On July 25, Department Secretary of State Bill Burns announced the creation of Networks of Diasporas in Engineering and Science, or NODES, at an event organized by the Office of the Science and Technology Advisor to the Secretary of State (STAS). At the same event, Under Secretary of State of Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs Tara Sonenshine launched the Science, Technology, and Innovation Expert Partnership.

The U.S. State Department has recently decided to cut all funds for the George J. Mitchell Scholarship program for fiscal year 2013. Born out of the peace process in Northern Ireland in which former Sen. George Mitchell played a pivotal role, the Mitchell program at its inception was intended to strengthen and modernize the relationship between the island of Ireland and the United States.

Strengthening America’s brand. In Europe and most of the rest of the world (Muslim countries being important exceptions), the United States is significantly more favorably regarded than when he took office. That is bankable soft power.

DanceMotion USASM builds on Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton’s vision of “smart power” diplomacy, which embraces the full use of diplomatic tools, in this case dance, to engage people and create opportunities for greater understanding.

As proof that Chinese fans won’t lavish attention on a player simply because of his ethnic background Beyer pointed to Yi Jianlian. The Chinese-born power forward entered the NBA to much fanfare in 2007 only to fade quickly into anonymity after failing to impress on the court.

The symposium's two panels discussed the ways the United States could use technology to find and respond to atrocities. But in the high-profile use of social media during the Arab Spring, individuals in volatile political situations used their cellphones, the Internet and social media to highlight violence in their countries.

For some time now, the Republican presidential candidate has been an avid proponent of a vast U.S. military buildup. Last October, in a speech at the Citadel, he promised that he would never “wave the white flag of surrender” but, rather, devote himself to creating “an American Century.”

The J-Center brings together leaders from Japan and the United States dedicated to developing the best Japan-focused programs in the American Midwest...The J-Conference will help shape the future of relations between organizations, institutions, individuals, and corporate citizens in the American Midwest and Japan.