Cultural Diplomacy
Each year Maxim Holland, an artist, curator and the originator of Tambo Films [...] chooses a new destination for his mysterious HAWAPI events. These independent happenings take artists and other cultural players deep into remote Peru to create site-specific projects in “challenging locations” that have been adversely effected by social, political, or environmental issues, and to create new and vibrant works.
World renowned Pakistani artist, social crusader, philanthropist and stamp designer Jimmy Engineer continues to promote and project soft, positive, moderate and forward looking image of Pakistan and its peace-loving people before the comity of nations through his art and by delivering lectures at cultural and art centers and institutions.
Image Nation Abu Dhabi has launched a schools outreach program to coincide with the upcoming release of the film He Named Me Malala. The program aims to raise awareness in the UAE about the global education crisis, inspiring students to value their own education and become advocates for education around the world.
Inside the British Library’s exhibition, West Africa: Word, Symbol, Song, which traces 1,000 years of West Africa’s cultural and literary history.
The ninth edition of the Delhi International Arts Festival opened with enchanting dance and cultural performances by national and international artistes. [...] DIAF is seen as India’s signature arts and cultural festival which also provides a significant platform for cultural diplomacy, projecting India as a cultural powerhouse and enhancing diplomatic relations with other countries.
The Narendra Modi government feels that Ramayana, the eternal battle between good and evil, holds a borderless appeal and carrying the message of the Ramayana to international audience is the need of the hour. The MEA commissions films worth crores of rupees every year. Normally it stays away from religious topics and chooses subjects which give it heft for soft power projection or furthers national interests or promotes relations with friendly countries.
Tully was in Agra for the SAARC Nations Summit organized by Folklore Research Academy (Amritsar) to give a lecture on challenges before South Asia and the role of India and Pakistan. [...] "Conflicts between two nations can only be solved by public diplomacy, in which citizens are given the right to decide."
Piracy, the scourge of Hollywood, may have become one of America's powerful diplomatic tools – is it the new propaganda? [...] "The last thing they think is that it [pirated movies] represents a tool of cultural diplomacy, involving a foreign culture or government, and that its illegality could even make this mainstream fare more alluring than originally planned.”