Symposia - News & Events - Public Diplomacy

Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs, Tara Sonenshine, opened the 5th annual Symposium with her speech on the role of public diplomacy in modern statecraft. Under Secretary Sonenshine discussed what she expects public diplomacy to do and accomplish over the next few years and focused particularly on present and future global engagement efforts.

The Association of Public Diplomacy Scholars hosted its fifth annual public diplomacy symposium, "The Politics of Change: Public Diplomacy Symposium 2012," this October 18-19, 2012.

This year, the symposium focused on how public diplomacy has been, is being, and will be shaped by cultural, social, and political change.

On Thursday, October 18, we kicked off with a consideration of how cultures and societies evolve together and separately and how changes in socio-cultural norms influence the relationships of people across borders. “Negotiations of Power, Transnationalism, and Collective Identity in the Performing Arts,” co-sponsored by the Syracuse Humanities Center as part of the Syracuse Symposium, will feature a tribal fusion dance performance by Ms. Donna Mejia’s and a lecture with Dr. William Beeman focusing on the evolution of culture as culturally distinct groups interact and exchange ideas and practices. As governments and foreign publics interact with one another, negotiating important political issues, they exchange messages about their cultural values and traditions. The performance and lecture will highlight the interconnected nature of intercultural dialogues in international affairs.

On Friday, October 19, the conversation shifted to the impact of political changes around the world on public diplomacy and the relationships between countries and foreign populations. Friday's events featured a lecture and panel discussions by academics and practitioners on the impact of recent and upcoming elections on public diplomacy, the role of foreign organizations in political affairs, and how digital media is changing the way citizens engage in political dialogue.

On Friday, the Association of Public Diplomacy Scholars also launched the third volume of the Exchange: The Journal of Public Diplomacy. Exchange is the only journal dedicated exclusively to discussing public diplomacy and public diplomacy topics. This year’s theme, “Global Contests” incorporates both the frameworks of public diplomacy and the multidisciplinary nature of the field in a thematic way. The past year has seen many global contests as elections, major sporting events, power re-alignments and economic throws have jostled the world. Focusing on competition and the outcomes of global contests, this year's volume looks to inspiring thought and debate on public diplomacy.

Thank you so much to everyone who participated or who was able to come!

Guest speakers this year included Undersecretary of Public Diplomacy, Tara Sonenshine. Pleasae click here for a complete list of speaker bios.

John King, anchor of John King, USA, CNN's 7 pm ET program, and CNN's chief national correspondent.

Fred Francis, two-time Emmy award winning broadcast journalist who has over 40 years of internatonal experience in the communications industry.

Joseph S. Nye Jr., former dean of the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

Keith Reinhard, former CEO and now chairman emeritus of DDBO Worldwide; president of Business for Diplomatic Action (BDA).

John Matel, director of the Policy Office of the Bureau of International Information Programs. David Pogue, New York Times personal technology columnist; CBS News Tech correspondent.

Paul Salopek, Pulitzer Prize winning report, and former writer for Chicago Tribune, National Geographic.

Marjane Satrapi, author and illustrator of novel Persepolis; writer and director of Oscar®-nominated film Persepolis; spokesperson for 2009 Iranian presidential candidate Mir-Hossein Mousavi.

Shen Wei, lead creative consultant for 2008 Beijing Olympics opening ceremony; founder of Shen Wei Dance Arts.