Cultural Diplomacy
Taking advantage of the literature festival last weekend, a poet from Maldives made his way to Karachi with only one mission: share his country’s stories. Ibrahim Waheed Ogaru is a writer, a poet and a television show host who arrived in Karachi last week to attend the eighth Karachi Literature Festival on the invitation of Pakistan’s ambassador to Maldives, Syed Khawar Ali Shah.
"My dance aims at pitting women against challenges that are often thought to be men's domain. It's a very physical and powerful way to break the stereotypes and empower women from all sections of the society," says Kay. She mostly works in collaboration with dancer-choreographer Ajeesh K Balakrishnan, who is also a Kalaripayattu exponent.
Every week, native English and Chinese speakers gather at Kaprielian Hall to practice their language skills with each other. This program, known as the Chinese English Language Exchange allows students not just to improve their speech but to also get a feel for the American and Chinese cultures and customs.
What happened to me in the first two weeks of 2017? I became a novice K-pop fan. But seriously, what’s so unusual about that? Are there not millions of K-pop fans too? Yes, that would be true, until I tell you my age. K-pop bands target teenagers, not grown-ups and certainly not people who are almost senior citizens like me. But wait, I also became a novice fan of Korean drama shows.
Enrique Makasi's hometown of Beni in eastern Congo is under frequent siege from rebels, and music is the way he tells the world what is happening. Performing before tens of thousands at the Amani Festival in the regional capital, Goma, the 26-year-old singer hopes to give voice to the hundreds slain and build solidarity to promote peace. [...] Nearly 36,000 people gathered in Goma over the weekend for the three-day festival of music and dance aimed at promoting peace and boosting the eastern Congo's generally negative global image.
The International Committee of All Africa Music Awards has called on the new leadership of the AUC to forge a deeper integration of Africa through cultural exchange, as a way of creating a brighter future for her teeming youth and future generations. [...] “It is worthy of note that African artists are breaking stereotypical and geographical boundaries to make their mark on the music, culture and entertainment scene around the world.
British producers association Pact UK will host its first UK-China cultural exchange. The Feb. 13 meeting will see 21 senior programming executives from major Chinese broadcasters in London meeting with over 70 production companies and broadcasters. Following the launch day, Chinese executives will spend the rest of their week in placements with 23 indies selected to take part in the exchange.
The Consul General of Japan in Pakistan Toshikazu Isomura has said that he was looking into the possibility of appointing a teacher at Sindh University’s Area Study Centre to teach Japanese language to the students of Sindh University.