No more room for hand baggage.   “There is no more room for trolley bags, they will have to be checked-in. So please remove your lap-top computer, iPad and other valuables or fragile items to bring on board.” The supervisor of my EasyJet flight from London Gatwick to Copenhagen on a Friday afternoon made more or less this announcement after about 4/5 of the passengers had boarded the air plane. I had followed the long list of rules and tricks for getting as far as the gate as easily as possible. When booking my flight I had given EasyJet my mobile phone number and my email. I had not asked...

I am looking forward to reading this article: Futures for Diplomacy: Integrative Diplomacy in the 21st Century by Jan Melissen, Shaun Riordan, Paul Sharp en Brian Hocking  [EN] Rapport in , The Hague, The Clingendael Institute, 18 October 2012 ***** I think I should have a look at this article from 2008 Engagement: Public Diplomacy in a Globalised World   2008 Collection of essays, commissioned by Jim Murphy MP (FCO Minister for Europe): “[Objective is] is to generate debate and stimulate thinking on this issue in a way which will inform and inspire policy-makers. The individual...

Here is a list of books and articles, which write about or give a good introduction to the concept of Public Diplomacy. Please let me and others know in the comments if you have any recommendations. Thank you. I am reading and using this recent book/casestudy “New Public Diplomacy in the 21st Century – A comparative study of policy and practice”A good recent case study / introduction by James Pamment from Karlstadt University. First 3 chapters cover Introduction, methodology, origins, changes and perspectives: A bit theoretic for me, but had many good points and good...

Sometimes you hear or read something, and just think yes exactly that is what I would have said if  I was more articulate. Watching Professor Anne-Marie Slaughter talk about how Twitter has changed the way she gets news and interacts with different interests groups, made me think that. On the video Professor Slaughter says: Twitter has changed the way I consume news … Social media allows you to construct different communities … On twitter you can be part of all of those. … Create customised information communities. Getting real time links to articles you would never...

When I was at the Danish embassy in London, I received a tweet from a close friend pointing me to a story by the Guardian, this meant that we were able to repond quickly and calm some nerves online while we got a response to the story from back home in Copenhagen. Here is a storify of the media and blog coverage. The tweets unfortunately are a bit harder to find. But I will try to add them later. [View the story “The story about the Danish Marmite \”ban\”” on Storify] The story about the Danish Marmite "ban" The story about the so-called Danish Marmite ban...

View as slideshowInternational Affairs Experts Look at Next Four Years of Public Diplomacy lt;p>A panel of international affairs experts, including Ambassador James Glassman, discuss the course of U.S. Public Diplomacy for th…00ShareShare on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Google+ Share on Linkedin Share by emailC-span · Original linkDiscovery of #IPDGCKaren Melchior@karmel80There is an interesting conversation on #ipdgc about public diplomacy and digital outreachTue, Nov 13 2012 07:28:51 · Original link...

View as slideshowA colleague at work made me aware that our PM was about to make a possibly very important speech on European Policy. So I started tweet to create some attention. I managed to create the #htsbruges, which a few people started using :-)Karen Melchior@karmel80Danish PM THORNING-SCHMIDT will deliver opening address in Bruges, College of Europe Live stream from 14: j.mp/OzmxQJ #htsbruges Wed, Oct 17 2012 04:15:26 · Original link ReplyRetweetFavoriteKaren Melchior@karmel80Time for a new iconic Bruges speech? #htsbruges. Danish PM...

Realising that I’ll probably get a few questions from friends about where to eat in Copenhagen. I’ve tried to put together a list. It’s just a list, so don’t expect anything elaborate… But please had any suggestions and comments in … the comments boxes below. As most restaurant websites are not bilingual in both English and Danish, I’ve included some English language reviews and articles as well. Places that look good, but I haven’t tried Slightly fancy fish place in the new cool trendy area in town : http://fiskebaren.dk/en/ Pizza place  in...

I know there’s no going back, but we could do better! I do not fly long haul flights very often, so perhaps certain things that are normal for regular passengers is strange for me. However I do not believe that just because things have always been done that way, it should be a reason for continuing . When flying to the US last week, I noticed that on my two international flights, the airlines had has their starting point for the inflight service the departing time zone rather than the one of the destination. It would seem more natural and efficient for the passengers to allow...

Thank you Brian for a very interesting thought provoking contribution to the discussion. How you come to the conclusion that “Even then, a diplomat’s public Twitter profile is more likely to be run by a public affairs officer than by the appointee herself.” ? This is perhaps true for some political leaders, but I do not think any of the diplomats I follow are not who they pretend to be, but of course for all I know… they might as well be a dog. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/O… I would not recommend people to use social media analytic tools like Klout to...

Was very flattered when Canada International Council started following me on twitter. Even more flattered when they asked me to contribute to a series on Diplomacy and Twitter. That was now a few weeks ago, and the results have now gone up on their site. I feel slightly in-awed by the other people they asked to contribute and happy to be in good company. I’ve copied in my post below.From Diplomat to Twiplomat Karen Melchior | October 17, 2012 My first major challenge as a diplomat was being part of the crisis team dealing with the publication of controversial cartoons in the Danish...

I have been back in Copenhagen and the HQ at Asiatisk Plads for a month now. Enjoying life back home in new surroundings and with new challenges.   Settling in has not been as difficult as I feared. I’ve landed in an interesting area of work with a high level of activity: disarmament and non-proliferation. We’ve moved into a great flat in an exciting neighbourhood close to parks, my work, family, friends, and the centre of Copenhagen. I enjoy cycling around my home town, where the bicycle is king. I am still keeping up my interest in how the digital world and social media...

Last year Diplo’s Stephanie Borg Psaila, approached me with some questions about my use of social media. It turned into this little interview about @denmarkinuk and my own use of social media Establishing a strong online presence through the use of social media: E-diplomacy in practiceBy Stephanie on 4 Feb 2012 | From the E-diplomacy channelJust how deeply involved in the use of social media are today’s diplomats and embassies? In the first of a two-part series, we caught up with Karen Melchior, First Secretary at the Danish Embassy in London, who talks about the Danish...

I’ve now lived in London for a bit more than 3 years, and have had many good friends and members of my family coming to visit me. There are a few places that people always want to visit and I try to get them to avoid, and then there are the places I have shown them. So in advance of the Olympics and as my posting to the UK comes to an end this summer then I would like share them with you. [I will try to improve lay-out, add pictures and perhaps a map later. But perhaps I’ll need to change the theme] WHAT TO DO Sit down and people watch at Serpentine bar and kitchen with...

I spent 5 wonderful months in Marseille in 2008-2009, here are a few of my favourite things to do: Stroll along the old harbour, possibly buy a fish for your supper or on a Saturday a bouquet of flowers. Have a cup of coffee and a macaroon – the big ones are fantastic! I personally think they are the best in the world! – in a tiny Patisserie Ines just between the harbour and the Opera. (93 rue Paradis, 13006 Marseille, France), See UK Tripadvisor. Have tapas at Dos Hermanas in one of the small streets off Cours Julien Walk up from the old harbour, and have a walk in the small...