The Israeli Chamber Orchestra will break with tradition to play a work by Hitler's favourite composer, Richard Wagner, in Germany. It is rare for Israeli musicians to play the anti-Semitic composer's work, which was appropriated by the Nazis. Musical director Roberto Paternostro said that while Wagner's ideology was "terrible", the aim was "to divide the man from his art".

The United States has increased its funding for the binational Fulbright Program to $8.5 million per year, making it one of the largest Fulbright programs in the world. The U.S. government has committed $15 million for a new five year Fulbright Indonesia Research, Science, and Technology Program – or FIRST Program - to support American and Indonesian students and scholars.

First outlined by President Obama during his “New Beginnings” speech in 2009, the Global Entrepreneurship Program supports entrepreneurs in Muslim majority emerging economies by linking them with mentors and access to financing. Indonesia is the second country after Egypt to implement the pilot, which officials say supports stable democracy by creating jobs and growing local economies.

Since 2008, under the leadership of the Obama Administration and direction of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the United States has actively advocated for a more networked society. The U.S. Department of State has coined this initiative, 21st Century Statecraft.

In the face of tough global economic conditions, Johannesburg Convention & Events Bureau - a division of the JTC - remains focused on aggressively promoting the city as a leading global destination for business, sports and events tourism, as it is a key driver for economic growth and development.

The reason we do it is it's part of who we are," Rudd said. "Part of America's great standing around the world since World War II is it's combination of hard power and soft power. ... U.S. aid given around the world helps their standing in the world. It's part of the American greatness that we've seen.

China and India have set in motion several bilateral cultural initiatives, including a massive people-to-people contact exercise, to get an edge in cooperation in culture which has fallen behind the volume of trade between the two nations

Heidi Wastweet is a Seattle sculptor and medallic artist, but one of her passions is to design money — coins, specifically...and now she gets to design the future of the United States' coins. Coins may be viewed as chump change, says Wastweet, but the image on a penny, nickel or quarter can influence the way we and the world view America.