Podcast #5 Celebrity diplomacy

Global Trends and Diplomacy

https://smartdiplo.files.wordpress.com/2018/09/2018_5_global-trends-and-diplomacy_celebrity-diplomacy.mp3

Today, I want to drag your attention to one of the most glamorous kinds of diplomacy. We’ll spend some time examining celebrity diplomacy I thought that just before the ending of the vacation season you’ll be happy to focus on a light topic. We’ll keep more serious, or solemn, or dignified – but equally interesting – kinds of diplomacy for further episodes.

As you may know, I have recently taught public diplomacy at a university. I need to say that celebrity diplomacy was my students’ favourite kind of modern, public diplomacy craft. They wrote many interesting essays about it. They appeared to be fans of, first and foremost, Leonardo DiCaprio, who is known for his environment protection campaigns. There were also many fans of Angelina Jolie, underlining her UNICEF campaigns. The third choice among my students was George Clooney, engaged for years in raising awareness about and supplying aid for Darfur. There were also other examples, including Bono’s various campaigns on, for instance, countering HIV/AIDS, Oprah Winfrey’s Leadership Academy for Girls in South Africa, Emma Watson’s focus on women empowerment and equal rights for all, Priyanka Chopra’s devotion to the access to education and healthcare for girls around the world. They are all global stars with a global reach.

Let’s explore this phenomenon in greater detail!

BTW – it’s my 50th post!!!! Thank you for being here and motivating me to do more and more. Perseverance rocks!

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To all the fans of movies and Hollywood out there – check out my blog miniseries on movies that diplomats should watch:

Oscar movies diplomats should watch – Part I

Oscar movies diplomats should watch – Part II

Oscar movies diplomats should watch – Part III