Erdem Gunduz, the “Standing Man” performance artist who instigated a wave of peaceful protests throughout Turkey, participated in the Kennedy Center’s Cultural Exchange Visitors Program in 2007. The two-week arts education program, developed with the State Department, brought four modern dancers and two hip-hop dancers from Turkey to Washington and New York.

Au pair agencies have joined summer camp operators, hotels and an array of other companies that rely on cultural-exchange programs to provide their businesses with overseas labor to lobby against provisions in the Senate immigration bill aimed at regulating recruitment practices.

The Lo’Jo, a community of global citizens who play a special music of their own, will give performances in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi to mark 40 years of diplomatic ties between Vietnam and France.

Several more companies have received licenses to operate people-to-people cultural exchange programs to Cuba. San Diego-based Classic Journeys offers 10 departures from June 29 to April 5. A seven-night guided tour includes visits with artists in the Luyano area in Havana; an exploration of Habana Vieja, the Unesco World Heritage Site; countryside walks in the Vinales Valley west of Havana; and meetings with farmers and students.

I mention this because – as I take leave as Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs – I want to make Americans more aware of what the State Department does, --specifically public diplomacy- how much real value it brings to jobs overseas, jobs here, education, entrepreneurship, travel, tourism, and a healthy and robust trade and investment climate in both directions.

From June 15-23 cinematic movers and shakers from the world over are descending on Shanghai for the SIFF, now in its 16th year. And as the three Monkey King-themed choppers suggest, Chinese cinema is proudly showing the world what it’s got. As China’s only A-category international film festival accredited by the FIAPF (International Federation of Film Producers Associations), in many ways SIFF is the nation’s ultimate soft power fest.

The Vietnam- Republic of Korea (RoK) cultural exchange centre officially debuted on June 17 in the southern province of Binh Duong. This is the province’s first international exchange centre, aiming to promote friendship and cooperation between Vietnam and the RoK, particularly between Binh Duong province and Daejeon City in the RoK.

To mark the five-year anniversary of that designation, organizers of the annual George Town Festival have amped up the island's cultural offerings, stuffing a huge amount of art, film, music, dance and food into a single month. Despite the heritage connection, the festival isn’t just an ode to the city’s history.