Kim A. Snyder's “Welcome to Shelbyville” is a melting-pot movie, asimmer with social issues: immigration, racism, unemployment, intolerance. Its examination of the clash between Somali Muslims and rural Tennesseeans does not sugarcoat the kinds of conflicts that have bedeviled the country for centuries; it questions, in its way, what America means. And it’s been shown around the world by the United States State Department.

Partnership, cooperation, and collaboration are recognized by most, if not all, as an important part of 21st century public diplomacy. One important challenge in developing a more collaborative public diplomacy is the need to identify the opportunities and resources to put the collaborative aspiration into action.

This task might be simplified if we recognize the bureaucratic infrastructure as a series of connections – or networks. The task is then to map that network and recognize potential areas of common experience and opportunity for collaboration.

There has been an officially sanctioned revival of Confucius in recent years, as authorities have turned to his teachings to reach out to the international community to strengthen China's "soft power" and counter an invasion of Western culture.

Katie Couric's recent comments recommending a Muslim Cosby show to combat anti-Muslim bigotry has been decried by some as a naïve, simplistic remedy for the festering sore of Islamophobia in America. However...authentic and accessible American Muslim narratives can emerge as popular, effective tools of cultural diplomacy in helping bridge the divides between Muslim Communities and the U.S.

China wants to use both inbound and outbound tourism to help promote its international image, which has been battered by endless product and food safety scandals and ethnic unrest.

I went to Angola as a delegate with the American Documentary Showcase, a State Department-funded program that sends American documentaries around the world, accompanied by filmmakers who teach filmmaking workshops.

The European Culture Capital initiative helps to highlight Europe's diversity and contributes to the development of the cities involved. What began as a spontaneous idea has developed into a large, multifaceted project.

Many cultural diplomacy endeavors within governments, particularly when using the visual arts, present art in the safety of the traditional museum or mega-gallery. While the reasons for doing so are understandable, it's much more exciting to hear about programs that accept a bit more out-of-the-box type of approach.