ECA is pleased to announce the 2012 Alumni Engagement Innovation Fund (AEIF), which aims to harness the leadership capacity of exchange program alumni worldwide. AEIF awards up to $25,000 to winning teams of alumni to fund projects tackling issues from human rights to women’s entrepreneurship to interfaith understanding.

Public Diplomacy and Diaspora Affairs Minister Yuli Edelstein talked about the best way to combat Israel-bashing, which he said had become a very popular subject. His advice was to tell the truth. “The more accurate the picture of Israel, the easier it will be for us to deal with those on the Israel-bashing campaign."

Most everyone involved in U.S. public diplomacy policy seems ready for the Smith-Mundt Act's overhaul -- especially the Broadcasting Board of Governors, who oversee U.S. international broadcasting efforts. They included the repeal of the domestic distribution ban as a goal in their recently-released strategic plan for 2012-16.

"I tell all our ambassadors, remember, you only have one mouth but you have two ears, so use this as a way not just of communicating with the citizens of the country where you are serving, but also understanding the point of view of people who may not be sitting at a mahogany table inside the embassy," says Alec Ross, the State Department's senior adviser on innovation.

With so many global challenges, where can the biggest impact be made on global publics? How can the case for public diplomacy be made more effectively to governments, corporations, NGOs and individuals? We can start by tackling the most pressing global issue—water. Water is essential for human life and although we are a blue planet, water is a scarce resource. More than one billion people do not have access to safe water.