“It’s not easy for all of you, I’m sure, to sum up what this experience has been like for you, but I can tell you that, from where we are, what we are filled up with is pride. We’re proud of you for demonstrating your understanding of the needs of your own communities,” said Tara Sonenshine, undersecretary for public diplomacy and public affairs.

Backed by its gastronomy, martial arts, music and manga culture, Brazil's small but influential Japanese community is wielding soft power to assert ethnic pride and preserve century-old ties..."the main objective, beyond the preservation of the Japanese culture, is furthering the integration of the Japanese and broader Brazilian communities."

The report calls for new measures to build trust and improve perceptions of each other in the fields of education, diplomacy, media and security. They include doubling Australia’s public diplomacy budget, extending post-study work rights to international students, and training Australian teachers in Hindi language in anticipation of it being added to the Australian curriculum.

The Ministry of Diaspora Affairs and Public Diplomacy established a special web site and focuses much of its attention on this issue. While high ranking government officials grapple with this problem, a group of 14- and 15- year-old boys are putting on a clinic regarding how to improve Israel’s image – just be nice.

On Monday, China’s state-run Xinhua News Agency fired back with a commentary condemning the “narrow nationalism and ignorance” displayed by U.S. politicians who oppose the Chinese-made uniforms and citing the importance of “the Olympic Spirit, which has nothing to do with politics” but is instead about “mutual understanding and fair play.”

"First and foremost, we want to show people that China is not all about censorship and political debate. People talk about movies, celebrities, social issues and even international news. We explain how Weibo’s used for many other things than just to talk about what people are eating or doing, how it's helping people, how it affects lives, how silly it can be and how it’s not that different from social networks in the West.

While mainstream media often reported on the news of a disaster, citizen journalists were able to provide valuable background information that could impact humanitarian policy. "Reporting a disaster or an emergency is as critical as reporting the events leading to it. How did people react just before it happened and so on," Palatino said.

There are yet others who consider "soft power" a transparent effort to mask U.S. efforts to run the affairs of the world, whether in "hard" or "soft" style. The key value of "soft power" however, was not in its ideological call to anything, nor was it intended to cover up hard intentions or distract with soft-heartedness.