China launched its first cultural industry index on Friday to provide an indicator of how the sector is performing... Experts said that OCT index will indicate the development level and trends of China's cultural industry, and reflect the operational and profitability situations of listed culture-related firms.

What can branding in the commercial sector teach us about nation-state image communication?

A case study on Israeli citizen diplomacy. 

Nicholas Cull on the role of film in public diplomacy. 

The South Korean ambassador is offering residents of Ottawa a rare opportunity to visit a portion of his homeland without needing a passport. To mark the 50th anniversary of South Korea-Canada diplomatic relations, the ambassador's home at 540 Acacia Ave. in Rockcliffe Park will participate in the popular Homes for the Holidays tour in support of the Hospice at May Court.

The Italian Foreign Minister, Guilio Terzi di Sant Agata, has emphasised the importance of using dialogue to bridge any cultural gap between the two countries. Speaking at the official reopening of the refurbished Italian Embassy in Tripoli, Terzi said that he supports strong cooperation between the two countries in a range of areas, most particularly the exchange of academics.

Communist Party general secretary Hu Jintao highlighted the need for China to become a global cultural power - matching its rising economic clout - in his report to the party's 18th national congress yesterday. "Cultural strength and competitiveness symbolise a country's economic strength and its national revitalisation," he said.

USAID launched three grand challenges for development – to save lives at birth, get all children reading, and power agriculture through clean energy. We’ve also created new funding mechanisms that will help bring new ideas to scale like our Development Innovation Ventures program, which is supporting new solutions to prevent electoral fraud and to expand access to credit for underserved populations.