“We need to see the Pakistani community in the US as a key resource to mobilising opinion in Pakistan’s favour, and they will be our first line of public diplomacy and outreach here in Washington. Strengthening and broadening the bilateral relationship would remain my key priorities in Washington,” Ambassador Rehman said.

Launched in 2007 by the Department of State, ILEP has provided over 300 secondary school teachers of English, math, science, and social studies from around the world with professional development at U.S. graduate schools of education.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar will travel to Brazil to meet with underserved youth... As a Cultural Ambassador, Abdul-Jabbar will lead conversations with young people on the importance of education, social and racial tolerance, cultural understanding, and using sports as a means of empowerment.

Officials at Sweden's tourism board agreed to hand over control of their @sweden Twitter feed in December to a different Swedish citizen each week. The project -- billed as "the world's most democratic Twitter account" -- has so far been hugely popular, featuring a female priest, an advertising executive and an organic sheep farmer.

It is heartening to learn of the strong support for the Senator Paul Simon Water for the World Act of 2012. The United States, through the State Department and USAID, is already doing good work in the water, sanitation and hygiene sector. This new act will improve the effectiveness, transparency and accountability of existing U.S. international aid programs.

When Secretary Clinton announced the launch of the first-ever virtual embassy for Iran, she made clear that the U.S. Department of State wants to communicate directly to the people of Iran and to support a more direct and robust engagement between our people, emphasizing the role of new media platforms to reach younger and more tech-savvy audiences.

“We shouldn’t be afraid to speak out, to say what we believe in. There are enough people who support us and they want to hear it from us. We shouldn’t be apologetic all the time. We should be strong and right, and that’s the message we’re sending from the Knesset.”

Art films and dance recitals no doubt do their bit to further cultural understanding, but a comic can, with one fell swoop and a calibrated punch-line, unite a contrastive crowd in laughter like nothing else can. The U.S. State Department has brought to India a stand-up act that will resolve any residual doubts about the south Asian immigrant experience.