Nicholas Thomas is the director of Cambridge’s Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology. He likens museums to regions and nations in which all sorts of disparate elements are brought together [...] The thrust of his ruminations on the nature of collections is that, like collections of people, the sum is greater than the parts because of the dialogues, conversations, connections and interactions between inanimate objects as well as people.

Sixty years ago, at age 14, Daniel Barenboim made his debut at Carnegie Hall. He played Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 1 in a program called “World Peace Through World Music.” This month, the Argentine-Israeli musician, educator and political activist is back at the New York City venue preparing to conduct the Staatskapelle Berlin, the orchestra of the Berlin State Opera, in a cycle of nine symphonies by the 19th-century Austrian composer Anton Bruckner.

In celebration of the Year of China in South Africa 2015 the UJ's Confucius Institute aimed to promote further expansion and deepening of existing political, economic, scientific, technological and cultural exchanges between the two countries. Relations between the two countries and the respective institutions have strengthened across many fronts ever since.  Prof Jiangao's work is to promote Mandarin language teaching and the Chinese cultural experience for UJ staff and students, the public, business and government. 

The Indian High Commission will hold a “Festival of India-Matri” from January 25 to March 15, 2017  to commemorate 60 years of a strong bond of friendship between India and Ghana. The festival  will be held in collaboration with Ghana’s Ministry of Tourism, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, as well as the governments of both countries.

The British High Commission launched a campaign to celebrate the 70th Anniversary of UK-Pakistan relations [...] With the message of ‘Shared History, Shared Future’ and the hashtag of #UKPak70, the campaign will consist of a year-long series of activities and events that will celebrate the strength of the UK-Pakistan relationship over the last 70 years. 

The Indian High Commission will hold a “Festival of India-Matri” from January 25 to March 15, 2017  to commemorate 60 years of a strong bond of friendship between India and Ghana. [...] He said the festival to  be held  in Accra, Takoradi, Cape Coast, Kumasi and Koforidua would showcase multifaceted aspects of Indian culture in its various colours and forms.

Korean has been designated an official foreign language subject for college entrance exam in France, according to the French Embassy in Korea. An embassy official said on Sunday that France's Ministry of Education included Korean among foreign languages for the Baccalaureat ― an academic qualification test that French high school students must pass to graduate and enter university ― late last year.