Vatican is a small state, spread over just 34 hectares, but no one denies that the Vatican has a great influence on the countries around the world [...] construction of an Indonesian museum in the Vatican is a right step. It will help Indonesia pursue cultural diplomacy in the international arena. 

Nahdlatul Ulama, or NU, is the largest independent Islamic organization in the world, with 50 million members...NU's stated goal is to "to spread messages about a tolerant Islam in their respective countries to curb radicalism, extremism and terrorism," which, it claims, "often spring from a misinterpretation of Islamic teachings." It launched its global anti-extremism initiative in 2014. 

Jakarta is already running a promotional campaign, ‘Enjoy Jakarta,’ which the city launched in 2005. But Alistair Speirs, a Jakarta-based brand consultant who worked on the campaign, told the Jakarta Globe in 2012 that Jakarta had, “Failed to deliver the values promised.” Speirs said that the city’s problems had “overshadowed” the campaign’s message.

The program fits neatly with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade's new focus on sports diplomacy. The 2015-18 strategy launched in June this year aims to use sports skills, facilities and knowledge to promote Australia and strengthen links with countries and communities in the region.

The “new Silk Road” is the brainchild of Chinese State President Xi Jinping, who announced it as a major project - the Silk Road Economic Belt – during a state visit to Kazakhstan in mid-2013.

The Asia Pacific is the most dynamic digital landscape in the world, home to the fastest adopters of new technologies and the largest concentration of mobile and social media users. An escalation in online activism, changing cyber dynamics, developments in digital diplomacy and the exploitation of big data are shaping the region's engagement with the world.

Despite sharing many cultural affinities, Indonesia and Malaysia have had a checkered relationship over the past 50 years […] but underneath the tensions, there are lessons Jakarta can learn, and these may help explain why Indonesia’s soft power is not yet at the level it ought to be.