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

APDS Blogger: Aparajitha Vadlamannati

Good public diplomats (like good teachers and students) impart knowledge, listen, create dialogue, engage others by helping to tackle tough issues, and are open to learning from the multitude of perspectives others present. They are imbued with an inclination to advance the education of everyone, as well as their own. So what better way is there to exemplify the reach of public diplomacy than through educational exchanges?

India has offered to train Afghan police to help them prevent future terrorist attacks in a move likely to be seen as highly provocative by long-time rival Pakistan. India has long maintained that its support for Afghanistan is civilian in nature and driven by what its officials call “civilisational links”.

China and India have declared 2011 as the "Year of China-India Exchange", during which each side will invite 500 youths from the other side for a visit.

China's global soft power push is being refined through forays into Australia during the Year of Chinese Culture here. Ten writers recently came from China under the new format via the Chinese Writers Association, a government organisation, for a four-day conference with Australian counterparts.

Monica Pokorny of Polson was one of 10 young professionals to spend three weeks in China in June as part of a public diplomacy exchange focused on global environmental issues.

It is in this context of winning Muslim hearts and minds that, 10 years after 9/11, Obama now has such a precious political window of opportunity to relaunch the campaign against terrorism. Seizing the moment would require the US giving higher priority, as it did during the Cold War, to public diplomacy, broadcasting, development assistance and exchange programs.

Culture Kitchen is a new Bay Area-based culinary school where women share their family recipes and insight into their cultural backgrounds. By exploring these access points in an intimate, hands-on setting, Sturges and Lopez think they can create valuable exchanges and interactions between different ethnic backgrounds.