State Dept in-house tech R&D lab creates tech camps, virtual internships – and draws interest from Fortune 100 companies

WASHINGTON – The State Department's Office of eDiplomacy, the in-house lab for tech innovation and management, was the focus of the June CCLP Washington DC lunch forum. Richard Boly, who directs the office, said the eDiplomacy initiative has been so successful that major companies from Kimberly Clark to Nike have come to study innovations implemented in the State Department. Noting it took diplomacy centuries to moved from wax-sealed envelopes to the telegraph (he called it diplomatic Disruptive Technology 1.0), Boly said the pace of change has compressed from years into weeks and even days. But that reflects his background in……

Technology shifts soft power goals from ‘winning hearts and minds’ to forming relationships

WASHINGTON – Successful deployment of soft power in the 21st century requires rethinking not only methods but also goals. That was the message this week from Nicholas Cull, who spoke at a CCLP forum here this week. Cull, who directs the Masters Program in Public Diplomacy at USC, urged policy makers to shift from "winning hearts and minds" to a new framing, enabled and driven by social media. "It is post-statecraft," said Cull. "It's not about 'hearts and minds.' It's about relationships."……

Digital, social media are major boost US image, message abroad

WASHINGTON – The Internet and social media are providing a major boost for America's image and messages abroad, according to Dawn McCall (pictured right), Coordinator of International Information Programs (IIP) for the State Department, speaking here at a CCLP forum. "The reality for public diplomacy has dramatically changed and so has the environment in which IIP operates today," McCall said. "I am sure no one in this room could have predicted five years ago how differently we would engage with each other today."……

CCLP launches public diplomacy series in Washington, D.C.

WASHINGTON – Public diplomacy is the focus of a new series of the Center on Communication Leadership and Policy forums that launched last week on August 30th, in Washington D.C. The first program, "The Last Three Feet: Case Studies in Public Diplomacy," was devoted to efforts by the U.S. to establish personal relationships with publics overseas and drew on contributors to the recently published book titled by the same name. The latest book in the Public Diplomacy Series published by the Public Diplomacy Council is now available on Amazon.com, both in paperback and as an e-book. Jean E. Manes, Staff……

Judith McHale's Departure from the State Department

The article was written by CCLP Faculty Fellow Phil Seib, and was originally posted on the Center on Public Diplomacy blog. Judith McHale's departure from her position as Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs presents an opportunity not only to appraise her tenure, but also to consider the future direction of U.S. public diplomacy. McHale's most valuable contribution may have been to structurally reinforce public diplomacy within the State Department. By overseeing the addition of deputy assistant secretaries responsible for public diplomacy throughout State, she took a big step toward increasing the centrality of public diplomacy……

Pakistan and America: The Bad Marriage

The last time I saw Abbottabad, I was in a crowd of a couple of hundred men watching a dancing bear hopping up and down and then wrestling in the dust with the owner's son. The crowd enjoyed it and stayed for the end, the collecting of coins. There was not a lot of entertainment around there; people looked and stopped at anything out of the ordinary. So, like all people, the folks there gossiped about most anything they noticed–say, a million-dollar compound with 18-foot walls and opaque windows three times the size of anything else in what we would……

CCLP Researchers Share Projects with Annenberg Students, Faculty

From technology's impact on public diplomacy to the role of biography in constructing presidential legacy, the USC Annenberg Center on Communication Leadership & Policy's (CCLP) diverse range of research projects and policy initiatives on display at the April 13th Policy Research Roundtable. Convened by CCLP Director Geoffrey Cowan and hosted by CCLP Research Director Mark Latonero (pictured left), the lunchtime event served as an opportunity for the Center to spotlight its key areas of engagement. "We believe that we have an obligation to produce research that makes a difference," Cowan explained to the standing-room only crowd, which included CCLP Fellows……

Notes from the Field: CCLP Researcher Shares Trafficking Update from Vietnam

Researcher Zhaleh Boyd is conducting a fact-finding mission in Vietnam in conjunction with the CCLP Technology and Trafficking in Persons initiative. Boyd, a 2010 Thomas R. Pickering Graduate Foreign Affairs Fellow, reports in from the mid-way point of her trip on her latest findings on human trafficking in Asia and the Pacific Rim. —————————————————————————————— I have just completed the first week of my 16-day research trip to Vietnam. This week was spent in the Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), Vietnam's boomtown. L-R: Mark Preston, Candace Burnham, Jerry Edling, and Zhaleh Boyd standing at the entrance to the US Consulate in……

The New Arab World Requires New Public Diplomacy

This article was written by CCLP Faculty Fellow Phil Seib. DOHA — My conversation with two North African friends ranged widely, from the role of satellite television in the Arab world to the prospects for electoral reform in the region. Then we came to how other nations would deal with the new dynamics of Arab politics. One of my friends said, "In the past, diplomacy has been with the leaders, but now it must be with the people." In other words, public diplomacy will now be of unprecedented importance for governments, such as that of the United States, that want……

Education and training of foreign service must be enhanced to protect US interests

With support from the Center on Communication Leadership & Policy, senior fellow Jeremy Curtin was the lead drafter of a major new study Forging a 21st Century Diplomatic Service for the United States Through Professional Education and Training , sponsored by the American Academy of Diplomacy and the Stimson Center in Washington, DC. The report focuses on the new and expanding demands on American diplomacy in the 21st century and the training and resources required to meet them successfully. The report argues that the rising importance of "civilian power" in the U.S. national security equation, as Secretary of State Hillary……