Because water is so central to many faiths, it offers both a starting point for action and a point of engagement between the faith-inspired and secular development communities. Water has a special potential: to build on common ground...

As a Marine, Sgt. Roman Baca spent eight months in Fallujah between 2005 and 2006. Now, the Queens resident is headed back to Iraq—but this time it is for a cultural effort connected to his work before and after his military service: dance.

While Japan struggles to recover from the shocking devastation of the March 11, 2011 (3/11) earthquake and tsunami, Japanese public diplomacy also struggles to recover from the damage. Tourism campaigns, especially those with a focus of rehabilitating the image of the Japanese are critical, benefiting from support of non-Japanese artists.

“Hajj: Journey to the Heart of Islam,” the exhibition at the British Museum that has drawn more than 80,000 visitors since it opened in late January is a remarkable achievement

"It is the first time that this group of stars meets. It is a project of Cuban music and specifically of son", said Betancourt at a news conference...The idea of presenting Cuban traditional music from the 1940s and 1950s came from Dominique Roland, director of the Center for Arts, and was materialized thanks to Musicalia of Cuba and producer Carmen Mayans.

There’s a real spectrum of celebrity activity. George Clooney really stands out, along with Angelina Jolie and Bono -- you can disagree with some of the cases that they pick up, but they’re very conscientious, they’re advised well, they’re in it for the longer run.

Words without Borders tells us that "50 percent of all books in translation now published worldwide are translated from English, but only six percent are translated into English." "The conversation between the reading public in the United States and the rest of the world has become more like a monologue."