APDS Blogger: Aparajitha Vadlamannati

Good public diplomats (like good teachers and students) impart knowledge, listen, create dialogue, engage others by helping to tackle tough issues, and are open to learning from the multitude of perspectives others present. They are imbued with an inclination to advance the education of everyone, as well as their own. So what better way is there to exemplify the reach of public diplomacy than through educational exchanges?

Grassroots Chinese students' associations are taking it upon themselves to bridge the gap between the United States and China at Harvard University. "Representing China today shouldn't be only dumplings and Chinese-style dresses because people from outside China know it already,"

How will the core group of America, Pakistan and Afghanistan work alongside the bilateral effort that Pakistan and Afghanistan have supposedly been working on?...It is about time to start implementing the reconciliation process... but the path forward is not as clear as public diplomacy might suggest.

The overwhelming majority of Arabs in the six nations covered in the survey side with those Syrians demonstrating against the government... And when asked whether Bashar Al Assad can continue to govern, the highest affirmative ratings he receives are 15% in Morocco and 14% in Egypt.

These are all of value in America’s war against poverty, hunger and premature death in the developing world. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said that America should extend its influence by the use of “soft power” – hospitals, education, agricultural development, all things Israel can be helpful in.

The Vice-Minister informed... that the Government of Lithuania this year approved the “Global Lithuania” programme for 2011-2019 and Lithuanians living abroad were engaged in the implementation of this programme, as well as the inter-institutional action plan...

Still the longest State Department sponsored tour in U.S. history, the groundbreaking odyssey was conducted at the height of the Cold War and was only the second cultural mission of its kind to take place during that tense political period.

Tunisians woke up this week to a new reality: for the first time in their country's history, an Islamist party had emerged as an electoral winner...Gannouchi has even reassured Western countries that under an Islamic government, Tunisia will continue to welcome foreign investment and foreign tourists.