The Let Girls Learn initiative will seek to reduce economic and cultural barriers — such as gender-based violence or living far from school — that keep millions of adolescent girls from getting an education. As part of the initiative, the State Department will work in several countries—including Malawi and Tanzania—to empower adolescent girls and ensure they’re able to attend school.

Professor Joseph Nye and former Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage correctly pointed out that to solve the biggest problems we need a mix of hard and soft power — which they termed “smart power.” […] What would a smart power campaign directed against the challenges represented by the Islamic State look like?

More than 124,000 Chinese undergraduates are studying in the United States, according to the Institute of International Education. Many are affluent […] but a growing number are […] children from lower middle-class families who are looking for an alternative to an overcrowded and unforgiving Chinese educational system.

Besides expanding its influence in Africa, China is establishing deeper economic ties with European countries as a part of its One Belt, One Road initiative. The initiative is intended to "place China firmly" into the large EU markets, linking the East and the West of the Eurasian continent through a vast network of high-speed railways and maritime routes.

“Bienvenue en France, la Startup Republique!” For the past 18 months or so, since LaFrenchTech began to make noise abroad, I began hearing talk of the Startup Republique. [...] Most attempts at finding patriotism in France have been dismissed as personal branding; however, when BPIFrance’s Romain Serman published “France, the new Startup Factory” last month, it garnered enough positive momentum that I had to sit down and have a chat with Romain. 

It must be noted that since US Ambassador Glyn Davies took up the position, the use of social media as a means of public diplomacy has been greatly reduced — a clear break from his predecessor. Davies prefers to use conventional public diplomacy that involves meeting and talking with stakeholders. 

In the small, isolated town of Timbiquí, located on the banks of one of the many winding rivers in Colombia’s Pacific region, there isn’t much for kids to do. [...] To try to counter this, USAID’s Afro-Colombian and Indigenous Program (ACIP), in partnership with Fundación Tiempo de Juego, is implementing a powerful tool: the soccer ball. 

Stacy and Kevin Schworm’s Christmas dinner this year could include pig ears. [...] The Schworms are among dozens of area exchange students and hosts who will exchange more than gifts this holiday season. They’ll also exchange Christmas food traditions, incorporating a bit of each in their celebrations.