [JB emphasis] activities. The delegation, composed of members of the Commission for Foreign Affairs and the Commission for National Defence, was briefed on a number of issues, including relations with partners from the Mediterranean Dialogue (MD) and the Istanbul Cooperation Initiative (ICI), current relations between NATO and Russia, the Science for Peace and Security (SPS) programme, energy security, counter-terrorism, and cyber defense. The parliamentarians also met with the Permanent Representatives from France and from Portugal, as well as the Deputy Permanent Representative from Hungary. The latter became the Contact Point Embassy (CPE) for Algeria in January. Future opportunities for public ..

Jae-Yong Ryu, us.acrofan.com uncaptioned image from article On 18 February, the Soorim Arts Center in Seoul hosted a festive opening ceremony for an exhibition devoted to Latvian architecture, Latvia. Architecture at Convergence. This is the first exhibition on Latvian architecture in the Republic of Korea; it has been organised to mark Latvia’s Centenary and introduce viewers to outstanding achievements of the country in architecture, thereby raising the profile of Latvia in the respective sector in Korea. The exhibition will be on display until 24 March. Ten modules of the exhibition with 40 large scale photographs and annotations reflect the diversity of Latvia’s architecture rich in wooden built heritage, mediaeval buildings included in the UNESCO World Heritage list, Art Nouveau masterpieces – all of which have left their permanent imprint on the development of European culture. The photographs have been complemented with panels featuring a graphic presentation of all those histor..

Lahav Hakov, February 20, 2019, jpost.com Image from article: New Right: Naftali Bennett and Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked announce the formation of a new political party in Tel Aviv on December 29. (photo credit: CORINNA KERN/REUTERS) Among the New Right’s candidates is Yomtov Kalfon, an attorney, activist, and founder of “Aleinu,” meant to help get French-speaking immigrants involved in Israeli politics. Excerpt: The New Right Party introduced more candidates and Yisrael Beytenu presented its list ahead of Thursday’s final deadline to submit lists. ... Ran Bario Bar-Yoshafat, deputy director of the right-leaning Kohelet Policy Forum, also joined the New Right’s list. Bar-Yoshafat, 35, conducted Israel advocacy tours in the US and wrote a book about Israeli public diplomacy [JB emphasis] . ...

Shakeel Ahmad Ramay, dailytimes.com.pk image fromPakistan is celebrating the announcement of $20 billion investment by Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman (MBS). Indeed, this is a cause of great relief and satisfaction for Pakistan’s investment hungry economy, which was struggling to overcome the shocks and devastating impacts of the war on terror, frequent floods and bad governance. There were offers from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), but they were not acceptable. Moreover, our allies in the war on terror were using the IMF as leverage against us. In this dire situation, Pakistan executed a plan to engage our friends and brothers. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates responded to Pakistan’s call with generosity. Qatar and Oman are also not far behind. Qatar has already offer 100,000 jobs for Pakistanis. MBS visited Pakistan to re-enforce Riyadh’s commitments with Pakistan. Pakistan and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) signed a diverse range of agreements in multiple secto..

Emily Langer, washingtonpost.com JB personal note: I grew up in Rome as a foreign service brat, '58-'62 and can still swear in Romanesco. On my remarkable diplomat father, see. Image from article: Dr. Gardner taught at Columbia Law School for nearly six decades before his retirement in 2012. (Gary Gilbert/Courtesy of Columbia Law School) Richard N. Gardner, who helped mold U.S. foreign policy and generations of policymakers as a Columbia Law School professor for nearly six decades and as a U.S. ambassador to Italy and Spain, died Feb. 16 at his home in New York City. He was 91. The cause was congestive heart failure, said his daughter, Nina Gardner. Dr. Gardner spent more than half a century moving between academia and government, training the legal and economic expertise that he gained as a Yale law student and Rhodes scholar on some of the most pressing global concerns of the Cold War and its aftermath. At Columbia, he was best known for his seminar “Legal Aspects of U.S. ..

newbusinessethiopia.com, February 20, 2019 uncaptioned image from article The leaders of Ethiopia and Eritrea are set to formalize relations by signing detail cooperation agreements to boost economic relations focusing on trade regulations and infrastructural connectivity. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed of Ethiopia and Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki, are soon to seal a comprehensive cooperation agreement aimed at formalizing the two countries [.] This is indicated by Ethiopian Ambassador to Eritrea, Redwan Hussein. The two countries have been undertaking extensive discussions on ways to institutionalize the national and border trade. Discussions have also made on port usage, custom, immigration and transport linkages and the comprehensive agreement would be tabled for the respective leaders for approval, according to Ambassador Redwan who spoke to the state daily - The Ethiopian Herald. “After Ethiopia and Eritrea endorsed the agreements by their legislative organs, they would establish ..

Hajira Maryam, Mirza Agency image from article The Kashmiri occupation have been engendering violent behaviors and terrorism, and this can only be resolved through negotiation and mediating talks instead of episodic blame game or ongoing rivalry ISTANBULLast week on Feb. 14, a militant attack was carried out in the Pulwama district of India-held Kashmir. Killing 40 paramilitary police officers [1], the militant group Jaish-e-Mohammed took responsibility for the attack. After a meeting with the Cabinet Committee on Security chaired by Narendra Modi, India placed allegations that the attackers were linked with the Pakistani state. Also, Indian Finance Minister Arun Jaitley announced “complete isolation” and revoking “the most favored nation status” to Pakistan under World Trade Organization rules (a trading status to ensure non-discriminatory trade).The statement by the Indian leadership comes at a very fortuitous time with “more holes than Swiss cheese”, as it were, when one observes th..

Lahav Harkov, Jerusalem Post, February 20, 2019 It could easily be understood that Gantz is delegitimizing English-speaking immigrants as phonies who can’t be leaders of Israel. Image from article: Benny Gantz speaks at the annual Munich Security Conference in Munich, Germany February 17, 2019 “In a month and a half, we will all choose between a ruler who has English from Boston, heavy makeup, and luxury suits – and an Israeli leadership which is real, caring, authentic and not phony,” Israel Resilience Party leader Benny Gantz said in a speech Tuesday night. Leave aside the fact that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s English is from spending most of his childhood in the suburbs of Philadelphia, and not Boston. What are all the other Israelis from Boston, Philadelphia, New York, London, Johannesburg or Melbourne supposed to think? Regardless of what Gantz intended, that remark, as well as him saying that Netanyahu was busy in America “to improve your English and practice it at luxuri..