Although the world recently lost a legend, “Marvelous” Mal Whitfield, his legacy of spreading global goodwill through sports lives on. As the State Department continues to reach new audiences through sports diplomacy, it is important to look back to those who first strengthened relations between the United States and other nations through sports.

There is an informative intersection of research initiatives, both geographically and topically, when examining a nation like Angola, a resource rich sub-Saharan African country that is only a decade or so removed from years of horrific civil war. Recently, we analyzed the mediated public diplomacy efforts of Angola in the United States.

Some of Major League Baseball's biggest Cuban-born stars put dozens of boys through batting, pitching and catching drills in a sunny Havana ballpark, part of a 3-day mission meant to warm relations between the U.S. league and this baseball-mad nation. […] Defectors who were once reviled by Cuban officials [...] but who have returned in triumph following last year's historic detente between the Cold War foes.

During the latest China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) summit, Chinese President Xi Jinping announced a new development assistance deal for Africa. The $60 billion development package will include a string of zero-interest loans for infrastructure projects. But the latest deals also include more cultural exchange projects as well as scholarships and training programs for Africans.

The day after he retired in 2006, dairy specialist Archie Devore headed to Russia to help farm operations update their practices. [...] Devore’s trip to Russia was the first of 28 assignments in nine different countries that the Lincoln resident has taken through a U.S. government program that has sent more than 16,000 agricultural volunteers overseas over the past 30 years.

For the past 10 years, the Building Bridges Art Exchange at the Bergamot Station Art Center in Santa Monica has been working to connect artists across the globe to exchange ideas and share creative breakthroughs. [...] The main gallery space hosts international artist Franco Marrocco’s “The Red Studio & Other Works,” and concurrently in the project room Venice-based artist J.J. L’Heureux is showcasing her collage work in “Etichette.”

The United States spends more on international aid than any other nation — more than $32 billion a year. Yet it has come in near the bottom of a newly released ranking that scores the wealthiest nations according to how much they help the world's poorest people […] What gives?

Since March, Obama has travelled to countries including Britain, Japan, Cambodia and Qatar to promote Let Girls Learn, an initiative to help some of the more than 30 million adolescent girls who lack access to education. Embracing a network of 7,000 Peace Corps volunteers, it will seek community-led solutions to lower the barriers that prevent girls from getting secondary schooling.