How ironic that in a time of rapidly increasing connectivity around the globe, we are still so far from understanding other cultures, especially those that observe religions and traditions different from our own.

Nearly a year after the Obama administration set a priority of boosting higher education exchanges with Indonesia, the U.S. is repeating its commitment to cultural diplomacy. As part of that outreach, it aims to double the number of Indonesian students studying in the U.S...

Fort Bragg residents have raised more than $63,500 for residents of tsunami-ravaged Otsuchi, their sister city in northeastern Japan...Members of the Fort Bragg Otsuchi Cultural Exchange Association began fundraising efforts in the days following the devastation, appealing to residents in the city of about 8,000.

A delegation from Circolo San Giuseppe Filarmonika Sagra Familja, Kalkara, recently attend­ed the second day of the Novena in the parish of St Joseph in Valguarnera, Sicily, as part of the liturgical feast of St Joseph.

“Soft Power” has become more and more apparent. Through Hollywood movies, America exports its culture and ideology to every corner of our planet, making the western culture continue to be the mainstream culture of the world.

During recent testimony in front of the Senate's Foreign Relations Committee Secretary of State Clinton made a splash when she commented, "I remember having an Afghan general tell me that the only thing he thought about Americans is that all the men wrestled and the women walked around in bikinis because the only TV he ever saw was Baywatch and World Wide Wrestling.” She went on to comment about the effect American media has on the image of the U.S. abroad. Predictably, the significance of her remarks were lost in the usual cacophony of howls about Al Jazeera and Russian media.

The Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) fosters mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of countries around the world through a variety of international programs based on the benefits of mutual understanding, educational and cultural exchange, and leadership development