Diplomat Devyani Khobragade [...] will later this month undertake a cross-country run in her home state of Maharashtra aimed at promoting women education and empowerment. [...] According to the foreign ministry, the run is a one-of-a-kind public diplomacy initiative intended to promote India-Australia relations.

While global leaders who gathered at the World Economic Forum's meeting debate solutions to social, political and economic uncertainty, quietly a new force is gaining credibility around the world: the desire for "soft power."

Pat Farmer is an acclaimed ultra long-distance endurance runner from Australia. […] Now 53, Pat is getting ready for a run across India, from Kanyakumari in the south to Kashmir in the north. His run will symbolically begin on January 26, coinciding with Australia Day and India’s Republic Day.  […] He is collaborating with a leading charity to raise money for the education of young girls.

Australian Minister’s fete is aimed at cementing relations between India and Australia, encouraging tourism with a view to create awareness of India that has awesome tourism destinations and showcase it as a positive country in Australia.

Social media is changing "business as usual" for governments, opening up democratic processes, delivering services both to understand and surveil constituents, managing threats and conducting direct diplomacy. Even so, adoption of social media is slow and uneven, with vast differences both between and within states. As more and more governments move towards e-government, their use of social media will grow. 

It's been dubbed “fashion diplomacy” but critics of Foreign Affairs Minister Julie Bishop say the ­Louboutin-loving politician’s hosting of overseas runway shows has gone too far. From celebrating Australian designers creating “modest wear” at an Islamic fashion festival to a fashion showcase in the Taj Mahal, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) is spending thousands of taxpayer dollars on promoting Australia as “a creative and innovative nation.”