June 2010: SPD Task Force Agenda

Strategic Public Diplomacy Task Force
Wednesday, June 10, 2010
The Institute of World Politics
12:00 PM-2:00 PM

• Hosting guests from the Defense Department:
– Damon A. Stevens, Global Strategic Engagement Fellow in the Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Policy
– Rosa Brooks, Senior Advisor to the Undersecretary of Defense for Policy

[Note: There is no agenda for May 2010 because no meeting was held.]

For Mission and Participants of SPD Task Force, please click here.

April 2010: SPD Task Force Agenda

Strategic Public Diplomacy Task Force
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Institute for World Politics
10:00 AM-12:00 PM

• Discussion and finalization of signatories to committee letters and prospects of hearings on public diplomacy reform
• Goli Ameri’s proposal.
• Senate Internet Freedom Caucus- Josh Carter to speak
• Discussion on IWP’s new Center for Culture and Security

For Mission and Participants of SPD Task Force, please click here.

March 2010: SPD Task Force Agenda

Strategic Public Diplomacy Task Force
Friday, March 5, 2010
The Institute of World Politics
10:30 AM-12:30 PM

• Proposals for Congressional hearings: Radicalization of Muslim populations in the United States and Europe.

• Update on House Public Diplomacy and Strategic Communication Caucus: What can the Taskforce do now that it is launched?

• Discussion of the implications of the Department of Defense Review of Strategic Communication

For Mission and Participants of SPD Task Force, please click here.

February 2010: SPD Task Force Agenda

Strategic Public Diplomacy Task Force
Monday, February 8, 2010
The Institute for World Politics
10:30 AM-12:30 PM

• Proposals for Congressional hearings: International broadcasting, national security strategy, radicalization.

• Nominations: The Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG): ideas for prospective nominees to the board, list of questions that should be asked of all nominees.

• Update on House Public Diplomacy/Strategic Communications Caucus: Ready to move forward? What can taskforce do?

• Potential public diplomacy demonstration budget for FY 2011: Ideas for a demonstration project for a new public diplomacy/strategic communications account which would provide funding for innovative public diplomacy/strategic communications initiatives. It would be for a more modest project than called for in the Thornberry legislation, but enough to build on.

For Mission and Participants of SPD Task Force, please click here.

January 2010: SPD Task Force Agenda

Strategic Public Diplomacy Task Force
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
The Heritage Foundation
11:00 AM-12:30 PM

• Discussion on organization. Will the organization take the form of an NGO on public diplomacy, a government agency dedicated to public diplomacy, an interagency center on public diploomacy, etc.?

• Updates on House Public Diplomacy and Strategic Communications Caucus – Dear Colleague letter, potential first speakers, regularity (dates) of briefings

• Briefing by Helle Dale on meeting with National Security Council

• Informational discussion on Robert Gates’ Strategic Communication Strategy

For Mission and Participants of SPD Task Force, please click here.

December 2009: SPD Task Force Agenda

Strategic Public Diplomacy Task Force
Thursday, December 10, 2009
The Institute of World Politics
10:30 AM-12:30 PM

• Arrival- Coffee and breakfast is served

• Welcome

• Public Diplomacy Caucus update:
Dan Ziegler gives update on what the Hill is doing and what our involvement should be in supporting a new Caucus. Comments by Michael Clause of Rep. Thornberry’s office as appropriate.

• Contact with Judith McHale
Discussion: We could work with the caucus for now rather than demand a meeting with the Under Secretary for public diplomacy. She is meanwhile working on national communications strategy, update on strategy.

• Letter to Oversight Committee
Review letter
Questions to be asked, topics to be covered?

• Heritage proposal for Corporation for Foreign Opinion Analysis circulated.

For Mission and Participants of SPD Task Force, please click here.

Strategic Public Diplomacy Task Force: Mission & Participants

MISSION
Despite a plethora of studies and reports by private as well as governmental bodies recommending a long-overdue governmental restructuring of public diplomacy and strategic communication through coordination of assets, messaging, and evaluation, the U.S. Government has yet to accord this critical issue the attention it deserves. Both the broader cultural diplomacy that facilitates people-to-people contact and understanding and more fine-tuned efforts tailored to target audiences are under-resourced and peripheral. Over the past eight years, a consensus has been reached among respected institutions focusing on public diplomacy that much remains to be done for the U.S. government to become effective at these tasks.

We understand that other priorities have distracted lawmakers but the importance of effective public diplomacy has hardly diminished. In the hope of establishing a more effective dialogue among some of the individuals and institutions that have produced reports and recommendations for public diplomacy reform, this Task Force has been established. This Task Force will hold monthly round table discussions (off-the-record) in order to reach a number of actionable recommendations and reforms that can be encapsulated in legislation on a bi-partisan basis, as well as offer useful proposals to the executive branch. Too many of the excellent studies that have been produced are gathering dust; the time has come to find ways of turning recommendations into action.

 

CO-CHAIRMEN

Helle Dale, Heritage Foundation
Bill Galston, Brookings Institute
Juliana Geran Pilon, Institute of World Politics

 

PARTICIPANTS

Goli Ameri, former US State Department

Col. (ret.) Carl G. (Glenn) Ayers, former US Defense Department

Michael Clauser, Cong. Mac Thornberry staff

Bob Coonrod, Public Diplomacy Council

Helle Dale, Heritage Foundation (SPD CO-CHAIR)

Stephen Damon, Defense Department and National Counter-Terrorism Center

James Dean, Heritage Foundation

Dr. Joe Duffey, Laureate Intl. Universities Network

Dr. Thomas Farr, Georgetown University

Paul Foldi, Senate Foreign Relations Committee staff

Dr. William Galston, Brookings Institution (SPD CO-CHAIR)

James Geoffrey, RFE/RL

Dr. Larry Lauer, CSIS

Kristin Lord, Center for a New American Security

Clifford May, Foundation for the Defense of Democracies

Girvin Miller, Modernizing Foreign Assistance Network

Ambassador Louise Oliver

Katy Quinn, Cong. Adam Smith staff

Dr. Christopher Paul, RAND

Dr. Walid Phares, Foundation for the Defense of Democracies

Dr. Juliana Geran Pilon, IWP (SPD CO-CHAIR)

Lisa Piraneo, Act for America

Rob Reilley, American Foreign Policy Council

Morgan Roach, Heritage Foundation

Jan Smith, Heritage Foundation

Dr. J. Michael Waller, IWP

Sheila Weidenfeld, Gen. Consul, San Marino

Dr. Howard Wiarda, CSIS

Diane Zeleny, RFE/RL