Suzanne Philion, a 34-year-old who works under Clinton as Senior Advisor for Innovation in the Bureau of Education & Cultural Affairs at the U.S. State Department, embodies that new era. Foreign Service in the 21st century is far cooler than many people realize, she says, and thanks to ever-changing job assignments, not to mention an ever-changing global political landscape.

The U.S. Department of State announced it will raise the curtain June 19 on its groundbreaking cultural diplomacy initiative, Center Stage(SM), which brings performing artists from Haiti, Indonesia, and Pakistan to the United States to engage American audiences in 60 medium- and small-sized towns and cities.

On Tuesday, May 22, 2012, Layalina Productions will celebrate a decade of television diplomacy in the Middle East at its 10th Anniversary Gala, being held at the Newseum in Washington, DC. At the Gala, internationally acclaimed three time Pulitzer Prize winning author and journalist Thomas L. Friedman and The Honorable Tara Sonenshine, Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs, will provide remarks and highlight Layalina's efforts to strengthen U.S.-Arab relations.

She linked her department to the Pentagon, trading staff members and ideas as part of a "smart power" initiative linking diplomacy, development and defense. She worked to advance Internet freedom around the world and use the latest technologies to aid U.S. diplomacy.

At first glance, there seems to be little in common between the digital and diplomatic worlds. Digital industries dot Silicon Valley. Diplomats inhabit "Foggy Bottom," the swampland that's home to the U.S. State Department. Tech titans wear hoodies. Ambassadors are part of the "striped-pants" set. Digital innovators embrace virtual reality. Diplomats? Realpolitik.

TechCamps are the pillar of Secretary Clinton's Civil Society 2.0 initiative and organized and run by the Secretary's Innovation team and the Office of eDiplomacy in close collaboration with local embassies.

"By sharing exercise goals and efforts with members from other countries and cultures, we are paring the spirit of the Olympics with the idea of walking in someone else's shoes." Hannah Rosenthal, Special Envoy to Combat and Monitor Anti-Semitism, U.S. Department of State.

The Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) has launched the Global Connections and Exchange program which uses technology and interactive projects to connect American secondary schools with international institutions...Other educational nonprofit organizations are involved in grassroots educational diplomacy initiatives.