Foreign aid is a key instrument of international engagement in Japan’s foreign policy toolkit. Although Tokyo is no longer the world’s top aid donor that it once was in the 1990s, it still was the world’s number four aid donor in 2015 with close to a US$10 billion annual budget. It is not just the size of the aid budget that has changed. So has Tokyo’s thinking behind foreign aid.

A special cultural exchange programme that connected 17 state schools in Rio de Janeiro with schools in other countries around the world concluded with a special ceremony on Tuesday at the award-winning Art Museum of Rio. Launched in February this year by the Rio 2016 organising committee, the Conexão Transforma project has built lasting bridges between Brazil and schools in 17 countries.

Virginians may not know it, but for the month of July, the state is hosting a select group of future world leaders. The Mandela fellowship, started by President Obama, is a prestigious program that brings some of Africa’s best and brightest young leaders to the U.S. This year, Virginia Commonwealth University is one of just four colleges hosting 50 Mandela fellows for six weeks.

Two towns separated by two continents have spent a weekend celebrating their rock-solid archaeological bond. Thetford and Nagawa, Japan have common ground in their historic use of flint and obsidian. Now representatives from Norfolk and Japan have commemorated the towns’ bond with the world’s first twinning of archaeological sites.

A yearlong digital training course for Irish high school teachers started in 2014. A fund to help European news outlets adapt to the web popped up in 2015. And in March, a virtual reality exhibition began at a Belgian museum to showcase a Renaissance painter. All these projects are aimed at supporting European culture and education, helping the region embrace the fast-changing online world. And all are financed by Google

President of the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organisation (VUFO) Vu Xuan Hong highlighted that in the current international integration, people-to-people diplomacy should be stepped up to meet the country’s development requirements. The institute is to enhance the study of international issues and public diplomacy serving the activities of the VUFO...

All countries should join efforts to invest in the education of refugee children to ensure a bright future for them. The call was made yesterday by the Pakistan-born 2014 Nobel laureate, Malala Yousafzai, while visiting Mahama refugee camp in Kirehe District, which is home for over 49,000 Burundian refugees.

Paúl is one of 10 DACA beneficiaries who spent this month visiting Mexico as part of a cultural exchange program co-sponsored by the Dallas-based Latino Center for Leadership Development and the Mexican government. It’s an ongoing program that seeks to reconnect young DREAMers with their native country, in a way similar to how Jewish advocacy groups sponsor youth trips to Israel.