The Fukushima power plant crisis has clearly damaged Japan as a country brand. Many observers point to the need for a "national control tower" to coordinate and bundle Japan's branding activities. Japan and its people need to decide on a clear and simple national vision and stick to it.

With the globalization process deepening, the growth of public diplomacy not only meets the demand of opening up a new horizon of China’s foreign relations, but also meets the strategic needs of increasing China’s soft power and communications with other peoples in the world.

While U.S. military and economic hegemony may decline, it does not follow that American filmmakers -- or other agents of culture-making -- will lose global influence at the same time. America has... taken its advantages in money and power and linked them to the creation of cultural forms that have broad appeal to people worldwide.

From Pristina to Dhaka: My hope for two countries to join hands

For a country whose cuisine has been officially recognised by Unesco as a "world intangible heritage", it seems only right it should have its own festival, and that is exactly what will take place all over France for the first time this Friday, 23 September.

The first Indian wines to be sold by a British supermarket could become a fixture on its shelves after coming close to selling out in record time. India has a long tradition of winemaking but its wines have only recently been able to compete with more established regions. The country is also being recognised in international competitions.

The 9/11 Commission charged by the U.S. Congress and president with investigating the “facts and circumstances relating to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001” and making recommendations for “how [to] avoid such tragedy” in the future had little to say about failures related to the nation’s diplomatic preparedness to combat ideological threats. In fact, the Commission’s conclusions about pre-9/11 diplomacy were summed up in its final report in one sentence:“The diplomatic efforts of the Department of State were largely ineffective.”

The project was initiated by El Al CEO Eliezer Shkedi, a former head of the Israel Air Force, who said the national carrier would encourage its flight staff to engage in public diplomacy efforts in three North American cities served by the airline - New York, Los Angeles and Toronto.