Jun 18, 2017
Brazilians have organized a protest with a difference. Members of Rio de Janeiro’s samba schools danced their way through the streets of the city to demonstrate against proposals to slash funds for next year’s Carnival. They say Mayor Marcelo Crivella’s decision to cut by half (to 270,000 euros) the amount each school receives is driven by his religious beliefs. The former evangelical bishop and gospel singer plans to put the saved money towards child care centers. Read More... |
Coming from trouble-torn Afghanistan where peace has been no more than a pause between two wars in the last few decades, Sayed Qudrat epitomises how education can transform people’s perception and is important to usher in stability to a country besides promoting the individual’s well-being. [...] “I studied in Rehman Baba school in Kabul. When studying in Afghanistan, I used to think only of my country and Islam. Having come to India and on completion of my education, I think only of humanity. We should transcend religion and think of humanity,” says Sayed Qudrat, while expressing his thanks to the... Read More... |
Inside the red-brick building that now houses the German capital’s newest and perhaps most unusual mosque, Seyran Ates is staging a feminist revolution of the Muslim faith. [...] The inaugural Friday prayers at Berlin’s Ibn Rushd-Goethe Mosque came to a close — offering a different vision of Islam on a continent that is locked in a bitter culture war over how and whether to welcome the faith. Toxic ills like radicalization, Ates and her supporters argue, have a potentially easy fix: the introduction of a more progressive, even feminist brand of the faith. [...] Seen by their backers as an... Read More... |
THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD Serbia is not known for its gay-friendly policies. [...] This week though, Serbian President Aleksander Vucic made a historic decision: naming Ana Brnabic prime minister. If her cabinet is approved next week, she will become a double first: the country's first female and first openly gay head of government. [...] Vucic's selection of Brnabic is seen by many as a nod toward broader equality, and an effort to nudge his country closer toward the West. Read More... |
Native American Choctaw leaders have arrived in Ireland to unveil a sculpture celebrating the financial contribution made by the tribe to starving Irish people in 1847. At the height of Ireland's Great Famine, Choctaws in southern states of the USA sent a donation of $170 (£111). [...] A million people died in Ireland and another two million left the country when the potato crop failed for successive years, removing a vegetable that poor people ate every day. [...] The Choctaw people empathized with Ireland's famine victims. Read More... |
Children need space to grow and art plays a pivotal role in creating not just any space, but a creative and conducive space. [...] This year, for the first time, the National Gallery of Singapore is making it possible. In its first Gallery Children’s Biennale, Singapore is leading the way in Asia to create space for children through art. The exhibition targets young visitors and it is curated in such a way that aim to captivate the imagination of the young: making art fun, interactive and accessible. The objectives are simple: to nurture children’s deeper understanding and appreciation of art... Read More... |
Jun 17, 2017
To their credit, some cities are also investing heavily in diplomacy. The most effective of them are mapping their civic and commercial assets to determine their comparative advantage. They are also charting out a global vision that is linked to local interests and capabilities. Early adopters of city diplomacy such as Chicago, London, Montreal, Rio de Janeiro, Singapore and Toronto are teaming up with think tanks and private entities to build political, economic, cultural and security ties overseas. [...] What is needed more than ever is a global governance body constructed by and for cities. Indeed, a Global Parliament of... Read More... |
In his eight years leading the New York Philharmonic, Alan Gilbert has witnessed the power of music to connect cultures - and watched as political strife consumed much of the world. Closing his tenure in one of classical music's most prestigious positions, he is planning a next chapter by creating a sort of United Nations of orchestras. [...] The musicians will "play concerts that express hope for peace and cooperation and shared humanity", he said. Read More... |
The use of sport as an instrument of foreign policy is nothing new for the U.S. government. [...] The Sports Diplomacy Division of the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs employs only five staffers and spends only .0001 percent of the Department budget. And yet, it has still managed to recruit some of the country's most celebrated athletes to the cause, and its programs have reached thousands of people in more than 100 countries over the past 15 years. Read More... |
The China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) is a mere start-up among development lenders – but already has a global footprint. [...] As tension between the Trump administration and China has ebbed and flowed over regional trade and security, the AIIB has eased, for now, initial fears that it was set up to extend hegemony over its neighbours. The bank has presented itself as a key part of the multilateral global system that Chinese President Xi Jinping has vowed to defend. Read More... |
Indian and Pakistani diplomats tend to agree on one thing: A peace deal with their quarrelsome neighbor will need to be worked out under the cover of darkness through a so-called “back-channel.” [...] The benefits of backroom diplomacy are well known. Keeping negotiation processes outside the public gaze allows parties to make concessions and explore creative proposals that could otherwise mean political suicide for their leaders. Read More... |
About two dozen municipalities, mainly from the region, have partnered with most of Guam’s villages throughout the years to form sister-city relationships. The bond is meant to be mutually beneficial as the two cities from different nations share business, cultural and educational ideas. The relationship is often established through an agreement with elected officials, such as mayors. [...] The council’s latest travel record showed that teams of village mayors attended festivals in the Philippines in recent months. As many as a dozen mayoral officials participated in the trips, most of which lasted a week. Read More... |
Jun 16, 2017
It is hard to imagine Africans would record and release an album of music with the name White African Power. But that is the title of an album released this month by the Tanzanian Albinism Collective, a group of amateur musicians from Africa who have albinism — a rare genetic condition that results in a lack of pigment in skin, hair or eyes. [...] White African Power is the newest in a string of projects produced by Brennan that seek to give voice to people who are normally voiceless. Read More... |
For a guy who started out in advertising a couple of decades ago, it’s surprising he dismisses Cannes with a flick of his wrist. V Sunil, the man behind Motherland — known for its millennial-chic magazine — says, “It’s an encouragement if you win, but you take some pictures and you go home and unfortunately, nothing really changes. So when we started our company, we decided we are not going to get into that drama.” He’s launched movements like Incredible India and Make in India, and brands like Indigo and has seen the country itself go beyond campaigns to experiences. Read More... |
Panama’s Chinese community is celebrating Monday’s announcement of establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries. [...] In Panama City this week, members of the Fa Yen community – the largest of its kind in Panama, representing Panamanian descendants from the Chinese province of Guangdong, gathered for a type of celebration usually reserved for big holidays, like the Chinese New Year. But this is June. People like lawyer Luisa Lam Siu said they were very happy that the government announced it had severed diplomatic ties with Taipei in exchange for Beijing. Read More... |
Between Twitter and FaceTime, Facebook and Vine, it’s easier than ever for world leaders to communicate virtually. But Marcus Holmes, assistant professor of government at William & Mary, believes that might not always be the best option. [...] As important as face-to-face diplomacy is, there’s growing evidence that also suggests politicians shouldn’t delete their Twitter accounts just yet. Holmes and his team in the Political Psychology and International Relations lab also research the usefulness of digital diplomacy[.] Read More... |
Twenty-five U.S. companies and representatives of Kazakh state bodies, national companies and local business representatives gathered in Astana June 14 for the U.S. – Kazakhstan business forum. The event aimed to attract U.S. companies to priority sectors, including car assembly industry, health, construction, agriculture and light industry. About 500 companies in various sectors of the economy with the U.S. participation operate in Kazakhstan, Minister for Investments and Development of Kazakhstan Zhenis Kassymbek told the gathering. Read More... |
Going by headline indicators, Singapore's country brand looks strong enough. The Lion City tops the world in "online presence" in the Global Cities Index released this month. In the 2016 Soft Power 30 ranking of countries by their soft power, Singapore moved up two places to break into the top 20. But what fresh challenges lie in wait, in this new world of Brexit and Mr. Donald Trump? How well does Singapore stand in promoting and protecting its international reputation so as to continue to boost its magnetic pull for the choicest investments, trade, tourism and talent? Read More... |
Jun 15, 2017
I believe that a final, negotiated FY 2018 budget request for the State Department should include continued funding – if not a gradual increase – of what has been a relatively small amount of money allocated every year to the soft power of “cultural diplomacy.” Roughly defined as the use of an exchange of ideas, traditions, and values to strengthen relations and encourage engagement, cultural diplomacy is perhaps most easily seen in the use of music, arts, and sports to build cross-cultural understanding. Read More... |
Efforts by the Republic of China (Taiwan) in assisting its diplomatic allies through medical aid reflect the country’s soft power and commitment to advancing global health, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs June 13. The success of Taiwan’s annual international medical mission in the Marshall Islands serves as a prime example in these regards, MOFA Deputy Minister Paul Wen-liang Chang said, adding that the country will continue to strengthen bilateral collaboration with the South Pacific ally to help improve its medical care. Read More... |
LATIN AMERICA NEWS DISPATCH Today marks one month since the assassination of journalist Javier Valdéz Cárdenas, which shook the international press community and further exemplified the pervasive violation of press freedom in Mexico. Winner of the Committee to Protect Journalists’ 2011 International Press Freedom Award, Valdéz was murdered on May 15 in broad daylight near the Ríodoce office, the local weekly publication he founded in the Mexican state of Sinaloa. Read More... |
The total amount of soft loans that India has committed in the past 14 years is about $24.2 billion, in over 60 developing countries. [...] The fact that India has loaned out capital amounting to nearly 1% of its current GDP is a clear indicator of the primacy of ‘aid’ as a diplomatic tool. “If you are seen by most people as playing a benign developmental role, then you strengthen your credentials of contributing to global good…If you want to be seen as a leader, then you must act like one,” said a senior MEA official. Read More... |
At a time when extremism is increasing, when our citizens are questioning their common EU identity more than ever – now is the time to firmly place culture and cultural policies at the heart of the European political agenda. Making 2018 the year of European Cultural Heritage is a first step in the right direction. But the EU should use the positive dynamics created by this initiative to create a concrete strategy and action plan for international cultural relations, including culture as a tool of soft power and promoting it as a pillar of sustainable development. Read More... |
Beginning this week, the U.S. Department of State, in partnership with Global Ties U.S., will sponsor Diplomacy Begins Here Regional Summits, bringing together leaders in business, government, and the nonprofit world to further citizen diplomacy and forge new connections in local communities. The summits will take place across the United States, engaging Americans from diverse backgrounds on the innovations and impacts that stem from international relationships. Read More... |
Jun 14, 2017
Panama’s President Juan Carlos Varela announced late on June 12 his intention to break diplomatic relations with Taiwan in exchange for recognition from China. [...] Taiwan’s formal diplomatic relations are particularly susceptible to Chinese offers of aid and investment. For decades both Beijing and Taipei were accused by the other of engaging in “dollar diplomacy” or “checkbook diplomacy,” where various forms of international aid appear tied to switching diplomatic recognition. Read More... |
THE DAILY STAR (BANGLADESH) Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today urged the Bangladeshi expatriates living in the UK not to do anything that could damage the country's image. "Once Bangladesh was known as land of beggars and natural disasters...we have overcome the situation introducing us as a role model in development," she told the UK-based Bangladeshi community leaders at Stroke Park here as they arrived to meet with her on her arrival in London on her way to Sweden. Sheikh Hasina added: "So you should not do anything detrimental to nation's image." Read More... |
Some spokespersons have it tough. Think Sean Spicer trying to defend Donald Trump, Ron Ziegler defending Richard Nixon, maybe Dmitry Peskov fronting for Vladimir Putin. But the kind of tough job facing a spokesman that we should really respect is the one performed for the past three years by Col. Andriy Lysenko, spokesman of the Ukrainian armed forces. He comes daily to the Ukraine Crisis Media Center in downtown Kyiv and reports on-the-record on the state of the war in Ukraine’s eastern regions. Read More... |
Efforts to bring international students to U.S. campuses and send American students overseas has accelerated in the past five years, according to an American Council on Education (ACE) survey of U.S. colleges. International engagement was “high” or “very high,” ACE said of the more than 70 percent of 1,100 American colleges and universities it polled in 2016. Schools have stepped up efforts to “internationalize” campuses in the face of globalization, the report said, but “efforts are still focused first and foremost on the external[.]” Read More... |
The fifth Women Deliver Conference — the world’s biggest gathering on women's health and rights — will be held in Canada in 2019, it has been announced. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said today that the conference — which brings together more than 6,000 political leaders, health experts, advocates and other stakeholders every three years — will be held in Vancouver from June 3-6, 2019. It will be seen by many as confirming Canada’s position as a global leader on women’s issues. Read More... |
Beer is the world’s favourite alcoholic drink, a lingua franca that connects people across the globe who may have nothing else in common but their love of the fermented cereal gift from nature called beer. [...] Successive British Prime Ministers have taken visiting Presidents to their local boozer for the all-important photo op of them both at the bar holding a pint. President Obama and David Cameron swapped bottles of beer from their constituencies. Bill Clinton knew the power of the pint when he visited Ireland during the peace process and drank the obligatory glass of Guinness. Read More... |
Jun 13, 2017
On June 9, at Rike Park, diplomats celebrated the 25th anniversary of Georgian-Chinese bilateral relations. It was organized by international media holding GBTIMES Georgia and the Chinese Embassy in Georgia, and supported by Tbilisi City Hall. All day long visitors at Rike Park had the opportunity to see and purchase Chines goods, as well as attend master-classes of traditional martial arts, sample Chinese dishes, see Chinese costumes, as well as shows, exhibitions and concerts. Read More... |
When Colombia’s newest television series airs this week, it will have many of the hallmarks of a classic telenovela. A handsome stock broker from the big city meets a mysterious and beautiful country girl. When she disappears, he’s left as the prime suspect in a shocking crime. But the biggest twist might be who’s helping finance the project: Uncle Sam. The U.S. Agency for International Development, USAID, put $1 million into the RCN Television series called “No Olvidarás Mi Nombre,” or “Don’t Forget My Name,” which begins airing Tuesday in Colombia. Read More... |
Saudi Arabia's religious leaders have labelled some areas of Western culture as harmful and corrupting. They've banned movie theaters and rarely permit public concerts. But this is slowly changing -- and one Japanese orchestra is taking center stage. Over 80 musicians and a conductor arrived in Riyadh in April to give the first classical concert Saudi Arabia has allowed in decades. Read More... |
European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, and European Parliament President Antonio Tajani are leading the 30th anniversary celebrations for the Erasmus program at the European Parliament in Strasbourg today. To mark the occasion, the Commission is also launching a new Erasmus+ mobile application. Designed for students, vocational learners and participants in youth exchanges, the app will make young people's Erasmus+ experience easier. Read More... |
The Worm has returned. On Tuesday, former NBA great Dennis Rodman flew back to North Korea during a time of heightened tensions with Washington, after the rogue state's 16 missile tests so far this year, and its arrest of two more U.S. citizens, bringing the total number of Americans held by the regime to four. It's at least the fourth trip to North Korea for Rodman, who was previously hosted in 2013 and 2014 by Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un, a known basketball fanatic. Read More... |
Scenic Jeju island is one of South Korea's best places for public diplomacy. It has natural beauty and a story to tell. If President Moon Jae-in has to visit Jeju Island for public diplomacy, the best timing could be one for the annual Jeju Forum and the other for the Jeju 4.3 Uprising memorial service. [...] Holding international conferences is a common way to promote public diplomacy. It's no wonder then that international conferences are often held in scenic places, such as Jeju. Jeju Island is a Korean version of Hawaii or Hainan or Okinawa. Read More... |
Jun 12, 2017
International Medical Corps, established in 1984, and where I currently work, is a global, humanitarian, nonprofit organization dedicated to saving lives through health care training and relief. In order to spread awareness about the Syrian refugee crisis, International Medical Corps went one step further by using visual storytelling to provide a voice for refugees. “The Things We Carry” campaign, launched in March 2017 by International Medical Corps and the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation is an effort to keep public attention on the ongoing crisis in Syria. Read More... |
Indonesia is promoting the annual Bali Arts Festival (PKB) by digitalizing its month-long activities and broadcasting live on particular website as well as in various social media channels. The breakthrough move came at the request of Indonesian President Joko Widodo, who wanted to make people across the world know more about the festival, a senior official overseeing the Bali provincial tourism said. Read More... |
As Imam Omar Shaheed looked out at the 150 people who packed the Columbia Museum of Art’s auditorium Sunday night, he was struck by one thing. “We’re all different religions, but we have a humanity,” he said. “That’s really standing out.” Shaheed, imam at Masjid as-Salaam in Columbia, was part of the panel at “Dinner and Dialogue: Understanding Islam.” The discussion that was part of the event answered questions about the tenets of Islam, the most common misconceptions about the religion and the similarities between Islam, Christianity and Judaism. Read More... |
With a partnership between the U.S. and U.K. that dates back to the 1980s, Red Dagger 17, now in its fourth consecutive year, intends to further share and strengthen knowledge and skills in military engineering between the Marine Corps and its allies. “We have been treated as equals and with great respect,” said Capt. Marcelo A. Garcia, the company commander of 6th ESB, 4th MLG, MARFORRES. “The 131 Commando Squadron often asks for feedback and have insisted that this exercise is meant to be a sharing of best practices, both in tactics and planning.” Read More... |
Zhou Enlai was foreign minister of the People’s Republic of China from 1949 until 1958 and its first premier. He defined diplomacy as a continuation of warfare by other means. In the contemporary world, that definition includes an understanding of the concepts of hard and soft power. Joseph Nye developed the idea of soft power as the ability to attract and persuade rather than applying economic, military and political hard power. Read More... |
Iran has sent planes full of food to Qatar and will continue to send more each day as the blockaded nation weathers its diplomatic crisis, Iranian officials said this weekend. Tehran says it will send another 100 tons of fruit and vegetables every day to Qatar, which relies on imports from neighboring countries for much of its food supplies and is facing shortages after its powerful neighboring countries cut off economic and diplomatic ties. Read More... |
EU member states have signed a joint strategy for the future of European development which includes several mentions of the co-operative movement. The new European Consensus on Development, which sets out an agenda to eradicate poverty and promote sustainable development, applies to all EU institutions and member states. In its three mentions of co-operatives, the document highlights their role as key actors in international development and the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Read More... |
|
|
No comments:
Post a Comment