Even as the Narendra Modi government talks big about projecting India’s soft power, India’s main instrument for cultural diplomacy continues to wallow in severe fund crunch, forcing it to now open new cultural centres abroad only in collaboration with private organisations.

Since beginning her new profession as a Public Diplomacy Envoy, Kwan has had the opportunity to work with two presidents and three Secretaries of State, and she continues to make strides in the global arena as a promoter of American values and athletic interests.

Amid the political volatility and ideological chaos, one country that has stood out as a beacon of of peace, stability and modernity is the low-profile nation of Morocco, wedged at the crosscurrents of the Atlantic and the Mediterranean.

Kazakhstan’s success is a model for the entire region. The overwhelming majority of the population supports the country’s so-called multi-vector foreign policy and Kazakhstan’s ability to brand itself internationally through its support for multilateralism and regional initiatives, stance on denuclearization and its prestige campaigns in the West and Asia.

North Korea stepped out of its isolation as a last-minute participant, and there are signs that Turkey may use the occasion to reach out to the Vatican weeks after it recalled its ambassador to the Holy See over the pope describing the slaughter of Armenians by Ottoman Turks as genocide.

At the center of global Catholicism, church leaders joined with politicians, scientists and economists to draft a statement declaring not only that climate change is a “scientific reality” but also that there’s a moral and religious responsibility to do something about it.

The Department of State has renewed the Charter for the U.S. Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy. The Commission appraises U.S. Government activities intended to understand, inform, and influence foreign publics. The Advisory Commission may conduct studies, inquiries, and meetings, as it deems necessary and assembles and disseminates information, issue reports and other publications, subject to the approval of the Chairperson, in consultation with the Executive Director. 

Earlier this year, StandWithUs (SWU), a pro-Israeli American advocacy group that coordinates its activities closely with the Israeli government, finally unveiled an SWU-China division for its organization in an event that marked a joint celebration of the Chinese New Year and Jewish Tu B’Shvat in Jerusalem.