TechGirls, a new State Department program, will fly 25 Middle Eastern teenage girls to the United States this summer for an immersion course in U.S. tech culture and all things nerdy. The program is a perfect example of cultural diplomacy--participants build ties to American firms and return home (hopefully) preaching the virtues of Silicon Valley.

...I think the Colombo Plan is an exemplary example of public diplomacy where a whole generation or more of young people, the best and brightest from our region, were given an opportunity to undertake study in Australia. And many of those student are now leaders in government and in the public and private sector, in countries in our region. And this exchange of ideas and understanding is invaluable.

Several schools aiming to foster cultural understanding between U.S. and China have turned to virtual exchange programs between American and Chinese schools. Such schools received financial assistance from Hanban, a Chinese institution affiliated with the Chinese Ministry of Education, as well as the Confucius Institute at Michigan State University.

Western Maine now has local coordinators working to promote “public diplomacy” through the hosting of high school students from 45 countries.

The Hoyas will spend five days in the capital of the world’s most populous nation and another five days in Shanghai on a trip intended to advance Georgetown’s profile internationally with athletic, educational and cultural exchange.

OFL is an educational field study programme that brings together students from Qatar, the greater Middle East and Western countries to enhance cultural understanding through studying ocean conservation and science under the theme of “One World, One Ocean.”

When students study in the United States, they return to their homes with a greater understanding of the United States and our people. And very often, they return to become government officials or business leaders in their home countries. This helps solidify the relationship between our nations and pays dividends of friendship and partnership for decades.

The University of Indonesia (UI) signed a memorandum of understanding to cooperate with universities in four European countries: France, Germany, Italy and Spain. University official Devie Rahmawati told Antara news agency that the deal was aimed at establishing cooperation on education, research, cultural diplomacy, lecturer and student exchanges as well as increasing foreign student exchange.