The hashtag #AshWednesday trended on Twitter today for the obvious reason: it's Ash Wednesday, the start of Lent, a 40-day period before Easter dedicated to fasting and prayer.  Yet accompanying that trend was another, more interactive hashtag: #ashtag.

Tags: catholic, faith diplomacy, hashtag diplomacy, social media, digital diplomacy

Neither the people behind A Taste of China nor those at Light Chaser are intentionally pushing political agendas.  That is what makes this a genuinely new era in Chinese propaganda. These projects have their own voice, yet they do propagate a preferred narrative, one of a problem-free Chinese culture. 

Tags: china, propaganda, Cultural Diplomacy, soft power, non state actors, non state pd, gastrodiplomacy, cinema diplomacy

A University of Kansas professor has taken part in an exchange between North Korean and American scientists that shows science and empathy toward another’s worldview can be the first step in thawing icy diplomatic relations.

Tags: united states, north korea, international exchange, education exchange, international relations, non-state pd, non-state actors

After capturing the hearts of Vietnamese audiences, South Korea continued to conquer the broader Vietnamese market. As of December 2014, South Korea has been Vietnam’s biggest investor, with US$37.23 billion of foreign direct investment in 4,110 projects throughout the country. 

Tags: vietnam, south korea, soft power, Cultural Diplomacy, bilateral relations, confucianism, foreign direct investment, winning hearts and minds

Since 2010, the country's Ministry of Culture has poured manpower into organizing myriad Chinese New Year events worldwide, in partnership with overseas business entities and cultural organizations.

Tags: chinese new year, china, soft power, President Xi Jinping, nba, Cultural Diplomacy, chinese market

Foreign Minister Julie Bishop has been leading what officials describe as a "massive" private and public diplomacy campaign to persuade Indonesian leaders to halt the execution of drug traffickers Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, convicted of trafficking heroin.

Tags: tony abbott, australia, public diplomacy, indonesia, death row, humanitarian aid, tsunami, private diplomacy, drug trafficking

Sponsored by GlobalTies U.S., the Feb. 4 event – “Strengthening Relations in the Western Hemisphere through Exchange” – attracted about 350 people. Coinciding with the 75th anniversary of the U.S. State Department’s International Visitor Leadership Program, its focus was the role public diplomacy plays in U.S. foreign policy.

Tags: public diplomacy, latin america, global ties, united states, foreign policy, international exchange

The embittered battle against ISIS is making nations rethink how to approach social media as a weapon of war. Early this month, Britain announced its plans to form a battalion of "Facebook Warriors" in effort to battle ISIS's adept skills of recruiting through the platform, and also Twitter, YouTube, and other websites.

Tags: united states, social media, digital diplomacy, isis, online propaganda, great britain, facebook, twitter, youtube