Geoffrey Robertson and Amal Clooney helped Greece fight for the return of the Elgin Marbles. Britain refuses to listen, but has shocked the art world by secretly loaning one of the antiquities to Russia.

Azerbaijan`s first lady, head of the Azerbaijan-France interparliamentary friendship group at the Milli Majlis (Azerbaijani Parliament), president of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation Mehriban Aliyeva has met with president of the French Senate Gerard Larcher in Paris.

"It is more important now than ever for Americans and the peoples of the Middle East and North Africa to share ideas, knowledge, and skills in order to promote collaboration, enhance economic development and prosperity, address global and regional issues such as climate change, and achieve broader understanding between cultures.”

A sold-out tour of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” ended in Beijing last week. Meanwhile, a Chinese publishing house has nearly finished translating Shakespeare’s works into Mandarin – both signs of the English playwright's surging popularity in China.  

Cultural diplomacy plays a vital role projecting a soft image of Pakistan globally and pave the way to explore new avenues to boost trade in UAE and Gulf region.

As Japan and South Korea have shown, the best way for governments to encourage pop culture with global appeal is probably to stay out of the way. China’s President Xi Jinping disagrees.

Today, a House Committee will hold a hearing on the subject, “Is Academic Freedom Threatened by China’s Influence on U.S. Universities?” China’s aggressive promotion of its primary public diplomacy program in North America has recently captured headlines as U.S. and Canadian academics have begun to push back against what is felt to be undue influence from Beijing.

For the last six weeks, North Texas has been home to a collection of works by contemporary artists from the United Arab Emirates. “Past Forward” is a traveling exhibition on cultural diplomacy.