While stereotypes of Colombia remain stuck in the 1990s, that country has moved on. The northern coastal city of Cartagena, long a vacation spot for Colombians, has blossomed over the last five years into a major culinary and cultural destination. Many of its best restaurants have opened in just the past two years, some by chefs fleeing economic collapse in the so-called First World.

Yet again we are confronted with a dilemma: when is culture an instrument of soft power? We talk about cultural diplomacy, cultural exchanges and even cultural influence. What is less discussed is how cultural paraphernalia connect to, integrate with, and ultimately enhance a nation’s soft power capital.

China is keen on promoting its soft power," Shen Dingli, professor at the Center for American Studies at Shanghai's Fudan University said in a telephone interview. Joint productions serve "the political purpose to promote our culture and systems with Hollywood's competence.

The university in Ghana started a decade ago by a visionary Microsoft engineer finally has its own campus. It represents the vision and commitment of Patrick Awuah, who left the security of a job writing software to pursue a crazy dream building a university in his homeland...to offer Ivy League-caliber education in Africa, to create ethical, broad-minded leaders who would go on to elevate the continent.

Halfway around the world, Madison native Adam Fierman was able to find glimpses of home in Jordanian culture.
A current student of psychology and Arabic at Vassar College in New York, Fierman just returned from a two-month trip to Jordan, where he spent time immersing himself in Arabic – the language and the culture.

A trained opera singer, he is one of 20 young foreign vocalists in Beijing this summer to learn how to sing opera in a new language: Mandarin. It's a daunting task that culminated Thursday night with a performance at the National Center for Performing Arts...

Why are Muslims so stubborn in nurturing ancient beliefs and rituals when they fly in the face of modern capitalist society? Secular critics dismiss Islam as a harmful, even dangerous anachronism. Why disrupt one’s busy day five times to pray...

This is the opportunity to raise the bar. In fact, like the treasure of King Tut, some of the exhibits must be assembled for a travelling exhibition. That would be India's best step forward in cultural diplomacy. It would make a statement about enhancing the country's presence and reinforcing faith in our living tradition.