In the small, isolated town of Timbiquí, located on the banks of one of the many winding rivers in Colombia’s Pacific region, there isn’t much for kids to do. [...] To try to counter this, USAID’s Afro-Colombian and Indigenous Program (ACIP), in partnership with Fundación Tiempo de Juego, is implementing a powerful tool: the soccer ball. 

Tags: sports diplomacy, soccer, Cultural Diplomacy, colombia, united states, usaid, conflict resolution, soccer for peace, gender issues, global aid & development

From the World Service to the Queen and even Norman Wisdom, Britain punches above its weight in the soft power stakes. [...] But the global soft-power reach of the UK is a phenomenon all on its own.

Tags: smart & soft power, Cultural Diplomacy, united kingdom, culture, public opinion, media, international image, bbc, english language, sports, royal family

When Prime Minister Narendra Modi was welcomed at the Russian Exhibition Centre ahead of his address at the Friends of India conclave with Sanskrit shlokas by a local singer on Thursday, it signalled that the two sides were keen to push soft diplomacy. 

Tags: russia, india, Modi, putin, bilateral relations, culture, government pd, Cultural Diplomacy, media, tourism, diaspora diplomacy

Terming Prime Minister Narendra Modi's sudden stopover at Lahore to greet his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif on his birthday as innovative diplomacy, home minister Rajnath Singh said: "It is our Indian culture that for the first time during swearing in of the new government, head of states of various countries were invited."

Tags: india, narendra modi, pakistan, nawaz sharif, government pd, Rajnath Singh, culture, innovation, diplomatic relations, Lahore

Stacy and Kevin Schworm’s Christmas dinner this year could include pig ears. [...] The Schworms are among dozens of area exchange students and hosts who will exchange more than gifts this holiday season. They’ll also exchange Christmas food traditions, incorporating a bit of each in their celebrations.

Tags: Cultural Diplomacy, christmas, international exchange, education, culture, gastrodiplomacy, china, spain, united states, czech republic

In the past year, China and Latin America have given strategic priority to bilateral cooperation through establishing a comprehensive cooperation mechanism, upgrading production capacity cooperation, furthering cooperation in trade, investment and finance as well as increasing cultural exchanges.

Tags: china, latin america, economic ties, trade, cooperation, economic development, cultural exchanges, beijing, bilateral relations, celac, government pd

Public broadcaster Prasar Bharati and top Russian pay-tv programmer Digital Television Russia (DTR) have inked a pact for joint production and exchange of TV programs and related services. [...] This alliance will focus on high-quality production, marketing and distribution of content related to art, culture, trade & science, research and technology among others, it said.

Tags: india, russia, prasar bharati, digital television russia, culture, art, science, international exchanges, international broadcasting

Muscat International Book Fair 2016 will begin from February 24 and continue until March 5, 2016, the organisers said. [...] The earlier editions of the fair were attended by more than 570 publishers from 25 countries, who were allocated integrated halls for children’s literature, which allowed them to conduct multiple activities for literature lovers.

Tags: muscat, international book fair, literary diplomacy, Cultural Diplomacy