Public diplomacy works to communicate culture and values to foreign publics; gastrodiplomacy uses culinary delights to appeal to global appetites, and thus helps raise a nation's brand awareness and reputation.

In the minds of many American, when mentioning Vietnam, the first thought is still, undoubtedly, the Vietnam War. The Vietnamese people on the other hand, most of which are below the age of thirty, don’t remember the war, but are reminded of it regularly by propaganda billboards...

As an autonomous entity within the government, the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) is responsible for promoting India's cultural exchanges with other countries. In the past three decades, the ICCR has organised a number of India festivals across the world.

The U.S. ambassador to Malta has upset the State Department by devoting so much time to writing and speaking about faith-related issues, according to a report from the department’s inspector general released last week.

Blowing in the wind at the moment is the question of cultural diplomacy. Bob Dylan plays a gig in Beijing, then heads with his guitar to another of his nation's traditional enemies, Vietnam.

The Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) Program has been around since 1987. This program, the largest component of which places native English speakers in Japan’s junior and senior high schools for year-long tours of duty as Assistant Language Teachers (ALTs), has thousands of alumni from around the world – more than 20,000 from the United States alone.

In a $20m (£12m) remake of the classic American children's programme, the setting for the show has moved from the streets of New York to a lively village in Pakistan with a roadside tea and snacks stall, known as a dhaba...

Synthetic ivy and orange blossoms climb walls adorned with paintings of stirring Korean landscapes, silk flowers fill the vases and the karaoke machine is pumping out the hits as the dinner crowd fills Pyongyang, an incongruous outpost of North Korean culture and cuisine in the capital's teeming streets.