Cultural Diplomacy

A typhoon and a government budget cut did not stop cinema lovers from flocking to Asia's most influential film festival. The annual Busan International Film Festival drew to a close on Saturday with a record number of visitors and many new Asian movies for the world to enjoy.

Global youth are tackling the root causes of extremism. Over 70 youth leaders from around the globe met recently in New York, developed an action agenda, and shared it with President Obama at the Leaders’ Summit on Countering ISIL and Violent Extremism.

The image and caption were posted by a right-wing Japanese artist last month. Now, more than 10,000 people have signed a Change.org petition in Japanese urging Facebook to take it down. The petition, posted by an account calling itself the "Don't Allow Racism Group", [...] demands that "Facebook must recognize an illustration insulting Syrian refugees as racism."

CCTV America talks to Peter Shiao, founder of Orb Media Group about the future of increased China-Hollywood cooperation. Co-production and joint funding can be mutually beneficial—Chinese investment can get an expensive project started and stimulate the foreign film industry, while at the same time allowing Chinese funders a learning opportunity and adding to Beijing’s soft power reserves.

In Honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, [the Fulbright Program] spotlights how Fulbright English Teaching Assistant Marylin Rodriguez explored Afro-Uruguayan Culture as an integral part of her grant to Uruguay back in 2007, and how those experiences ended up having an impact on her career choices.

Ruth McDowall, a photographer from New Zealand, has worked in Nigeria for several years; at the end of 2013, she began researching the kidnapping of Nigerian girls. After hearing that a friend had interviewed a girl whom Boko Haram had abducted and used as a sex slave, McDowall set out to meet and photograph girls who had escaped the group. 

Kisuzem is one of 10 Budapest eateries that have been serving up food from Syria, Afghanistan, Eritrea and Somalia — in solidarity with migrants and refugees streaming into Hungary from those countries. It's all part of the Körítés food festival, which aims to combat xenophobia through cuisine.

Mare Advertencia Lirika, 28, an indigenous Zapotec, has made a name for herself on the Latin American hip-hop scene. Her rap stands out in part because of her indigenous roots, the poverty she's endured, as well as her politicized upbringing [...] This is the backdrop that sparked Mare's rap career 12 years ago, inspiring her to intertwine indigenous identity and progressive politics into her lyrics.

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