Cultural Diplomacy
Following the miraculous success of this year’s Giant Lantern Festival in the City of San Fernando, more good news arrived as the City Government received letters of thanks and positive publicity from the various consulates and embassies of the Philippines abroad where the San Fernando lantern has been making rounds as an iconic symbol of Filipino Christmas.
Nigeria is falling in love with Star Wars. There are two reasons. There's a growing nerd culture in the country — young people who love science fiction and see it as a way to imagine our own futures as something better than our present […] The other reason: John Boyega, […] son of Nigerians who settled in Britain.
Ai Wei Wei, the renowned Chinese artist who is currently visiting refugees on the Greek island of Lesbos […] has been sharing pictures and videos on his personal Instagram account, drawing attention to the plight of the thousands of refugees risking stormy waters to escape war and hardship.
This new video from Deutsche Welle News (DW) demonstrates how cultural exchanges and youth programs can help ease the cultural transition for refugee children arriving in Germany.
It's this youthful energy that is fueling the museum's exhibit "Making Africa — A Continent of Contemporary Design" (through February 21, 2016), which showcases 120 artists and designers. Although there's no way to fully capture the essence of all 54 countries, Joos says, she considers this a "starting point to discuss the continent in another perspective." Or rather, many perspectives — for two years leading up to the exhibit, the museum conducted meetings in cities all over Africa to ask questions like, "What is African design?"
Hyseni stated that this project will involve more young people from Albania and Kosovo, who have the potential to promote their countries through implementation of their creative ideas. Albanian Deputy Foreign Minister further said that this memorandum will promote network of “digital diplomats” and will also assist in the implementation of public and cultural diplomacy.
It also launched a presidential committee to set and implement detailed goals and action plans. The 22-strong panel now chaired by art director Pyo Jae-soon held its first meeting with newly appointed members on Dec. 16. Park, for her part, has proven to be the nation’s top culture ambassador herself on the world stage.
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.