Roots of U.S. public diplomacy in 1917 echo debates of 2015

WASHINGTON – 98 years ago, the United States government formally inaugurated the first American agency of public diplomacy, and it faced the same questions in 1917 during World War I that the U.S. faces in 2015 against ISIS. That agency, the Committee on Public Information (CPI) was created to counter German propaganda and to create a more favorable image of the U.S. both at home and around the world. This agency and its mission was the topic of the Center on Communication Leadership & Policy's Washington Communication Leadership forum on Monday, featuring historians from the State Department and academic experts……

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……

Social media viewed as critical tool for cultural diplomacy

WASHINGTON – Facebook, Twitter and other digital social network tools are now integral to cultural diplomacy and arts exchanges, according to presenters at today's CCLP Washington DC "First Monday" forum. Anita Maynard-Losh, Director of Community Engagement for Washington's Arena Stage complex, said she uses Facebook to link twelve ensembles in the U.S. with four theater groups in India…….

White House highlights efforts to engage technology in fight against trafficking

President Barack Obama took major action to bolster efforts to combat human trafficking on Tuesday, September 25, 2012. He announced new measures during an address to the Clinton Global Initiative, including an executive order that incorporates key research from USC Annenberg's Center on Communication Leadership & Policy conducted by a team led by research director Mark Latonero…….

Senior Fellow Jeremy Curtin honored by U.S. Department of State

CCLP Senior Fellow Jeremy Curtin was presented with the Equality Award yesterday, an annual award given by Gays and Lesbians in Foreign Affairs Agencies (GLIFAA), by Cheryl Mills, Counselor and Chief of Staff to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. The award honors Curtin for his assistance in the implementation of Secretary Clinton's policy that extends benefits to the partners of Foreign Service employees. This policy serves as a specific application of President Obama's policy, which more broadly offers benefits to the partners of federal employees. Secretary Clinton's policy provides partners of Foreign Service employees with U.S. diplomatic passports, access to……

Latonero leads conversation with State Dept.'s Alec Ross on tech and diplomacy

In an era of WikiLeaks and network-accelerated revolutions, the State Department is fortunate to have Alec Ross on its team. Research director Mark Latonero hosted a lively conversation on September 12 with Ross, who has led the effort to update and transform diplomacy for the digital age as the State Department's Senior Advisor for Innovation…….

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……

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……

Secretary Clinton and the Information War

This article was written by CCLP Faculty Fellow Philip Seib. In testimony to Congress last week, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton acknowledged the existence of an ongoing "information war" that the United States is losing. In addition to saying that "Al Jazeera is winning," Clinton pointed to the major investments in international broadcasting being made by China and Russia. The Chinese effort is of particular importance. As Secretary Clinton said, "We are in a competition for influence with China; let's put aside the moral, humanitarian, do-good side of what we believe in, and let's just talk straight realpolitik."……

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……