The U.S. Department of State has designated January 2012 as 21st Century Statecraft month. Twenty-first Century Statecraft complements traditional foreign policy by harnessing and adapting the digital networks and technologies of today’s interconnected world.

Whether they are advancing Internet freedom or helping to connecting women entrepreneurs in West Africa or responding to the devastating earthquake that struck Japan, our diplomats and development professionals are using digital networks and technologies in service of U.S. foreign policy.

Events in Egypt and countries across the Middle East and North Africa have shown in the 'Arab Spring' that internet platforms and technologies should be seen for what they are: effective tools for the conduct of political campaigns in authoritarian contexts.

Peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians may be deadlocked, but an online community of young Israelis and Arabs from across the Middle East is hoping for better results in the virtual world. Using Facebook, a virtual peace and economic cooperation conference seeks to transcend borders by sharing ideas on the Internet.

Social media users can easily mobilize demonstrations of millions in Tahrir Square and elsewhere in Egypt. However, to see the real prospects for political and economic reforms, we must examine the nature of the grass-root movement, the core issues that the newly-emerging governments face and the choices they are likely to make.

The State Department on Monday launched a new Turkish-language Twitter account, its 10th official feed designed to spread the word about US foreign policy in a language other than English. The Turkish account is @ABDTurk and will be used by the U.S. Embassy in Turkey.

The wonders of Incredible India are now available on the popular video sharing website Youtube. The public diplomacy division of the external affairs ministry's Youtube channel called 'Indiandiplomacy', will now feature films from the ministry's archives to showcase India's cultural diversity.

With the 70th anniversary of the Voice of America approaching...it is an ideal time to assess the future prospects for U.S. International Broadcasting (USIB)...As a first step, the Board will study the feasibility of merging into a single corporate structure...