On the world stage, Liberal leader Justin Trudeau, the 43-year-old son of former Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, has pledged to reassert Canada’s traditional position as a humanitarian soft power. He has wasted little time in signaling a shift in Canada’s foreign policy back to the left after a decisive victory Monday over his predecessor, Conservative leader Stephen Harper.

Lucy Morrow and Manon Clavel may live an ocean apart, but the two 14-year-olds have formed a bond that transcends international borders. The two -- one Canadian and the other French -- met while taking part in a student exchange program and have developed a friendship that will last long after the program is over. 

In 2010 former Lowy Institute research fellow Fergus Hanson published a forward-looking policy brief urging Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) to catch up to the rest of the world, join the 21st century and get online. Social media, he argued, is only one aspect of digital diplomacy. 

The Romanian Cultural Institute in New York is organizing the first ever Festival of the Romanian Language in [the] USA and Canada. Famous artists from Romania have been invited to the three-day event.

As Australian digital diplomacy strives to catch-up to the rest of the world, these links will highlight the most creative and effective ways in which countries are leveraging the internet for foreign policy gain.