In Morocco, I have come to experience India through two main elements: Bollywood movies and sari fabrics. Looking back at college, I remember borrowing an Indian movie DVD titled, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai from one of my friends... Watching Indian movies was a popular entertainment...

The U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and Ripken Baseball Inc. announced today that Baseball Hall-of-Famer and Public Diplomacy Envoy Cal Ripken, Jr. and Major League Baseball standout Brady Anderson, a former center fielder with the Baltimore Orioles, will travel to Japan November 8-16, 2011 as sports diplomats.

Hosting the 2014 FIFA World Cup was supposed to provide an unalloyed boon to Brazil’s global image. Yet tournament preparations have highlighted many structural weaknesses in Latin America’s largest country, and predictions that the World Cup will deliver enormous economic benefits should be treated with skepticism.

The success of India's first Formula One Grand Prix stands in striking contrast to last year's Commonwealth Games fiasco...the Buddh International Circuit won high praise from race-car drivers and international media alike...India's ability to attract such international praise exemplifies its growing soft power.

Two of China’s largest film production companies, said they were each acquiring up to 20% of start-up distribution company China Lion Film Distribution, with the goal of introducing more of their films to the U.S. market. Bona Film Group Chairman and Chief Executive Dong Yu added that he thought the deal was a good opportunity to open Chinese films to the North American market and consequently promote Chinese culture abroad.

The U.S. Department of State announced a new partnership with the Association of American Voices...Known as American Music Abroad, this people-to-people exchange will feature a wide variety of American musical genres through international cultural exchange initiatives that will reach more than 40 countries around the world.

As a projection of ”soft power“ to the world, culture is key part of China's comprehensive national strength. With the further development of the country's economic and political reforms, cultural institutions also need to be modernized.

As part of its international cultural diplomacy, Indonesia will open cultural centers abroad, with Japan and the Netherlands already on the list. Cultural diplomacy is one of the five principles included in a blueprint for cultural development that is now being prepared by the ministry, along with different stakeholders such as sociologists and artists.