While working for a Turkish tech firm, Akil learned how to program for mobile phones, and decided to make a smartphone app to help Syrians get all the information they need to build new lives in Turkey. In early 2014, he and a friend launched Gherbtna, named for an Arabic word referring to the loneliness of foreign exile. [...] “Our ultimate dream for Gherbtna is to reach all refugees around the world, and help them.”

Tags: refugee crisis, digital diplomacy & new tech, non state pd, turkey, mobile app, gherbtna, arabic language, syria, refugee camps

Pine Forest Charter School’s Cedar Avenue campus became a center of cultural exchange Friday when 25 young African leaders visited the campus for a day of community service. The African visitors are recipients of the Mandela Washington Fellowship, part of President Barack Obama’s Young African Leadership Initiative. The program selects 1,000 applicants, between ages 25 and 35 from various countries in Africa to attend a seven-week program in the United States.

Tags: international exchange, cultural exchange, africa, united states, mandela washington fellowship, education, president obama, young african leadership initiative

Daya Kishan Thussu’s Communicating India’s Soft Power: Buddha to Bollywood (Sage, 2016) is a rare resource on the subject of the country’s ‘soft power’. As the author himself claims, “on the soft power of China itself there are at least half a dozen books published in English – many more in Mandarin – while in the case of India the terrain is blank, despite its large array of soft power elements”. 

Tags: india, smart & soft power, joseph nye, bollywood, culture, international image, book diplomacy, foreign policy, indian diaspora, daya kishan thussu

President Richard Nixon’s historic 1972 trip to China is being remembered with an exhibit at South Coast Plaza that shows its historic importance and what it did to open the doors of cultural exchange between the countries. [...] The 2,300-square-foot multimedia exhibit features archival photos and videos of the 1972 trip to China, declassified documents, Nixon’s yellow writing pads and a video that tells the story of how Nixon was able to open communications with China.

Tags: nixon library, richard nixon, china, history & theory, Cultural Diplomacy, cultural exchange, arts, united states

What began two and half years ago as a dream cultural connection between Harlem and Havana, Cuba, is practically a reality.[...] Lloyd Williams, president and CEO of the Greater Harlem Chamber of Commerce, said, “We have worked out an agreement with the Cuban Ministry of Culture that on an annual basis, in winter, it will be Harlem going to Havana … and during the summer months, it will be Havana coming to Harlem. During that appearance here, they will participate in Harlem Week.”

Tags: united states, harlem, new york, cuba, havana, international exchange, Cultural Diplomacy, culture, jazz diplomacy, diplomatic relations

Foreign policy was once the bastion of the elites. In military, diplomatic and humanitarian affairs, nation-states and the small group of individuals and institutions that governed their actions used primarily kinetic and broadcast channels to influence the actions of others. Control was largely exerted through hierarchical structures, and collective action through industrial organizations. Digital technology has radically shifted this reality by flattening the operating environment in which global affairs is conducted.

Tags: digital diplomacy & new tech, foreign policy, government pd, social media, impact, canada, digital platforms, innovation, international image

The top human rights body of the United Nations voted on Thursday to appoint an independent monitor to help protect gay and transgender people around the world from violence and discrimination. The U.N. Human Rights Council, based in Geneva, creates an “independent expert” charged with identifying the root causes of violence and discrimination against people based on their sexual orientation and gender identity, and then talking with governments about ways to protect them.

Tags: united nations, human rights, LGBTQ rights, non state pd, government pd, education, culture, latin america, cooperation

The U.S. Department of State is collaborating with veteran ultra-marathon runner Dean Karnazes on a 12-day run along the Silk Road — an ancient trade route through Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan — as part of the department’s sports diplomacy program and which will commemorate the 25th anniversary of those countries’ independence from the Soviet Union.

Tags: silk road, marathon, sports diplomacy, Cultural Diplomacy, us state department, dean karnazes, uzbekistan, kyrgyzstan, kazakhstan, advocacy, education