Set for March 25, the game – Kosovo against Iceland – is part of the first round of qualifiers for the 2018 FIFA World Cup. But it is much more than a simple football match. Sports diplomacy has been the most successful strategy implemented by Kosovo to garner international recognition. It’s been nine years since Kosovo declared independence from Serbia, after Kosovo Albanians sought independence during the Yugoslavian wars. 

Tags: sports diplomacy, nation branding, kosovo, serbia, iceland, fifa, football diplomacy, olympics, international image

Social media experts gathered at the Bond Conference in London on Tuesday to reflect on their favorite global development-related social media campaigns in recent years and to offer lessons learned for raising the profile of an event, cause or organization. Covering a variety of the most successful campaigns to date — from a hashtag promoting pride in British aid to an effort to engage with online trolls.

Tags: digital diplomacy & new tech, global aid & development, social media, advocacy campaign, refugee crisis, united kingdom

Together, the 15 high schoolers formed a team for the first World Smarts STEM Challenge. That's a science competition run by IREX, a global development nonprofit that strives to promote student enthusiasm for science, tech, engineering and math (aka STEM). Each of the 17 teams had teenagers in the D.C. area partnering with Ghanaians to identify and solve a real-world problem. 

Tags: international exchange, STEM programs, ghana, africa, united states, IREX, education, science, technology

As the Association of Southeast Asian Nations celebrates its 50th anniversary, the complexity of the internal and external environment is severely testing its approach to cooperative security that rests, above all, on preserving the sovereignty of each of the 10 member states.

Tags: asean, smart diplomacy, southeast asia, geopolitics, south china sea, foreign policy

According to the Declaration, the European Union has provided more than €2.2 billion to water and sanitation projects in more than 62 countries worldwide and will continue supporting people affected by natural and man-made disasters by providing access to clean water.

Tags: world water day, global aid & development, clean water, european union, middle east, humanitarian efforts, unicef

Focusing on the impact of social media on the youth, Pashollari said: “In the UAE, the youth represents 60 per cent of the population. Governments must therefore consult the youth before implementing policies, and social media represents the perfect medium to enable this two-way communication. In addition, it can encourage the youth to create public opinion on important international issues..."

Tags: social media, Digital Diplomacy & New Technology, youth, communication, government pd, dialogue, public opinion

International-exchange and engagement programs such as the Fulbright, USAID, and the Peace Corps, among others, are key components of American cultural diplomacy, which, as a tool, is cheaper than guns and more widespread in its effects than intercontinental ballistic missiles. Soft power — whether Hollywood, international trade, or exchange programs — has always been a primary means of spreading the American values of democracy, freedom, and prosperity around the globe. 

Tags: foreign policy, international exchange, Cultural Diplomacy, international programs, Opinion, soft power

As the Ambassador of France in India, Alexandre Ziegler, put it so expressively: “Partnerships between nations are not forged only by diplomats signing MoUs.” Ziegler, who’s from Sauternes, home to the world’s finest dessert wines in Bordeaux, and who owes his Germanic name to his Swiss great-grandfather, kept repeating that French cuisine is not only haute cuisine. [...] Gout France may be a one-night affair, but it underlines one salient feature of the emerging world civilisation — food brings people closer in a discordant universe.

Tags: french, food diplomacy, gastrodiplomacy, gastronomy, french cuisine, india, soft power