Funding for the REAL New Zealand Festival music programme has come from the NZ2011 Festival Lottery Grants Fund, the international cultural diplomacy programme, local government festival organisers and private sector promoters.

Martin Adaji, said that the qualities of the troupe's theatrical presentations were evident in the scores of success stories it had recorded with well acclaimed productions and projects. Besides, Adaji said, the national troupe had at various times engaged in cultural diplomacy by collaborating with international cultural groups.

Then there are quite different voices in the Muslim community — in Britain, and elsewhere. One example is Inspire, a women’s organization that before the Norwegian horror declared what it called a “jihad against violence.” The group aims to support and empower Muslim women...particularly to educate them so they can counter the arguments of children radicalized by reading on the Internet.

The Department of State is pleased to announce “Ask Alan,” a new effort to engage with the Iranian people through our Persian language social media brand, USAdarFarsi. Every month on Facebook and Twitter, we will be asking our fans for questions on a topic that we set in advance. Our Persian language spokesman, Alan Eyre, will then provide answers to the most popular questions in Persian.

It is important that we speak about Islam...Most of what we see and read about Islam is composed of horror stories that appall. What we don't receive is positive images of everyday people going about their everyday business who just happen to be Muslim. The "Holy Kitchens" films have it as their goal to foster a greater understanding and fellowship among followers of different faiths.

The British Library is making digital copies of more than 40,000 classic books available for the iPad. Texts appear in fully digitised form, complete with original page markings and drawings. All of the works date from the 18th and 19th centuries and include novels, poetry and historical accounts. The collection was originally digitised in a project funded by Microsoft.

The Saudis awarded a more than $1 billion contract for a spire that will soar two-thirds of a mile high, to be named the Kingdom Tower. The plans make Saudi Arabia a front-runner in the race between the oil-rich Gulf nations for glitzy, architectural trophies that dot their desert territories...The projects are seen as status symbols to show off economic success.

Both in China and abroad, Li has the potential to transcend her sport. Her treatment after winning the French Open expedited her elevation to the status of a National figure in China. But more than Party endorsement, Li is an icon with a peculiar ability to touch to both eastern and western audiences. Finally China has a true soft-power icon.