The facility will provide leadership training, with programs on public diplomacy and pro-Israel advocacy, officials say, equipping young Jews in a fight against the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement against Israel. The movement, launched by Palestinians a decade ago, calls for greater Palestinian rights.

In the photo series, shot by Steve McCurry in a Maasai village in Kenya's Amboseli National Park, the team recreated the runway show look, which also incorporates dreadlocks wrapped into a bun — and has subscribed to the Vogue school of using people of non-European cultures as a backdrop for white models wearing European designers' clothing. Valentino has tried to make clear that the collection and accompanying beauty looks were created in the name of cross-cultural exchange.

As a challenge to this phenomenon, in September 2015, a group of young Iranian students established "See You in Iran," a Facebook platform where former and future Iran travelers can connect and exchange information. Non-Iranians can share their unfiltered narratives about their visit to Iran, and future travelers can ask questions about their upcoming trips. Through this mechanism, "See You in Iran" aims to promote travel and provide an unguided understanding of Iran, a country that been demonized in the West for a long time. 

Yet, the authors of ISIS in America: From Retweets to Raqqa, a study released last month by George Washington University’s Program on Extremism, seem to conclude something along these lines. “Social media plays a crucial role in the radicalization and, at times, mobilization of U.S.-based ISIS sympathizers,” they warn. “Some members of this online echo chamber eventually make the leap from keyboard warriors to actual militancy.”

Pope Francis has a similar ambition to shape history. He wants to steer it away from what he’s called the “globalization of indifference” to the poor, refugees, and other victims of a “throw-away culture”, and he wants to end a Third World War he believes is being fought today in “piece-meal” fashion.

The New York Times recently reported on a similar trend in Nigeria, where the West’s push against anti-gay laws has actually contributed to a significant increase in violence against gay people. America’s money and public diplomacy have opened conversations and opportunities in societies where the subject was taboo just a few years ago. But they have also made gay men and lesbians more visible — and more vulnerable to harassment and violence …  by groups of men, some of whom call themselves “cleansers.” 

“It's the dramatic multiplication of conflicts in the world. It's the fact that the international community has lost much of its capacity to avoid conflicts, to prevent conflicts, and then to timely solve them. And this is what needs in my opinion to have a surge in diplomacy for peace.” 

Creating dialogue and raising more public awareness: this is the goal that we set ourselves with the launch of the Peace and Sport Watch in April 2015. [...] Peace and Sport Watch in partnership with Agence France Presse, a digital platform aimed at fostering the development of the peace through sport movement and offering its stakeholders a neutral, relevant and daily digest of the latest news.