May 13 Ceremony Honoring 2021 Awards for Achievement in Public Diplomacy

You can watch the recording of the Zoom program here.

Each year the Public Diplomacy Association of America bestows awards for outstanding public diplomacy initiatives in cooperation with the U.S. Department of State. These awards remind us that public diplomacy can undermine a repressive regime’s determination to cut off communication, swamp truth with propaganda, and prevent public gatherings.

They also remind us that public diplomacy can do the opposite:  set in motion a multi-channel news and information campaign – TV monitors at shelters, roadside billboards, printed flyers, and WhatsApp messaging – to reach the would-be migrants on our southern border. Public diplomacy can create a Shark-Tank-like television show to inspire youth entrepreneurship in North Africa, and build an alliance of government and social organizations to combat human trafficking on the sub-continent.

The Public Diplomacy Association of America (PDAA), the Public Diplomacy Council, and USC invite you to the annual ceremony honoring the Awards for Achievement in Public Diplomacy. Please join us on May 13, 2021, at noon EDT on Zoom. This year’s annual award winners used strategies ranging from old school printed flyers to cutting edge social media campaigns to effectively communicate with foreign publics. Join us as we hear from the winners in Kolkata, Mexico City, Algiers, and Hong Kong.

• Sohini Das, Public Engagement Specialist, U.S. Consulate General Kolkata: Combatting human trafficking is a priority for U.S. diplomatic missions in India. With eastern India a major trafficking hub, Sohini Das developed a multi-layered approach to the problem. The cornerstone of this initiative is the Anti-Trafficking-in-Persons Conclave that brings together key anti-trafficking players to address new and ongoing challenges.
• Allyson Hamilton-McIntire, Assistant Information Officer, U.S. Embassy Mexico City: The Central American migrant surge at the U.S. southern border posed major challenges for Embassy Mexico, in particular the need to communicate different messages to those who had pending U.S. asylum cases and to the much larger number who did not. Allyson Hamilton-McIntire took on the daunting high priority task to develop a finely nuanced communication strategy on migration policy aimed at these two very different audiences.
• Public Affairs Section, U.S. Embassy Algiers: Algeria faces a significant youth bulge in its population, high unemployment, and a stagnant economy dominated by inefficient state-run companies. In response to this challenging environment, the Embassy public affairs section produced and broadcast a “Shark Tank”-style reality television show, Andi Hulm (“I Have a Dream”), to promote the importance of entrepreneurship and to support U.S. businesses in Algeria.
• Public Affairs Section, U.S. Consulate General Hong Kong & Macau: Confronted with the Chinese Communist Party’s harsh crackdown on democracy and human rights in Hong Kong, the U.S. Consulate’s public affairs section launched a campaign on multiple media platforms to push back against Beijing’s repressive measures. It was accomplished by highlighting positive USG support for Hong Kong and its autonomy, spotlighting Chinese government efforts to restrict Hong Kong’s fundamental freedoms, and reinforcing shared U.S.-Hong Kong values through expanded people-to-people ties.

Click here to read the announcement of the awards.

You can watch the recording of the Zoom program here.

Upcoming Programs

• May 3, 2021 – John Maxwell Hamilton will discuss Manipulating the Masses: Woodrow Wilson and the Birth of American Propaganda. To RSVP for this event, click HERE.
• June 7, 2021 – Kristen Lord, CEO of IREX, New Directions in Public Diplomacy.