In international relations, public diplomacy or people's diplomacy, broadly speaking, is any of the various government-sponsored efforts aimed at communicating directly with foreign publics to establish a dialogue designed to inform and influence with the aim that this foreign public supports or tolerates a government’s strategic objectives. As the international order has changed over the 20th century, so has the practice of public diplomacy. Its practitioners use a variety of instruments and methods ranging from personal contact and media interviews to the Internet and educational exchanges.
The Atlantic Council is an American think tank in the field of international affairs. Founded in 1961, it provides a forum for international political, business, and intellectual leaders. It manages ten regional centers and functional programs related to international security and global economic prosperity. It is headquartered in Washington, D.C.. It is a member of the Atlantic Treaty Association.
The School of Diplomacy and International Relations (SODIR), is a post-secondary, degree-granting institution concentrating on international affairs within Seton Hall University in South Orange, New Jersey. Founded in collaboration with the United Nations Association of the United States of America, it was the first school of international relations to be founded after the Cold War. The school offers both undergraduate and graduate programs. The School of Diplomacy and International Relations is an affiliate member of the Association of Professional Schools of International Affairs.
Sister Cities International (SCI) is a nonprofit citizen diplomacy network that creates and strengthens partnerships between communities in the United States and those in other countries, particularly through the establishment of "sister cities". More than 2,000 cities, states and counties are partnered in over 140 countries around the world. The organization "strives to build global cooperation at the municipal level, promote cultural understanding and stimulate economic development".
The U.S. Department of State's Bureau of International Information Programs (IIP) supports the department's public diplomacy efforts by providing and supporting the places, content, and infrastructure needed for sustained conversations with foreign audiences. IIP is one of three bureaus that report to the Undersecretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs. The Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and the Bureau of Public Affairs are the sister bureaus.
The Iowa International Center is a non-profit organization based in Des Moines, Iowa.
The World Affairs Council of Seattle is a non-profit, non-partisan international affairs organization based in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1951, it is one of four World Affairs Councils in Washington State and a member of the World Affairs Councils of America.
GlobalPittsburgh is a non-profit community-based organization based in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania region that is part of a national network under the umbrella of Global Ties U.S. Inaugurated in 1959, GlobalPittsburgh's mission is to forge cultural, educational, and business relationships between Western Pennsylvania and the global community through citizen diplomacy, thereby creating economic and educational opportunities for all. As the designated liaison for the U.S. State Department’s International Visitor Leadership Program in Western Pennsylvania, GlobalPittsburgh designs and implements tailored itineraries for leaders in a variety of fields who are seeking a gateway to the local community and insights into American culture. Additionally, GlobalPittsburgh provides orientations to the city and offers services to international students, scholars, researchers, professionals from other sponsors and their families. For more than five decades, GlobalPittsburgh has enabled more than 75,000 visiting internationals to connect with tens of thousands of people living in the Pittsburgh region. PCIV became GlobalPittsburgh in August, 2009.
Friendship Force International (FFI) is a nonprofit organization and hospitality service with the mission of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, friendship, and intercultural competence via homestays. The organization operates in more than 60 countries and in 6 continents, with 15,000 active members and over 300 annual programs, called "Journeys".
The U.S. Global Leadership Coalition (USGLC) is a nonprofit organization formed by a coalition of American businesses and NGOs, senior national security and foreign policy experts, faith-based and community leaders from across the United States who promote increased support for the United States’ diplomatic and development efforts among both politicians and the public.
United States cultural exchange programs, particularly those programs with ties to the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) of the United States Department of State, seek to develop cultural understanding between United States citizens and citizens of other countries. Exchange programs do not necessarily exchange one individual for another individual of another country; rather, "exchange" refers to the exchange of cultural understanding created when an individual goes to another country. These programs can be regarded as a form of cultural diplomacy within the spectrum of public diplomacy.
The 'World Trade Center Institute' (WTCI) operates as a private, non-profit, and non-political membership organization located in the Baltimore World Trade Center building on the Inner Harbor of Baltimore, Maryland. Financed in cooperation with area businesses and the State of Maryland, WTCI’s mission is to drive the growth of Maryland’s global business community. WTCI is one of the 320 members of the World Trade Center Association (WTCA), which operates WTCs in 96 countries around the world.
Cultural Vistas is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization that facilitates internships and professional exchange programs and services for visitors coming to the U.S., and American students and professionals seeking experiential learning opportunities abroad. The organization is headquartered in New York City, with regional offices located in Berlin, and Washington, D.C..
Reta Jo Lewis is the Director of Congressional Affairs and a Senior Fellow at the German Marshall Fund of the United States and an attorney, former diplomat, and candidate for Mayor of the District of Columbia.
Cyber-diplomacy is the evolution of public diplomacy to include and use the new platforms of communication in the 21st century. As explained by Jan Melissen in The New Public Diplomacy: Soft Power in International Relations, cyber-diplomacy “links the impact of innovations in communication and information technology to diplomacy.” Cyber-diplomacy is also known as or is part of public diplomacy 2.0, EDiplomacy, and virtual diplomacy. Cyber-diplomacy has as its underpinnings that, “it recognizes that new communication technologies offer new opportunities to interact with a wider public by adopting a network approach and making the most of an increasingly multicentric global, interdependent system.”
The Meridian International Center is a non-partisan, non-profit, public diplomacy organization founded in 1960 and located in Washington, D.C. It works closely with the U.S. Department of State and other U.S. government agencies, NGOs, international governments, and the private sector to create programs and partnership.
The United States Diplomacy Center is the first museum in the nation dedicated to telling the stories of American diplomacy. Its mission is to inspire discovery of how American diplomacy shapes the United States's prosperity and security.
The Congressional International Exchange and Study Caucus is a caucus of the United States Congress that aims to raise awareness of the importance and benefits of international exchange and study abroad programs, which enable international citizens to have meaningful exchange experiences in the United States, and Americans to have such beneficial experiences in other countries. It's co-chaired in the 114th Congress by Representatives Steve Pearce of New Mexico and Jim Himes of Connecticut.
