“We have carried out extensive public diplomacy activities as well as cultural and people-to-people exchanges to encourage deeper understanding and friendship between the Chinese people and people of other countries.”

Nawaz Sharif was profoundly humble in his manners, perfectly modest in his demeanour, perceptually pragmatic in his approach to national problematics, mindful of his projected authority and nobility, faithfully devoted to the people’s cause and, above all, a picture-perfect model of public diplomacy and constitutionalism.

A US official is taking a novel approach to diplomacy in Pakistan -- singing in a local language to build bridges in one of the world's most dangerous countries, where anti-Americanism runs rampant

Since 1999, the sister cities of Worthington and Sayama, Japan — a suburb of Tokyo — have participated in a cultural exchange involving visits from city officials, resident delegations, school groups and other representatives of each area. For the latest phase in the relationship, the long journey has been made not by contingents of people but by works of art.

A new publication has thrown further light on the impressive success of the UAE Pavilion at EXPO 2010 in Shanghai. "Our results also indicate that with sensory stimulation and dramatic resonance, the UAE Pavilion was the most successful in presenting its national image at the Shanghai EXPO." This is a direct quotation from the closing remarks of a book published by the University of Southern California Centre on Public Diplomacy at the Annenberg School.

In 2002, Blackwell founded a company called Killerspin, based in Chicago. The idea came to him when he was asked to help host a table tennis exhibition in Chicago in the early 2000s, an event meant to celebrate the anniversary of the good-natured exchange of table tennis players between the U.S. and China later known, of course, as Ping Pong Diplomacy.

A US official is taking a novel approach to diplomacy in Pakistan - singing in a local language to build bridges in Pakistan, where anti-Americanism runs rampant. Shayla Cram, a public diplomacy officer assigned to Peshawar, has not only learnt Pushto but has penned her own Pushto-style song.

China is not squeamish about putting a price and index on its culture. In a quirky development last month, China launched its first cultural industry index at the Shenzhen Stock Exchange... The OCT Index, which as of now hasn’t generated much notice, does signal a shifting trend - China’s determination to change its growth model.