Bodies like the Sahitya Akademi, the Lalit Kala Akademi and the National Gallery of Modern Art opened their accounts on popular social media site Facebook some nine months ago. And while their pages are not very exciting, to get them moving in this direction was a feat in itself, accomplished largely due to the efforts of Abhay Kumar, former Deputy Secretary, Public Diplomacy, in the External Affairs Ministry, whose personal interest motivates him to keep nudging a sluggish bureaucracy.

DanceMotion USASM builds on Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton’s vision of “smart power” diplomacy, which embraces the full use of diplomatic tools, in this case dance, to engage people and create opportunities for greater understanding.

For more than a decade, China has pursued a strategy in Southeast Asia that relied heavily on economic carrots to increase the stake of the Southeast Asian countries in maintaining good relations with China...Chinese foreign direct investment, foreign assistance, and trade have all been used to encourage countries to consider Beijing’s interests.

Speakers of the two states discussed cooperation in economic, cultural, scientific and educational fields. At the same time, inter-parliamentary cooperation development, including within international agencies, was especially emphasized. The necessity of forming a joint position on issues of mutual importance was stressed.

The Secretary’s Global Diaspora Forum recognizes and celebrates the work of American diaspora communities with roots across the globe and encourages them to contribute to the development of, and diplomatic relations with, their countries of origin. For additional information about the Global Diaspora Forum agenda, please visit: http://diasporaalliance.org/.

Somalia is set to strengthen and reinvigorate its public diplomacy and trade relations with the Republic of South Africa, announcing plans to open an Embassy in Pretoria...The newly appointed Somali ambassador to South Africa, Sayid Hassan Sharif, has been meeting the Somali community in the Western Cape province since taking up the post at the beginning of this month.

The theme of this year’s Forum is “Moving Forward by Giving Back,” and will focus on how the U.S. Government and diaspora communities are partnering to further investment and trade, philanthropy, volunteerism, social innovation, and entrepreneurship in developing and emerging communities around the world.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will speak at the 2012 International AIDS Conference in Washington...With the theme of "Turning the Tide Together," AIDS 2012 aims to increase global awareness through convening a group of scientific experts, community leaders, and policy leaders.