Saudi Arabia's grand mufti, the top religious authority in the birthplace of Islam, has condemned Nigeria's Boko Haram as a group "set up to smear the image of Islam" and condemned its kidnapping of over 200 schoolgirls.  "This is a group that has been set up to smear the image of Islam and must be offered advice, shown their wrong path and be made to reject it," he told the Arabic-language newspaper al-Hayat in an interview published on Friday.

Tags: islam, nigeria, boko haram, faith diplomacy, africa, middle east, public diplomacy, Cultural Diplomacy, saudi arabia

An upcoming game for Nintendo's handheld devices will let players enter a virtual world in which they make friends, flirt and can even get married and have kids.  But those romantic relationships can't be with characters of the same gender -- a fact a growing online movement hopes to change.

Tags: lgbt, media, Cultural Diplomacy, human rights, social media, new technology, public opinion, nintendo

 Michelle Obama added her voice to worldwide calls for the safe return of over 200 kidnapped Nigerian schoolgirls. The First Lady tweeted: 'Our prayers are with the missing Nigerian girls and their families. It's time to #BringBackOurGirls." The tweet was signed "-mo," indicating that she sent it herself.

Tags: celebrity diplomacy, new technology, conflict, internet diplomacy, public opinion, michelle obama, public diplomacy, social media, united states, nigeria, north america, africa

On Thursday, China’s state-owned Xinhua News Agency unveiled an ongoing feature entitled “New Silk Road, New Dreams.” The series promises to “dig up the historical and cultural meaning of the Silk Road, and spread awareness of China’s friendly policies towards neighboring countries.” The first article [Chinese] was titled  “How Can the World Be Win-Win? China Is Answering the Question.”

Tags: Cultural Diplomacy, silk road, public opinion, soft power, history, government pd, china, east asia, africa, europe, middle east

In 2005, Binyavanga Wainaina published a brilliantly sarcastic essay in Granta called “How to Write About Africa,” advising people on how to sound spiritual and compassionate while writing a book about the continent. “Always use the word ‘Africa’ or ‘Darkness’ or ‘Safari’ in your title,” Wainaina advised. 

Tags: david brooks, op-ed, africa, media, journalism, binyavanga wainaina, boko haram, nigeria, development, poverty, ethiopia, rwanda, conflict

The opening ceremony of the Giro d'Italia cycle race has taken place in Belfast.  The Giro d'Italia is one of cycling's most famous events and TV coverage is watched every year in 165 countries.

Tags: sports diplomacy, Cultural Diplomacy, cycling, belfast, dublin, cultural exchange, non-state pd, media, northern ireland, public diplomacy, europe

Right now, all over the world, former Fulbright scholars like me (Norway, 2012) are raising the alarm, trying to persuade Congress to stand by one of its best creations, passed by unanimous bipartisan consent of the Senate and signed into law by President Truman in 1946.  Yet the Fulbright budget, which falls under the State Department’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA), seems to be on the chopping block.

Tags: fulbright, Cultural Diplomacy, international exchange, cultural exchange, united states, public diplomacy, state department, non-state actors, non-state pd

As Ukraine's political divisions play out on the geopolitical stage, the country also faces an unsettling schism among its main churchgoers.  Now Filaret says that Ukraine's growing political crisis is a signal from above that it's time to unite all of the Orthodox faithful into a single church.

Tags: faith diplomacy, russian orthodox christians, non-state actors, public diplomacy, ukraine orthodox church, russia, ukraine, kiev, moscow, europe, Cultural Diplomacy