I first got a glimpse of Hawaiian public diplomacy a few years ago at the Taipei Flora Expo in 2011. Following a stint in Taiwan as a Visiting Fellow at a thinktank researching Taiwanese public diplomacy, I stopped in the Expo, which featured different countries exhibiting and showcasing their unique flora.

I got into the public diplomacy game as a local hire as a Foreign Service National (FSN) working for the Israeli Foreign Ministry as a Press Officer for the Consulate General of Israel to the Southwest. As such, I have a deep appreciation for others who work as FSN for various foreign ministries and the U.S. Department of State.

I got into the public diplomacy game as a local hire as a Foreign Service National (FSN) working for the Israeli Foreign Ministry as a Press Officer for the Consulate General of Israel to the Southwest. As such, I have a deep appreciation for others who work as FSN for various foreign ministries and the U.S. Department of State.

De Gaulle and Free France’s use of public diplomacy to rally a down-yet-not-out France remains a stirring example of how a semi-official national movement can project legitimacy and rally support for its cause. Through leaflets, communiqués, and international broadcasting efforts, as well as by projecting the trappings of authority, Free France was able to use public diplomacy to rally support domestically and throughout the areas of the French territory worldwide still under contest, as well as to supporters in Britain and the United States.

Gastrodiplomacy is an increasingly popular form of public diplomacy that uses food as a means to communicate culture; this tactic of culinary cultural diplomacy shares the uniqueness of a country's cuisine as a manner of edible nation branding. As I was noshing outside a snackautomat, a Dutch version of the since-forgotten automat that Horn & Hardart's made popular decades ago in America, I dreamed of Dutch gastrodiplomacy to America via the snackautomat.

For two weeks, American Voices offered performing arts lessons to 300 Iraqis from across the country. Classes were taught in the areas of jazz, piano, classical symphony, theater and hip hop & breakdance. I was essentially the Assistant Director of the YES Academy, and a veritable public diplomacy camp counselor. We also held smaller mini-YES Academies for close to a week in both Baghdad and Kirkuk -- the latter of which I ran as well.

Public diplomacy is a field predicated on the communication of culture and values to foreign publics; gastrodiplomacy is the act of winning hearts and minds via stomachs. Gastrodiplomacy uses culinary delights to appeal to the global public’s appetite, and thus helps raise a nation’s brand awareness and reputation.

Food has been a trending topic in travel circles for some time now. But though a good meal can tell a traveler much about the local culture, it's not often that food is thought of as a force for political change at home.