Eight wheelchair basketball athletes and four coaches from Turkey were able to engage firsthand in the disability sports culture in the United States, inspiring greater understanding of inclusion rights in sports. This wheelchair basketball exchange taught the Turkish athletes and coaches about equality for persons with disabilities in the United States, as well as the importance of teamwork and leadership skills.

MTV Latin America and the United Nations Secretary General´s UNITE to end Violence against Women presented the initiative “Be Brave not Violent”. The initiative is aimed at young people in Latin America and the Caribbean, with the objective inspiring young people in the region to become part of the solution to end violence against women.

In partnership with the International Youth Foundation (IYF), the Youth:Work project is working in eight countries in Sub-Saharan Africa to assess the needs and aspirations of young people, the hurdles they face in seeking employment, and the opportunities that can help them improve their lives and prospects. This holistic mapping exercise, called Youth:Map, is developed through interviews with business, community, government, and youth leaders.

Burns emphasized repeatedly that the United States did not back any individuals or parties in Egypt, only the principle of an open and inclusive transition to a democracy. He said Washington hoped the “ongoing transition” would be “a chance to learn some of the lessons and correct some of the mistakes of the past two years.”

An Auckland-based Samoan Tongan poet has been awarded a Fulbright scholarship to write creatively about cultural diplomacy for three months in Hawaii. Leilani Tamu is this year’s recipient of the 2013 Fulbright-Creative New Zealand Pacific Writer’s Residency. She told Sara Vui-Talitu her inspiration for the residency will be to write about one of the last heirs to the throne of the Kingdom of Hawaii, Princess Kaiulani.

The U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) announced today that youth and coaches from Brazil will be in Chicago, Illinois this week for a sports exchange program. In partnership with WorldChicago, 12 athletes with disabilities and eight coaches, with and without disabilities, will participate in activities on inclusion and equality for persons with disabilities.

Overseas, marketing and public diplomacy efforts featuring posters on public transportation systems and TV ads have been underway for the past few years. These efforts all show signs of success, on both the supply side and the demand side of trade in shark fins. Hong Kong's Census and Statistics Department tracked 3,100 metric tons of shark fin being imported from the island to China last year, but this year's numbers are way down.

While most of the current attention is focused on fixing what is broken with the U.S. immigration system, there are any number of existing elements that work well. One of them is the J-1 Exchange Visitor program. For more than 50 years, millions of young adult cultural visitors from around the globe have participated in America’s Exchange Visitors Program, and have returned to their home countries with a greater appreciation for, and understanding of, American culture and values.