Gonzaga University alumna Christi Anne Hofland (’05) is leading an experiment in U.S. international relations at the center of a volatile geopolitical drama. As director of the newly opened America House cultural center here, Hofland combines her passions for cultural diplomacy and people-to-people engagement.

Maya Kravat, whose public relations agency has been helping to organize the event, said that none of the chefs have replied. Kravat said “We’ve worked incredibly hard to pull this off,” expressing that the goal of Round Tables is gastro-diplomacy, she emphasized that the culinary project is a way to showcase national cuisine in order to change public image and perception.

 “The role of translation and international publication cannot be ignored in intercultural relations. However, considering the current favorable air of cultural diplomacy and academic theorizing, translation should be viewed in the field of cultural relations which covers cultural activities and the role played by private institutions,” Culture Minister added.

NATO Week events will kick off at Yerevan State University library at 11:00 am on November 2 with an opening of a photo exhibition of Armenian peacekeepers involved in NATO-led operations in Kosovo and Afghanistan. The exhibition is organized by Information Center on NATO in Armenia with the sponsorship of NATO Public Diplomacy Division and the assistance of Ministry of Defense of Armenia.

The first World Indigenous Games is underway in Palmas, Brazil, having kicked off on October 23. Also billed as the Indigenous Olympics, the games include 2,000 athletes from dozens of Brazilian tribes, as well as indigenous groups from 22 other countries—from the United States and Russia, to New Zealand and Ethiopia.

More than a million Mexicans subscribe to internet comedy star Chumel Torres' YouTube channel, El Pulso de la Republica, the country's most successful independent satirical show. Twice a week, Torres, 33, uses the ample supply of public corruption, embarrassing mismanagement and other hot-button issues that plague Mexico to script his show, delivered mainly straight to the camera with an array of props [...]

Qatar’s success in securing the rights to host the 2022 World Cup will be cheaper than fighting a war and could improve workers’ rights but may not prove successful in garnering soft power. That was the message from a session titled ‘Qatar and the Soft Diplomacy of Sport’.

The often-brutal sport of rugby has become an unlikely international sports leader in forcing players to accept gay teammates […] but players such as Australian David Pocock, who will be in Saturday's final, have taken a gay rights stand on the pitch and the World Rugby governing body has backed a campaign by activists.