The Confucius Institute at the University of Arizona is proud to present the first Annual Chinese Culture Festival September 22-30, 2012 in Tucson. From Chinese medicine, martial arts, and tai chi to poetry, movies and music, Tucsonans are guaranteed a rich cultural experience.

The worry of the people in the field of Internet being used for political purposes and military purposes by the American side is in the minds of very important countries. For example China, Russia and some others have proposed international code of conduct for information security.

The American Music Abroad program sends American bands overseas to engage with audiences and communities, especially underserved youth. The program builds on Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton’s vision of “smart power,” which embraces the full range of diplomatic tools, including music, to engage people and create opportunities for greater understanding.

The appeal of values as a persuasive tool dates back to Aristotle’s Rhetoric in the Western intellectual heritage. Implicit in Confucius’ The Analects are values that govern behaviors and proper relations in society. Contemporary persuasion theories provide strong support for using values to change attitudes and behavior.

The U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ Sports United Division is hosting the first Pakistan and India dual country soccer exchange.This Sports Visitor program will bring 18 young female soccer players and two coaches from the South Asian countries to the United States from September 11 to 22.

Under the partnership, the Confucius Institute will train the six district teachers in Chinese language and culture and provide three instructors from China to assist those teachers in their own language training and in their first year teaching Chinese to students in Columbia Public Schools. Later, more teachers will be trained.

As South Korea and the United States mark the 130th anniversary of establishing their diplomatic relations this year, South Korea plans to stage a month-long campaign to burnish its image among the American people, a related government agency said Sunday.

Move over, all you Hillary Clinton and Henry Kissinger wanna-bes. Here come Chicago’s Rick Bayless, Tony Mantuano and Art Smith, along with 87 other renowned chefs, willing to perform a little kitchen diplomacy on behalf of the U.S. Department of State. They are members of the American Chef Corps, part of a new program known as the Diplomatic Culinary Partnership.