A long-delayed project to build three colossal museums on an arid Persian Gulf island will be finished by 2017, officials say, realizing the designs of some of the world’s leading architects while underlining the ambitions of this city to emerge as a global capital.

Nothing could act as a better reminder that culture is a marketing tool, as well as an organic process that grows from the ground upwards. With contributions from a host of famous names, the climax of the Cultural Olympiad aims to prove once and for all that London, not New York, not Paris, really is the arts capital of the world.

Vietnam did a great job in 2011 to promote its land and people. Various activities were held on the theme of building a shared awareness of cultural integration and combining cultural diplomacy with political and economic diplomacy. In 2012 the country will continue to use diplomacy to foster its culture.

India's metropolitan youth are gung-ho about the country's future and that's largely because of their immense belief in themselves. According to a recent poll, on the issue of which is India's biggest strength, 61% overall picked youth power, 16% each opted for "emerging economy" and "democracy" and 7% for "soft power".

On July 20th, 2011, famine was declared in parts of the Horn of Africa. As humanitarian aid becomes a familiar and even expected element in public diplomacy, senior members from the State Department provided an update on continued U.S. efforts to respond to the humanitarian crisis in the region as well as some of the ongoing security challenges that exist.

Culture diplomacy has been increasingly used to enhance the exchange of ideas, values, and traditions, with the intention of fostering mutual understanding.The second edition of the Indo-US Printmaking Exhibition, which displays the printmaking works of over 120 artists of repute from the USA and India, was inaugurated in New Delhi.

This past year offered fresh proof that the world we live in is ever dynamic and that there must be new ways to think about the role the U.S. will play in the world in the coming years. USIP’s Executive VP Tara Sonenshine shared her views on the state of the world, America’s role in it, and what USIP is doing on the ground to help build peace and stability.

A photo exhibition titled ‘Jam Session: America’s Ambassadors Embrace the World' provided art and music lovers with a sense of how cultural diplomacy can work wonders in fields where politics fears to tread. The display features images of U.S. jazz musicians as musical envoys between the 1950s and the ‘70s, particularly during the Cold War.