Last week, the American Center in New Delhi organized an interactive session for a young group of professionals and students from India with Ms. Heather Smith, President of the American non-profit, Rock the Vote. This was a unique opportunity for the participants to interact via digital video conferencing with Ms.

“We are very aware that US officials regularly discuss Tibet and many other human rights issues with like-minded governments. However, more visible, public and coordinated diplomacy is necessary for the Chinese government to feel pressure to alter its conduct."

I particularly like the idea of “using food as a foundation for public diplomacy programs to learn about different cultures and discuss important related issues such as nutrition, sustainability and food security.”

According to the State Department, the first project, known as 'Networks of Diasporas in Engineering and Science' (NODES), "seeks to leverage existing collaborations while facilitating and supporting a variety of new collaborations" between diasporas in the United States.

Is it really possible to explain in 140 characters or less the policies of an institution with 19,000 employees, a $27-billion budget, and 250 locations worldwide? Sure, says Victoria Esser ’94, the first-ever deputy assistant secretary of public affairs for digital strategy for the U.S. Department of State.