The public face of diplomacy was at odds with the harsh criticism in the Chinese media that greeted Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on her visit to Beijing.

As part of the celebrations to mark the 40th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and New Zealand, two Te Papa exhibitions will be heading to the National Museum of China in November 2012.

The U.S Department of State announced today that the Papermoon Puppet Theatre will travel from Yogyakarta, Indonesia, to communities across America September 5-October 1, 2012 as part of its Center StageSM initiative

The U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs announced today that musicians from 21 countries will travel to the United States to engage audiences as part of One Beat. Beginning September 10 in New Smyrna Beach, Florida, OneBeat, a cultural diplomacy initiative, will connect international musicians with American musicians and audiences, especially underserved youth.

The Turkish International Co-operation and Development Agency (TIKA) has been conducting important restoration projects throughout the Balkan countries, which were under Ottoman rule from the 15th to the 19th century, to preserve cultural and historical heritage.

The “Culinary Diplomacy: Promoting Cultural Understanding Through Food” exchange will provide an opportunity to explore the role of food in bringing people of varied backgrounds together. The participants will meet with chefs, farmers, and culinary experts across the country.

The purpose of the video contest was for the world to tell the story of India's soft power, as they saw it. The video challenge aimed to allow individuals from different cultures and backgrounds to express their creativity, understanding and display their artistic prowess on subjects that really define our nation.

The wide-ranging effort creates an American Chef Corps, a network of culinary leaders who could be deployed to promote U.S. cooking and agricultural products abroad. “They might meet with an embassy, cook a lunch, post blogs or [write] articles, speak at events,” says [U.S. Chief of Protocol Capricia Penavic] Marshall, listing the many ways participants might engage.