President Obama’s “100,000 Strong in the Americas” and Brazilian President Rousseff’s “Science without Borders” ...strengthen U.S. and Brazilian institutional partnerships, develop a workforce prepared for 21st century opportunities, and contribute to long-term economic growth for both countries.

As her position holds a seat on the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG), Sonenshine will be able to influence the BBG’s strategic planning process. This process has in recent years threatened to gut the U.S. international broadcasting services by redirecting resources from broadcasting toward Internet-only platforms, which are unavailable in many developing countries.

The Overseas Chinese Affairs Office of the State Council (OCAO) will cooperate with foreign education authorities to position Chinese-language education as a mainstream education choice abroad, said Li Haifeng, the OCAO director, at a meeting attended by overseas Chinese social organizations from across the world.

On April 6, Under Secretary Tara Sonenshine welcomed Special Presidential Representative Mikhail Shvydkoy at the State Department to discuss future plans for collaboration in the areas of education, media, sports and professional exchanges.

China has been cultivating its image around the world as an attractive, rising power that is non-threatening and non-confrontational. China's endeavor to promote its soft power involves shifting the focus from purely economic cooperation to other more subtle areas such as culture.

"China has developed its economic and political prowess, but still is relatively weak when it comes to culture in the global arena," he says. But what China really needs to do is to ensure that its cultural exports promote creative cooperation and are also in sync with what the rest of the world wants.

Political, economic, social and cultural factors have increasingly become a part of the safety equation. These parameters, named ‘soft power,’ have been added to the ‘military power,’ leading to the concept ‘smart power,'

While public diplomacy may be the preferred field of U.S. foreign engagement in the future — promoting democratic principles and practices through example, cultural exchanges, consultation and support — efforts to win over hearts and minds in the Middle East have hit a roadblock.