John Brown's Public Diplomacy Press and Blog Review

via VOA email (VOA press release); see also VOA Director Amanda Bennett (center) with VOA Turkish Chief Hulya S. Polat and members of the service.Voice of America’s Turkish language service received the David Burke Distinguished Journalism Award for its breaking news coverage and extensive follow-up on the attacks on peaceful protesters outside the Turkish ambassador’s residence in Washington, D.C., in May 2017. Turkish service reporters risked physical harm and continued harassment by the government of Turkey’s president Recep Tayyip Erdogan as a result of their coverage of this incident. VOA Turkish captured exclusive video during President Erdogan’s visit to Washington on May 16, 2017. The video showed Erdogan supporters, as well as presidential security forces and several other armed individuals, assaulting peaceful protesters outside the residence in a manner the Washington Metropolitan Police Department characterized as a “brutal attack.” The footage of the brawl went viral as n..

Before World War I, Woodrow Wilson proclaimed America First as a rationale for neutrality. Before World War II, members of the America First Committee included Walt Disney, Frank Lloyd Wright and Gerald Ford BOOKSHELF ‘Behold, America’ Review: Fighting WordsBefore World War I, Woodrow Wilson proclaimed America First as a rationale for neutrality. Before World War II, members of the America First Committee included Walt Disney, Frank Lloyd Wright and Gerald Ford.World War II war propaganda poster by the America First Committee. By Fergus M. Bordewich, Wall Street Journal, Dec. 13 Allusions to what we celebrate as the “American dream” are so ubiquitous that it might seem that everyone knows what the phrase refers to. In “Behold, America,” Sarah Churchwell, an American-born scholar at the University of London, tells us that we barely grasp the many meanings of this heavily freighted term. Thus she sets about unpacking its multi-layered and surprising history. And against the American dr..

jou.ufl.edu; original article contains links Eugenia Blaubach “As a communicator, my dream is to positively affect the narrative surrounding immigrants,” said University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications Public Relations senior Eugenia Blaubach. Born in Venezuela, she came to the U.S. with her parents when she was seven years old. After high school, she wanted to study journalism, but deep down knew she wanted to advocate, not just report. Transferring from Santa Fe Community College to UF exposed her to a world of new options. It was during a TEDxUF talk by CJC Frank Karel Endowed Chair in Public Interest Communications Ann Christiano that Blaubach realized public relations was a better fit. Christiano piqued her interest in the use of strategic communication to drive positive social change. Since then, Blaubach has been working toward a future where she can marry her skills in strategic communication with a career in public diplomacy [JB emphasis]. “Now that the wor..

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Rinzin Dorjee, thediplomat.com, October 29, 2018 uncaptioned image from article Religion, particularly Buddhism, is relevant more than ever in today’s China, whose government is expected to invest more than $1 trillion in its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). On one hand, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) under Xi Jinping acknowledges that religion can be used to feed the social vacuum in capitalist China. At the same time, the CCP has not strayed far from the position of Mao Zedong, who whispered to the Dalai Lama during the latter’s visit to Beijing in 1954 that “Religion is poison… both Tibet and Mongolia were poisoned by it.”Under the current leadership in Beijing, China employs Buddhism as a vital asset to resolve both the domestic crisis at home and add soft power to its diplomatic relations. Internationally, the narrative of China’s leadership of the Buddhist world is generated from its heavy investment in building Buddhist institutions in China and its engagements with Buddhist c..

tufts.edu Re-Making Public Diplomacy [JB emphasis]: How the Fight Against Disinformation is Changing the Way We Talk With the World December 11 @ 3:00 pm - 4:30 pm Please join the Fletcher Eurasia Club and the Fletcher Diplomacy Club for an informal conversation with William Stevens, the former spokesperson of U.S. Embassy Moscow and now the chief of the U.S. Department of State’s training division for public diplomacy [JB emphasis]. Stevens will share his insights and experiences from working as the top U.S. public affairs official in Russia and discuss some of the creative ways his team engaged with misinformation and trolling. [...]

Rebecca Spong, arabnews.com, December 14, 2028 Speaking at the third Arab Social Media Influencers Summit in Dubai, Queen Rania said people should use their online platforms to generate positive changeWinners recognized at the event included Queen Rania, who was named personality of the year for using social media to support humanitarian causes Image from article, with caption: Queen Rania argued social media should be harnessed as a tool to remove barriers between people, rather than create more divisions in society. (AFP) LONDON: Jordan’s Queen Rania has urged social media influencers to use their online presence to pursue the truth and promote humanitarian causes. Speaking at the third Arab Social Media Influencers Summit in Dubai on Monday, she said people should use their online platforms to generate positive change. The summit brought together 70 speakers from 25 countries to discuss the power of social media. “(In our virtual world) the truth is losing ground to emotional rhetor..

Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University On October 26, Japan’s former Ambassador to Canada Kenjiro Monji presented a lecture entitled “How to Promote Japan: Public Diplomacy [JB emphasis]and Soft Power” in a Ritsumeikan Center for Asia Pacific Studies (RCAPS) Onigiri Seminar. This seminar was chaired by culture, society and media professor Kaori Yoshida, who completed her Master of Arts and PhD in Canada.Ambassador Monji’s impressive career with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan spans overseas postings in Australia, Belgium, and the United Kingdom as well as his position as ambassador in Iraq, Qatar, France (as ambassador to UNESCO) and Canada. One of the main duties throughout his career was to promote Japan to foreigners.It comes as no surprise that Ambassador Monji takes immense pride in Japan’s culture and heritage. He is an avid fan of pop culture such as manga, anime, cosplay, and Japanese pop idols. Additionally, his self-professed love for Japanese sake is evident through hi..

Ben Chu, independent.co.uk image (not from article) from Excerpt: Shinichi Iida, Japan’s minister for public diplomacy [JB emphasis] and media, told The Independent earlier this year that his country’s “first and foremost priority” was rubber-stamping the Brussels deal before work could begin on a free trade agreement with the UK. But he added that: “Once the Japan-EU economic partnership agreement comes into force, it could provide a very good and sound basis for the future trade between Japan and UK.” ...

arabianindustry.com Image from article, with caption: Nation Abu Dhabi selected Hind Anabtawi, Mariam Al Awadhi and Salma Sherry as the winning filmmakers of the 2018 Arab Film Studio program at an awards ceremony on 11 December. Excerpt: To date, over 120 emerging filmmakers have participated in Arab Film Studio, with many going on to impressive success in the field. Films created during the program have screened over 275 times at prestigious film festivals around the globe. ... Arab Film Studio was created by Image Nation in 2011 to develop UAE nationals’ and residents’ filmmaking skills, in furthering its mission to help create a sustainable film and television industry. There are now six individual training initiatives, two of which were launched earlier this year. This includes AFS Corporate which was created as a two-week intensive program for Emirati marketing and communications executives to educate them about developing media content for public diplomacy [JB emphasis] , digita..