Amid growing global unease at China's rise, the role of public diplomacy is becoming more important. How is China's public diplomacy developing? How can a Chinese style of public diplomacy be formed? Several scholars discussed these questions at a recent round-table symposium held at the Charhar Institute, a Hebei-based independent think tank on diplomatic policy.

The hazy heat of Jakarta is a far cry from the cool climate of Bandung, where ceramic artist Rifky Effendy was trained. But after 10 years of living in the concrete jungle, he is going out with a bang, curating Indonesia’s first exhibition at the prestigious Venice Biennale 2013 before his planned move back to the West Java capital.

Bravely (or recklessly) writing these lines in Ottawa, I am running the risk of being ostracized by my Canadian hockey-loving colleagues and friends for as much as hinting any approval of the KHL—Russia-led Kontinental Hockey League (spelled with a K so as not to be confused with several existing CHL sports acronyms and to resemble its original Cyrillic spelling).

Diversity is our strength, and everyone, including persons with disabilities, has important contributions to make. That was one of the overarching messages at the 10th Special Olympics 2013 World Winter Games in South Korea this month, where athletes Tae Hemsath and Henry Meece -- born in South Korea with developmental disabilities -- returned to their birth country as Special Olympics athletes. Tae competed as a snowshoe racer, Henry as a snowboarder.

The biggest hit in Chinese cinema is a marketable contemporary comedy of the ilk of The Hangover. Would it succeed in the US? Something unspoken lay behind expectant articles in the film press for its US opening: the idea that this could be the point when cinema's trade winds stopped blowing from west to east, and the reverse became possible.

The round table discussion with US Under Secretary of State Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs, Tara Sonenshine got underway at 10.30 a.m on February 7th at the American Centre. The theme of the discussion was the role of youth in India's growth taking into account the demographic dividend with special emphasis on role of women. Naturally, the panel consisted of student leaders, youth bloggers, LSR journalism students and representatives of college student unions.

The parliamentary consultative committee of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Tuesday held its first meeting this year at Rajgir, near Nalanda University, on the topic of cultural diplomacy. “The meeting was held in Rajgir to provide a first-hand experience of modern Nalanda and a better appreciation of its contribution to reviving the country’s links with the East and South Asian countries and an innovative combination of parliamentary and public diplomacy interface,” said an MEA communiqué.