Africa – IPDGC Smart Power

Terrorism: Countering the Boko Haram extremist narratives in Nigeria

April 14, 2022 Africa Disinformation Women Youth 9 Comments

By Adeniyi Funsho, MA Media and Strategic Communications ’22 The latest bombing attack of the Abuja-Kaduna bound train by Boko Haram speaks to the continuous reign of terrorism, and extremist narratives against Nigeria. The latest attack is coming off the back of countless others that spread from the northeast to…

PDx is Back!

September 14, 2020 Africa Education PDx

This fall 2020 marks the 2nd anniversary of the Public Diplomacy Examined podcast. This podcast takes a look at the world of public diplomacy, professional exchanges, international education, global careers, and foreign affairs. This past summer, SMPA graduate student Victoria Makanjuola worked at the Institute for Public Diplomacy and Global…

Message & Culture Clash in the Age of Covid-19

April 15, 2020 Africa public diplomacy

By Leah Bacon, M.A Strategic Communication and Media ’20 On March 14, 2020 Rwanda’s Ministry of Health reported its first positive case of Covid-19. The country was the first African nation to issue a two-week lockdown. This included the closure of schools and places of worship, prohibiting large gatherings and…

4 Reasons Why COVID-19 Won’t Change Italy’s Stance on Migration

April 13, 2020 Africa Europe public diplomacy

By Rachel Pastor, M.A. International Affairs ‘20 The destabilization of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region since the 2011 Arab Spring spurred a mass exodus of people fleeing civil war, instability, and authoritarian regimes. As a Mediterranean neighbor with a lengthy coastline, Italy is an attractive destination for…

Can a U.S. Summit Change Perceptions of Africa?

August 5, 2014 Africa public diplomacy 1 Comment

In advance of this week’s U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit in Washington, D.C., National Public Radio published an article that discussed the goals of the summit, the first such event organized by a U.S. president for 40 African leaders. One is to bring African heads-of-state in contact with American business leaders for…

PD in Practice: U.S. Facilitates Religious Dialogue on the Central African Republic Crisis

January 13, 2014 Africa in the field public diplomacy No Comments

Note: I have noticed that much of the commentary and academic literature on public diplomacy tends to focus on the leadership, structure, funding, and theory of public diplomacy, with much less attention on the actual conduct of activities and programs in the field. In an effort to help redress that…

Nelson Mandela –The Ultimate Public Diplomat

December 6, 2013 Africa public diplomacy No Comments

Nelson Mandela leaves us in December, a season of holiday hope. His passing inspires us to reflect on his spirit of hopefulness and optimism and his role as a public diplomat. I first met Nelson Mandela on February 15, 1990—four days after he emerged from 27 years of imprisonment in…

Domestic, Foreign, and Cosmopolitan: Uganda’s Potential to Build Ties Through Women

May 9, 2013 Africa public diplomacy Women No Comments

by Kate Mays Looking at only the gender makeup of the Ugandan government, one could make the argument that Uganda is doing pretty well with gender equality. Women make up almost 35% of its current parliamentary members, and in 2011 the 9th Parliament elected its first female Speaker. Further, Uganda…

India and Africa Building Ties through Youth Populations

May 2, 2013 Africa Cultural Diplomacy public diplomacy No Comments

India: the world’s most populous democratic country with one of the largest economies. Africa: a largely developing continent attempting to work itself out of vast poverty and violent conflicts. Both have large youth populations, a desire to play a stronger role in international markets and, importantly, an interest in each…

Everybody’s Talking About World Press Freedom Day

May 3, 2012 Africa in the field public diplomacy 1 Comment

World Press Freedom Day – celebrated today, May 3, with the centerpiece UNESCO event held in Carthage, Tunisia – is one of those global phenomena, like soccer, that seizes Americans only peripherally. Yes, the main event last year was held in New York, and yes, U.S. organizations such as the…