His Excellency, Fernando Henrique Cardoso, former President of Brazil and CPD board member, was the featured guest at a public diplomacy round table seminar on October 13, 2004. Other participants include USC Annenberg Dean Geoffrey Cowan, members of the USC Center on Public Diplomacy Faculty Advisory Council, and a select group of graduate students conducting research in public diplomacy.

Join USC Annenberg Dean, Geoffrey Cowan, members of the USC Center on Public Diplomacy Faculty Advisory Council and students for a lunch time discussion with Jay Snyder, member of the United States Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy. During his career in public service, Snyder has been actively involved in a variety of issues, particularly those related to the international HIV/AIDS pandemic, sustainable development, and U.S. efforts at UN reform. He recently co-authored the United States Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy Annual 2004 report for the Department of State.

The USC Center on Public Diplomacy hosted an open forum on cultural diplomacy Thursday, March 25, 2004. The forum featured Gary Knell, president and C.E.O. of Sesame Street Workshop. Knell discussed the production and impact of Sesame Street television shows all over the world. Sesame Street’s mission is to improve preschool education and to increase awareness of important issues such as racism and AIDS around the globe.

The USC Center on Public Diplomacy hosted an open forum on cyber diplomacy and politics on Thursday, March 11. The forum featured J.C. Herz, a Center fellow. Herz is the author of "Joystick Nation: How Video Games Ate our Quarters, Won our Hearts and Rewired our Minds" and is a consultant for clients such as the Defense Department. She argues that video games and the internet can be powerful tools for creating international communities and for shaping foreign politics.

The USC Center on Public Diplomacy hosted Henri Rouillé d'Orfeuil, head of the French Federation of NGOs, on February 18, 2004. Rouillé d'Orfeuil spoke about the evolving responsibility of NGOs in diplomacy.