It was a St Patrick's Day celebration danced to a samba beat rather than a slip jig in Brazil last night as the iconic statue of Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro turned green for Ireland's national holiday. The now annual 'greening' of landmarks around the world has gained further momentum.

Does this do what it says on the tin and does it matter if it doesn't? At the start of the V&A's latest exhibition you're led to believe that the objects on display will tell a particular story. This, according to a board at the entrance, is the story of diplomatic gift-exchange between the Tudor and Stuart courts and their counterparts in Russia – then known as Muscovy.

Filming has begun on the first ever television series jointly produced in China and Burma, bringing Burmese history to television screens across China before the end of the year. The story of a Burmese prince travelling to the Chinese imperial court to perform a dance is scheduled to be aired during evening primetime on Chinese national television in the second half of the year, producers from Yunnan Television said in a statement last week.

Educators Overseas (EO), one of North America's premier international teacher recruiting companies, is expanding its commitment to fostering international cultural exchanges and opportunities to interact with other civilizations.EO has partnered with the Shenzhen Institute of Continuing Education and China's Shenzhen Ministry of Education, to sponsor an exciting new cultural immersion program for U.S. high school students to study in China for just 4 weeks.

The U.N.-backed Alliance of Civilizations will strengthen its role through mediation and fostering of cultural understanding through sports, arts and music, the head of the initiative, which gives priority to defusing tensions between Western and Islamic worlds. “The Alliance can become a major soft power tool to diffuse tensions and conflicts, especially those which are ethnically or identity based,” the High-Representative for the Alliance, Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser, told reporters at UN Headquarters in New York on Thursday, while outlining his priorities for this year.

As part of its efforts to safeguard the country's heritage for future generations, the National Culture Fund (NCF) under the Ministry of Culture has organized a meeting here on March 15 to generate awareness about its role and the responsibility of the public and private sector in this regard.

China's political advisers have called for a well-coordinated system that would feature government taking the lead in promoting Chinese culture around the world, with private institutions playing a supportive role.

More money for young artists and indigenous languages, a new location incentive to increase the competitiveness of the local film industry, plus an overhaul of the Australia Council are among the initiatives in the much-delayed national cultural policy announced on Wednesday...The policy also points to the important of arts and culture in diplomacy, with a revamp of the Australia International Cultural Council, encouraging arts organisations to build international links.