Professor Jin Canrong with Renmin University of China said that non-governmental participation is the best way of doing public diplomacy, and Yao Ming is the most successful case of public diplomacy as he has greatly improved the image of Chinese people in the world.

The State Department needs to "do a better job" of explaining to Americans what it does overseas, as well as the "return on investment" in America's diplomatic activities, Undersecretary of State for Public Diplomacy Tara Sonenshine says on this week's episode of "Conversations with Nicholas Kralev."

Increasing U.S.-Iran cultural exchanges could lay the groundwork for better relations between the two countries, believes a prominent think tank here, despite the prevalence of stereotypical memes of the United States as the “Great Satan” and Iran as part of the “Axis of Evil”.

The ambassador of Tunisia in Brasília, Sabri Bachtobji, is promoting his first official visit to São Paulo this week, with an agenda full of engagements turned to promoting trade, investment tourism and cultural exchange. “I believe much in economic diplomacy,” said the diplomat to ANBA on Wednesday (26), after a meeting with Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce president Marcelo Sallum, and Foreign Trade vice president Rubens Hannun, at the organisation’s offices, in São Paulo.

Because of African sensitivities about the presence of foreign military forces on the continent, the White House has gone to great lengths to stress that the president's trip will focus on trade and investment, democratic institution-building, and reaching out to young Africans. But in many private discussions, counterterrorism partnership will also feature prominently.

If freedom, democracy and the rule of law are universal, Latin America can and must benefit from the regeneration of the Trans-Atlantic bond. If this does not happen, other models will spread, giving precedence to mercantilism and state capitalism. The news that Nicaragua has awarded China a 40 billion dollar contract to build a new canal across the straits confirms this country's increasingly important role in regional politics.

A former leader of U.S. international broadcasting Wednesday urged Congress to re-organize the journalistic agency so that broadcasters follow foreign policy directives. The proposal came during a U.S. House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee hearing critical of the management of the Broadcasting Board of Governors, the agency that oversees the Voice of America and other international broadcasters.

There is no money for public diplomacy, or “hasbara,” and less and less money for the diplomats on the front lines. Salaries in Jerusalem have always been low, with younger diplomats often receiving supplemental income from the state. Postings abroad were better paid and families could save a little money. No more. In many countries our diplomats just can’t make ends meet.