...If we want our people-to-people exchanges to remain central to our public diplomacy engagement, we have to open new channels. We have to communicate government to people, and people to people. And one of the best ways we can leverage those conversations is through social media and other connective technologies, such as video teleconferencing.

Mr. Schwartz is a career public diplomacy official who has served in Pakistan, India, Israel and South Africa... Some said Mr. Schwartz was among the first in the U.S. government to understand how the U.S.-made online clip would likely fuel unrest in the Mideast.

Since at least the late 2000s, I have been observing – sometimes organizing, and sometimes participating in – diverse forums featuring different combinations of politicos, policy decision-makers, academics, and applied practitioners, which have broached the relationship between “culture” and “security,” sometimes in overlapping but often in notably different ways.

America’s broadcast voice in Russia will soon be silenced following Moscow’s ratification of a new law that will force a legendary broadcasting company to abandon the Russian airwaves. Radio Liberty (RL), a division of the U.S.-funded Radio Free Europe (RFE), recently fired a large portion of its staff after the passage of a Russian law prohibiting foreign-owned media outlets from broadcasting on AM frequencies.

The Gambian, Namibian, Tanzanian, Zambian, and Zimbabwean ministers joined senior representatives from the Africa Development Bank, African Union, Global Partnerships Forum, and UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) to speak about the benefits of tourism in relation to the economy, environment and people.

The Ethiopian Embassy in India has announced that it is to launch a Cultural and Tourism Center to introduce African culture to Indians in November 2012. It is expected that center is to be the first of its kind in India. The center is to be an indispensable element to promoting African values and Ethiopian culture in particular according to Metasebia Tadesse, Counselor for Political, Public Relations, Public Diplomacy.

Turkey’s office of public diplomacy hosted leading figures from around the world on Saturday and Sunday, to partake in the first Istanbul World Forum (IWF)... The theme of the conference was justice and the aim was to explore the theme in various contexts including politics, fundamental rights and international law, the arts, media and religious traditions.

In partnership with governments, civil society and UN agencies, Funds and Programmes, UNICEF is laying the groundwork to end child marriage globally. In 2011, 34 country offices reported efforts to address child marriage through social and economic change efforts and legal reform... During the event, the new U.S. Public Diplomacy Officer in Lagos, Mrs. Rhonda Watson, said that the U.S. Embassy was always ready to help the young girls to realize their dreams.