There’s a real spectrum of celebrity activity. George Clooney really stands out, along with Angelina Jolie and Bono -- you can disagree with some of the cases that they pick up, but they’re very conscientious, they’re advised well, they’re in it for the longer run.

Social media continues to change the landscape of the way we interact, go about our lives and connect us in ways that we never imagined. One such example is the unprecedented ability for people to unite for the common good, and to promote truth and justice.

Words without Borders tells us that "50 percent of all books in translation now published worldwide are translated from English, but only six percent are translated into English." "The conversation between the reading public in the United States and the rest of the world has become more like a monologue."

There is good reason to think that, whatever happens as a part of these expressive or performative opportunities, cultural diplomacy as display and for the creation of an audience is in fact not the best route to intercultural dialogue.

Big studios are trying to push further into China, where box office receipts rose more than a third last year to $2 billion. China represents one of the most attractive growth opportunities for the U.S. movie industry, which is facing declining North American theater revenue and slumping DVD sales.

For the students of diplomacy, the photographs detailing the early years of Asean are objects of nostalgia and politics. Established on August 8, 1967, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) was composed of Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines.