Media as Global Diplomat was moderated by veteran newsman Ted Koppel and met at Washington, D.C.’s Newseum, a cutting-edge interactive museum dedicated to news and communication in the 21st Century.

Speakers at the event included Kathy Bushkin Calvin of the United Nations Foundation, Ambassador Edward Djerejian of the Baker Institute, Abderrahim Foukara of Al Jazeera International, former Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs James Glassman, Andrew McLaughlin of Google, James Zogby of the Arab American Institute, Carol Giacomo of The New York Times and others.

From its inception, Media as Global Diplomat was meant to be an inclusive event – inclusive of multiple stakeholders, inclusive of disparate perspectives, and inclusive of audience participation from around the globe.  The organizers met that goal in part by coordinating the participation of nearly two-dozen bloggers around the world who write on international affairs, public diplomacy and other issues.  Many other participants stayed involved by using the popular online technology Twitter.  Together, these blogs and tweets joined the voices of nearly 300 participants at the Newseum to create a robust and diverse conversation.

Welcome and Framing the Day

Sheldon Himelfarb
Associate Vice President, Center of Innovation for Media, Conflict, and Peacebuilding, U.S. Institute of Peace

Hosts Remarks

• Ambassador Richard Solomon
  President, U.S. Institute of Peace
• Sally Jo Fifer
  President and Chief Executive Officer, Independent Television Service

Media & Public Diplomacy: The Challenge at Hand

• Ted Koppel will address the dramatically changing global media landscape and its implications for public diplomacy and peacebuilding.

Public Diplomacy 2.0: Rethinking Official Media

In this new era of digital distribution, social networking, and user generated content, what is the role of government-funded media in bolstering America’s global influence and ability to manage conflict? This panel will discuss where traditional strategies for media-based public diplomacy are effective and where they need to change.

Panelists

• Kathy Bushkin Calvin
  Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, The United Nations Foundation; Former President, AOL Time Warner Foundation
• Ambassador Edward Djerejian
  Founding Director of the James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy
• Abderrahim Foukara
  Washington, D.C. Bureau Chief, Al Jazeera International
• Ambassador James Glassman
  Former Under Secretary of State Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs, U.S. Department of State
• Andrew McLaughlin
  Director of Global Public Policy and Government Affairs, Google
• James Zogby
  Founder and President, Arab American Institute

The Global Media Marketplace

What is the responsibility of free market commercial media to serve the greater public good in the global media age? This panel will consider the role of “unintended” stereotypes in shaping the image of the US abroad and the perils of uninformed citizens at home due to declining news coverage of international events.

Panelists

• Edward Borgerding
  Chief Executive Officer, Abu Dhabi Media Company
• Carol Giacomo
  Editorial Board Member, The New York Times
• Mika Salmi
  President of Global Digital Media of MTV Networks
• Smita Singh
  Director, Global Development Program, The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation
• Sydney Suissa
  Executive Vice President of Content, National Geographic Channels International

Special Screening: Waltz With Bashir

Ari Folman's animated documentary on the horrors of the 1982 Lebanon War. Academy Award nominee and winner of 2009 Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film. Waltz With Bashir is part of the ITVS International initiative and will be introduced by introduced by Calvin Sim, Program Officer, Media Arts & Culture, Ford Foundation.

Independent Documentary and Participatory Media

In discussing the film, this panel will consider the potential of film and video to connect people around the world and transform conflict. How can this powerful content be deployed as part of a more effective US public diplomacy strategy?

Panelists

• Tamara Gould
  Vice President of Distribution, Independent Television Service
• Yvette Alberdingk Thijm
  Executive Director, Witness

Summing Up and Next Steps, Adjournment

USIP would like to thank former Fellow Ivan Sigal and the citizen journalists of Global Voices for their participation in this event.

ITVS would like to thank its supporters, The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, Ford Foundation, and The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation for their sponsorship of this event.