Last week, Heritage and The Wall Street Journal released the latest edition of the Index of Economic Freedom. Among its top performers is Poland, up seven spots in the global rankings. Poland’s economy is the only one in Europe that has expanded every year over the past two decades.

The 2012 Poland-China Tibetan Culture Week successfully concluded here on Sunday, after arousing strong repercussions in Poland. The culture week, the first of its kind held in Poland, included an exhibition of more than 200 photos taken by Chinese and foreign photographers and 46 traditional Tibetan Thangka paintings, Tibetan folk songs and dance performances, in addition to a series of discussions and seminars between locals and Tibetologists.

The last place that the Polish Ambassador to the United States Ryszard Schnepf might have been expected to appear in his first two weeks in Washington was the opening performance of Our Class, the searing play about a dark episode in Poland's history

Humor, humility, and, of course, honesty, all are qualities that work in public and cultural diplomacy. In attending and speaking at Our Class, Ambassador Schnepf understood that leading with humility can be more effective than the self-promotion that often accompanies public diplomacy. We can all learn from his example.

The last place that the Polish Ambassador to the United States Ryszard Schnepf might have been expected to appear in his first two weeks in Washington was the opening performance of Our Class, the searing play about a dark episode in Poland’s history: the 1941 massacre of Jewish citizens by their Catholic neighbors in Jedwabne.

Poland placed 20th in the Top 100 Most Valuable Nation Brands prepared by the London-based Brand Finance, and showed the highest percentage growth rate in 2012 at 75%, the daily Puls Biznesu reported on Friday.

It is an axiomatic fact of realpolitik that public diplomacy carries neither a presumption of truth and accuracy nor of completeness and objectivity. It behooves us never to forget that it is first and foremost an instrument of advocacy, a means to an end.

"There is not too much awareness about Polish culture in India or the other way round. We now hope to change that by creating awareness about both the cultures in the other country," said Jerzy Pomianowski, deputy minister of foreign affairs of the republic of Poland, while inaugurating the Polish Institute in New Delhi last week.