The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival began planning to feature Cuba in its Cultural Exchange Pavilion two years ago, well before then-President Barack Obama lifted the embargo against the island nation in October 2016. Since travel to and from Cuba has opened, there's a full slate of music, craft and cultural displays in the Cultural Exchange Pavilion tent, located between the Congo Square Marketplace and the major food areas.

In the United States, home to more than 30 million Mexican Americans, Cinco de Mayo has taken on new meaning. It is a festival of Latino culture. In cities such as Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston and Washington, Cinco de Mayo events are held each year. Americans eat and drink traditional Mexican fare. 

All the panelists asserted that media should exert efforts to enhance the image of Arabs. Arabs needs to have long-term partnership with the US in various fields. For example, there should be exchange of visits in the field of education. Arab governments should provide scholarships to young Americans to study and know the Arab culture and to have experience of their life, they suggested, noting that many Arab students receive scholarship in the US.

Principal Ryan Cleary said the idea came from the school's desire to work on cultural learning in an authentic way. "Learning about different cultures is part of the West Hartford curriculum and we do a lot of things with the resources we have," Cleary said. "We wanted to go a step further and learn about another culture through an authentic, real relationship and actually get to know somebody else. We wanted them to find a deeper meaning. We felt this would have a lasting impression." 

Mark Donfried, founder and director general of the Berlin-based Institute for Cultural Diplomacy (ICD), is not surprised at the comparatively low level of knowledge in the US about the Arab world, as revealed in a recent YouGov/Arab News survey. “Between 70 and 80 percent of Americans don’t have passports and so don’t go abroad. Most of the ones who do go to Canada and Mexico, some to Europe, but few of them make it to the Middle East,” he said.

More than five centuries ago, the first Europeans set foot on Philippine soil after miles upon miles of sailing the world’s hitherto impassable oceans. Now, it’s the Filipinos who get to explore unfamiliar territory through Layag: European Classics in Filipino, the very first Filipino anthology of short stories. With contributions from 11 European nations, it has a story of its own—as the longtime ambition of Czech Ambassador Jaroslav Olsa Jr.

Despite the current political climate where efforts to build walls, ban travel and separate different ethnic groups are increasing, an argument can be made that over time, the forces of globalization are simply too strong and, ultimately, will prevail. [...] This begs the question: What must our educational institutions do to effectively educate and prepare our children to succeed in this changing global reality?