As part of its public diplomacy outreach, the ministry of external affairs has donned...a special documentary on the life of master modernist Satish Gujral, the artist who overcame physical challenges to become a stalwart of contemporary Indian art.

The Minister of Tourism, Culture and National Orientation, High Chief Edem Duke has emphasised that most of the challenges confronting the country are as a result of the breakdown of our cherished cultural values.

Chinese president-in-waiting Xi Jinping will spend most of his two-day California trip highlighting two things: films and basketball. Clayton Dube, associate director of the US-China Institute at USC, says China wants to mimic US “soft power” - its ability to influence world culture. “Soft power is what the US has in abundance and what Xi wants to know more about."

The Sports Visitor program will begin in Washington, D.C. where the delegation will meet with U.S. basketball coaches, work with young American athletes, participate in a basketball clinic with Special Olympics athletes, and engage in activities focused on teambuilding and injury prevention.

Several years ago I organized a conference designed to encourage those involved in the work of cultural diplomacy – policy makers, practitioners and cultural producers, public diplomacy officers, and academics; who too seldom talk to one another ...participants were asked to address what they took “culture” to mean in this context in the first place and to characterize its efficacy: what did they imagine “culture” does as part of the work of diplomacy?

Several years ago I organized a conference designed to encourage those involved in the work of cultural diplomacy – policy makers, practitioners and cultural producers, public diplomacy officers, and academics; who too seldom talk to one another – to generate a shared conversation about what in fact composes this enterprise.

The WikiLeaks cables show that governments really do think along these strategic lines about the entertainment industry. They call it soft power. Let's hope that they don't forget that someone – Hollywood, Bollywood, or Chinese – is supposed to be making the next generation of classic films at the same time.

In partnership with Saudi Arabia's King Abdul Aziz Public Library, artefacts from forty collections illustrate the basic elements of the Hajj... At a time when there are many misconceptions about Islam and people are quick to get their information about Muslims from TV, the British Museum's Hajj exhibition is a good place to learn what Islam is really about.