Country music explored as a tool of U.S. diplomacy

WASHINGTON – It is well known that Dizzy Gillespie and Dave Brubeck toured the world as American Jazz Ambassadors, and American symphony orchestras have played throughout the world. Less well known is the role country music has played and is playing in U.S. public diplomacy. That was the focus of this month's CCLP Communication Leadership Lunch Forum here, presented by David Firestein (pictured right), a China expert and vice president at the East West Institute. "For public diplomacy to be effective," said Firestein, "it has to be organic, personal and emotional." He added that it must be "true to who……

The Next UN Secretary-General: An Experienced Woman to Foster Global Food Security

This article was originally published in Huffington Post. Food security and related humanitarian needs present the great unacknowledged challenges of the 21st century. While conflicts in countries like Syria and Ukraine dominate the daily news cycle, and longer-term concerns about climate change and energy security are frequently aired, the problem of hunger and the emergence of new threats to world food supplies receive far less attention than they merit. These problems contribute directly to political instability, forced migration and violence. Without sustained focus at an international level and the commitment of adequate resources to address the problems, there is a……