“We communicate through baseball,” Ripken said in an interview with The Associated Press. “Japan loves their baseball, maybe equally as much or more than we do..." This will be Ripken’s third trip as a Public Diplomacy Envoy. He traveled to China in 2007 and to Nicaragua in 2008.

Stories from Afghanistan's rich, centuries-old oral tradition have helped teach reading and thinking skills to U.S. children since 1998. Now they're being employed for the same purposes in the country of their origin... thanks to a generous grant from the U.S. government.

The three goals of Peace Corps are, to help the people of interested countries meet their needs for trained men and women, helping promote a better understanding of Americans on the part of the people served and assisting to promote a better understanding of other people on the part of Americans.

The Fulbright Public Policy Fellowship will allow U.S. citizens to contribute to the strengthening of the public sector abroad by serving in professional placements within foreign government ministries or institutions while simultaneously carrying out an academic research/study project.

APDS Blogger: Mona El Hamdani

As has been remarked, U.S. public diplomacy in the age of Obama often amounts to the same thing as publicity for the President himself, with American institutions serving as megaphones for his political message.

The U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and Ripken Baseball Inc. announced today that Baseball Hall-of-Famer and Public Diplomacy Envoy Cal Ripken, Jr. and Major League Baseball standout Brady Anderson, a former center fielder with the Baltimore Orioles, will travel to Japan November 8-16, 2011 as sports diplomats.

China is expanding its presence on U.S. campuses, seeking to promote its culture and history and meet a growing global demand to learn its language.