Aitken's jazz classes are part of American Voices' "YES Academy" or Youth Excellence on Stage. The U.S. funded non-profit offers free professional training in unique American performing arts such as hip hop and Broadway musicals. YES Academy also runs in Afghanistan, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Malaysia, Pakistan and Syria, but Aiken says they work the most with Iraq.

The China Institute for International Communication Strategy (CIICS),co-sponsored by the Chinese People's Institute of Foreign Affairs (CPIFA) and the Communication University of China (CUC), is dedicated to research in public diplomacy, promotion of culture, art, media relations and other related fields, according to its press release.

The bill, H.R.5736 — Smith-Mundt Modernization Act of 2012 (Introduced in House – IH), removes the prohibition on public diplomacy material from being available to people within the United States and thus eliminates an artificial handicap to U.S. global engagement while creating domestic awareness of international affairs and oversight and accountability of the same.

Our Working Group on Religion and Foreign Policy has focused on how we can strengthen our engagement with the large section of civil society comprised of faith-based organizations. Our posts in every region of the globe work with faith-based organizations and religious communities to bolster democracies, protect human rights, and respond to the humanitarian need of citizens.

South Korea is stepping up to make inroads into Myanmar as the Southeast Asian country’s fledgling reforms widen access to its huge natural resources, market potential and geopolitical position. President Lee Myung-bak became the first Korean leader to land in the country since 1983 when a North Korean terrorist bombing killed 17 Seoul officials accompanying then-President.