If there was ever a time to move things along, this is it," said Philip Seib, the director of the Centre on Public Diplomacy at the University of Southern California. "Obama must make clear, publicly and privately, that Israel must move forward now.

Despite the fears of some Americans, Arab television networks such as Al Jazeera do not promote anti-American feelings among all their viewers, according to a new study. Research based on surveys... suggests that while watching networks like Al Jazeera fuels anti-American feelings in some viewers, it actually reduces such sentiment in others.

We continue to voice support for Morocco’s reforms, and their implementation, through domestic and foreign press outlets. We use public diplomacy programs to promote dialogue, engage Morocco’s vibrant civil society, encourage a responsible media, and increase understanding of democratic values.

The study also revealed that Arab media was helping to define the issue for Westerners and was expected to be more open and free. It also highlighted that people in the West view Arabs more favourably and ascribed recent activism to familiar aspirations.

No amount of economic aid by the Obama administration has been able to ease Pakistani concerns over US counterterrorist policies and Washington’s ties with India, with opinion polls showing that Pakistanis now overwhelmingly view China more favorably than the United States.

Nearly 64 years after Harry Truman laid out the case for reconstructing Europe’s economies, in a speech that became known as the Marshall Plan, few diplomatic, economic and foreign policy accomplishments have garnered such residual feelings of goodwill and accomplishment in the United States.

With the exception of Indonesia, Obama remains unpopular in the Muslim nations polled, and most disapprove of the way he has handled calls for political change roiling the Middle East. Moreover, many of the concerns that have driven animosity toward the U.S. in recent years are still present...

So this Global Diaspora Forum will institutionalize our strategy in three ways. As a convener, we will bring people together to look for ways to cooperate, pursue common interests. As a catalyst, we hope the forum will help launch new projects and provide training and technical assistance to people who are in need of it...