Figures from Germany's culture and language promotion agency, the Goethe Institute, show that people in southern Europe -- where unemployment is high, particularly among the young -- are clamoring to learn German. Other official data show immigration to Germany from Spain, Greece and Portugal is up sharply.

Innovations are a source of soft power. At a time of an unprecedented economic recession, soft power fueled by innovations remains America's greatest competitive advantage...The US experience suggests the way China has transformed itself into a new superpower will not be possible without building up its soft power that provides fertile ground for innovative products.

“Would the world be more peaceful if women were in charge?”...Unless soft power is introduced into the power equation it is unlikely that things will change any time soon. The spreading of ideas, creating allies on all sides, building and enforcing a group’s influence in the most positive manner are of the essence.

We are facing a young generation that's exposed to a lot of misinformation...We didn't go there to garner support for government policy, but to present a different side of the conflict, and to tell them directly that by calling for boycott of Israel they won't bring hope for peace.

What the United Kingdom can offer to India that other countries cannot, says the new British High Commissioner to India James Bevan, is the English language.Britain is providing English language training to a million Indian teachers, a programme that will indirectly reach a third of India’s population.

This year's Oscar for the best foreign film went to Iran, a country which is grappling with a tense international environment because of its nuclear program. One debate, always important to Iranians, is about the contribution of such movies to the Iranian image.

This year's Oscar for the best foreign film went to Iran, a country which is grappling with a tense international environment because of its nuclear program. Despite its small budget, A Separation has come to generate a considerable amount of discussion both inside Iran and abroad. One debate, always important to Iranians, is about the contribution of such movies to the Iranian image.

With sparkling new offices in Washington, D.C., on New York Avenue since February 6, and a staff of 75 soon to be 100, CCTV America is making a serious and well-financed bid to be a player in the U.S. media market. CCTV America is a subsidiary of China Central TV, the Chinese state broadcaster, whose global ambitions have been making headlines.