Public diplomacy

Francisco Bencosme, Asia Advocacy Manager, hmedium.com/@amnestyusa; original article contains a footnote and additional photographs Image from article, with caption: A policeman gestures as Muslims arrive at for morning prayer in China’s Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region Excerpt: Amnesty International USA is mobilizing its two million members and supporters behind two key pieces of human rights legislation — S. 178, the Uighur Human Rights Policy Act of 2019, and the UIGHUR Act. Senator Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and 20 other Senators introduced the Act of 2019. The UIGHUR Act of 2018 (H.R.7384) was initiated by Congressman Brad Sherman (D-Calif.) and four other legislators. Up to one million Uighurs and other ethnic minorities are being arbitrarily detained in so-called “re-education camps” –an afront to international human rights law. The new Congress needs to assert its leadership on this key human rights issue and swiftly pass legislation without haste. While commentary on the legislatio..

mfa.gov.lv uncaptioned image from article From 6 to 8 February, the Latvian men’s national hockey team took part in a special tournament in South Korea’s Olympic city Gangneung held to celebrate the first anniversary of the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics and played against South Korea, Japan and Kazakhstan. The Latvian team, consisting mainly of players from Latvian hockey clubs, with two wins and a loss to Kazakhstan in overtime, placed second, representing our country excellently. From 9 to 12 February, the women’s national team, taking part in a tournament of a similar format and competing with South Korean and Hungarian teams, won one point and placed third. Our girls fought hard but fortune was on their adversaries’ side this time. The Latvian-South Korean match, broadcast live on television, was watched by several hundreds of thousands of viewers. In the context of bilateral relations between Latvia and South Korea, the tournaments were a unique opportunity to raise Latvia’s pr..

Alan Heil, publicdiplomacycouncil.org, January 26, 2019 It was October 15. 2015. The Broadcasting Board of Governors, recently renamed the U.S. Agency for Global Media, heard some sound advice about the power of the five taxpayer-funded multimedia networks it leads. “To state the obvious,” guest speaker Adam Clayton Powell III told the Board, “not everything is true, some things are provably false. Not everything is equivalent; some things are repulsive to humanity.” Damas de Blanco protest in Havana, Cuba, March 20, 2016, holidng a sign that reads “We all march for the freedom of political prisoners in Cuba,” (V. Macchi/VOA).“Today,” he continued, “the choice can be very clear. Seizing neighboring countries by force is not just another country’s ideology. Jailing political opponents in Havana or Caracas is not just an alternative lifestyle.“Mass enslavement of women and girls by ISIS is not just another way of exercising power. Mass kidnapping of African boys and forcing them to becom..

Alan Heil, publicdiplomacycouncil.org, February 13, 2019 “One Individual, One Community at a Time” Roger-Mark De Souza narrates the success stories of citizen diplomacy at the First Monday Forum on Feb. 11.Imagine an American non-profit, non-partisan organization that reaches out to improve lives in cities, towns and villages around the globe. President Dwight Eisenhower first had that dream in 1956. It has now enhanced mutual respect and understanding through worldwide exchanges for more than seven decades.Roger-Mark De Souza, the new president of Sister Cities International, electrified an audience of public diplomacy [JB emphasis] professionals and scholars at George Washington University on a rainy Monday in one of the most heartfelt, moving and enthusiastic presentations of the season.“It’s amazing,” a Sister Cities volunteer in Montgomery County in Maryland told Mr. De Souza after returning a few months ago from a trip to a sub-Sahara African village. “They have so little and do..

Sune Engel Rasmussen and Jessica Donati, Wall Street Journal, Updated Feb. 13, 2019; see also Iran Rift Hurts U.S. Effort to Build Consensus on Mideast Policy Image from article, with caption: Vice President Mike Pence and Polish President Andrzej Duda, center right, in Warsaw on Wednesday.Excerpt: WARSAW—Divisions over Iran are hindering the Trump administration’s efforts to build consensus with NATO allies on Middle East policy, with European powers balking at joining top U.S. officials in Poland’s capital for an event on regional security.Washington has made isolating Tehran a focus of its foreign policy. Its major North Atlantic Treaty Organization allies, including Britain, Germany and France, seek to preserve ties with Tehran and salvage the 2015 multilateral nuclear accord from which the U.S. withdrew last year, before reimposing sanctions.Now, this divide over Iran is on public display as officials from some 60 countries gather in for Warsaw for the two-day Middle East conferen..

state.gov ***THE DAILY PUBLIC SCHEDULE IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE***DEPARTMENT OF STATE PUBLIC SCHEDULE FEBRUARY 13, 2019 Royce image fromExcerpt:ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR EDUCATIONAL AND CULTURAL AFFAIRS MARIE ROYCE9:00 a.m. Assistant Secretary Royce delivers remarks at the Education USA Public Affairs Staff Conference at the Institute of International Education in Washington, DC. (MEDIA DETERMINED BY HOST)

Ashlea Halpern, afar.com, 2.11.2019 Photo by Yongkiet Jitwattanatam/ShutterstockLanding a job abroad is a great way to combine work and adventure. Beyond backpacking, bartending, and busking, these are some of the most popular professions for the exploration-obsessed. Some people love travel so much, they make it their job. Pilots and hotel general managers are among the highest-profile occupations within the tourism sector, but there are countless other travel-intensive gigs that don’t fall squarely within the industry (polar scientists, wildlife photographers, touring magicians, and Doctors Without Borders among them). Other ways to merge work with travel include becoming a traveling nurse, volunteering with the Peace Corps, or finding a job as a tour guide, yoga teacher, or scuba instructor. Here, we look at seven of the most common travel jobs—plus the ups, the downs, and resources for pursuing them.Flight attendantIf this is the first job that springs to mind when you picture a c..

omny.fm/shows/jim-bohannon/jim-bohannon-02-11-19#description Jim BohannonDescription Guests: William Ogborn [JB see], Strategic Communications and Public Diplomacy [JB emphasis] Expert, On to discuss Venezuela and Iran. Steve Dale, Certified Animal Behavior Consultant, On to discuss pet spay and neuter month. And ... Your thoughts on a potential deal to avoid another government shutdown.

1tv.ge, 12.02.2019 uncaptioned image from article The Embassy of Poland will become a contact point embassy between NATO and Georgia. The network of contact point embassies was established in the 1990s as a form of support between NATO and Partner states. Mariusz Maszkiewicz, Ambassador of Poland to Georgia said that the project would contribute to the high social support to Georgia’s integration into NATO. “I am glad that the Polish Embassy has been assigned such a prestigious and responsible function. Poland has always been a faithful friend of Georgia and has served as its constant advocate on international forums for many years,” Maszkiewicz stated. Since the early 1990s, NATO has developed a network of Contact Point Embassies (CPE) to support the Alliance’s partnership and public diplomacy [JB emphasis] activities in countries participating in the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council (EAPC), Partnership for Peace (PfP), Mediterranean Dialogue (MD) and Istanbul Cooperation Initiative..

Denise Allabaugh, The Times-Tribune, Scranton Image from, under the headline:Meet Native America: Kevin P. Brown, Chairman of the Mohegan Tribe Kevin “Red Eagle” Brown has informed the Mohegan Tribal Council that he would step down as chairman of the Mohegan Tribe for personal reasons effective immediately, according to a statement from Charles F. Bunnell, chief of staff for the Mohegan Tribe. Brown will remain as a member of the Tribal Council and Mohegan Gaming & Entertainment Management board which oversees gaming entities across the country as well as two professional sports teams, Bunnell said. Mohegan Sun and the Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority own the New England Black Wolves professional lacrosse team and the Connecticut Sun women’s basketball team of the WNBA. The Tribal Council has asked vice chairman James Gessner to assume the role of interim chairman for the foreseeable future, Bunnell said. The Mohegan Tribe of Connecticut owns Mohegan Sun Pocono in Plains Twp. Brown was ..