The application, called ‘American English’, consolidates the Department’s English learning content into one location, giving users access to e-books, audiobooks, quizzes, music, and games. The app also offers Wikipedia pages, Google Translate services, and an updated news feed from Voice of America, a broadcaster funded by the U.S. Government.

The United States is looking to triple the number of Americans going to India for higher studies in the next five years...“That is still far from our goal of 15,000 in five years,” Tara Sonenshine, the Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs, told the visiting Human Resources and Development Minister in a roundtable earlier this week.

In February 2013, the interagency LGBT Working Group collaborated to host a half-day workshop at the U.S. Embassy for leaders from the LGBT community in order to better understand their needs and priorities and to inform them of policy changes and upcoming opportunities for U.S. Government support of their work.

Retired Gen. David Petraeus and Michael O’Hanlon are correct that we should protect funding for the State Department and USAID, because doing so enhances our national security. But neither Gates nor Petraeus and O’Hanlon are willing to reduce defense spending in order to provide additional funds for the soft power supplied by State and USAID.

The U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs is pleased to announce the release of the free “American English” mobile application for lower-tech feature phones and Android devices. Developed in partnership with English Education Alliance (E2A) members, biNu and Worldreader, the application provides new audiences worldwide with “anytime, anywhere” English language learning resources on the mobile devices they already own.

Overall, the members of Della Mae demonstrated that they are among the best cultural ambassadors the U.S. has to offer, not only because of their immeasurable talent, but because of their ability to build relationships on a one-to-one basis.

The Advisory Committee on International Economic Policy (ACIEP) will meet on Tuesday, May 14, 2013, at 2:00 p.m. in Room 1105 of the Harry S. Truman Building. Hosted by Assistant Secretary of State for Economic and Business Affairs Jose W. Fernandez and Committee Chairman Theodore Kassinger, the meeting will last until approximately 4:00 p.m. and is open to the public.

In light of the ongoing controversy over Benghazi, the New York Times’ Room for Debate asked contributors to weigh in on Hillary Clinton’s record as secretary of state. Clinton drew significant praise from some contributors. Philip Seib of the Center on Public Diplomacy said, “More than any previous secretary of state, Clinton ‘got it’ in terms of understanding the importance of public diplomacy as a foreign policy tool.”