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Why Join PDCA?
- Do you value Public Diplomacy, and seek to promote its continued excellene?
- Do you try to understand and shape foreign audience opinions and actions?
- Are you a current or retired public diplomacy employee of the U.S. Department of State?
- Do you work in public affairs for an international organization, manage educational exchanges, or measure the impact of public opinion?
- Are you involved in the Defense Department's strategic communications, information operations, or civil affairs?
Then, the Public Diplomacy Council of America is your professional organization.
Why: Membership enables professionals and practitioners to support, engage in, learn about, and network with others. You should be a member.
What: The Council, a 501(c)(3) organization, supports the academic study, professional practice, and responsible advocacy of public diplomacy.
- Based in the United States, the Council focuses primarily on the U.S. Government's employment of public diplomacy, especially by the U.S. Department of State and U.S. international broadcasting.
- Our orientation is international. We observe and learn from the experience of other nations. Foreign professionals and academics are especially prominent in Council activities.
- The Council aims to draw at least 25 percent of the membership from professional backgrounds other than career service in the Department of State and the United States Information Agency.
Membership offers substantial benefits including:
- outstanding networking and mentoring opportunities (for both rising professionals and experts who wish to mentor),
- monthly and quarterly speaker series,
- an awards program (and annual awards brunch),
- regular newsletter communications and an archive of past newsletters
- not least - the opportunity to engage with a robust global network of hundreds of public diplomacy contacts and colleagues.
For details of all membership benefits, click here.
Membership Categories
Full members reside within a 50 mile radius of Washington DC, and are thus eligible (and encouraged to participate in all Council activities. Annual dues: $100
Associate members enjoy all the privileges of Full Members, but reside more than fifty miles outside Washington DC. Associate members pay a lower annual contribution, since not all types of events are fully accessible. PDCA does, however, make extensive use of Zoom and other tools for remote participation and communication, and organizes some regional events. Annual dues: $60
Rising Professionals -- This category is open to current graduate students, interns, and research fellows as well as young people with a general interest in public diplomacy. Rising Professionals are under the age of 35, and must be recommended by a PDC member. Annual dues: $25.
Please read our Rising Professional Membership Description for more details.
All Council members manage, sustain, and take part in all the activities of the Council. We seel diversity in professional backgrounds, skills and employment. Service and accomplishments in government, academic, professional, and non-governmental organizations are highly valued.
How to apply
2 Simple Steps -- click here to complete our application form. When you submit the form, you'll be prompted to upload your resume or a link to your online profile, or a C.V., or biographic note, as well as a photograph. These can be posted on your page in MemberLeap, our membership platform. We will be back in touch with more information and, eventually, a letter of welcome to Council.
Pay When You Apply
The application page also includes a secure payment method, via PayPal, as well as details on how to pay via check. Please submit your payment with your application.
PDCA dues are annual for the calendar year and are not prorated. New members joining in November and December may have their dues payment considered valid for the subsequent calendar year.