Cultural Diplomacy
Michaelle Jean did a little panda diplomacy yesterday in a bid to seal a deal that would see China send two Giant Pandas to Canada... China sends pandas only to its "friends," [Dr. Ming-Tat Cheung, chairman of the Panda Acquisition Task Force at the Toronto Zoo] said, and its "special friends" get a special price, too.
The Spain Pavilion restaurant, a.k.a the restaurant of Pedro Larumbe, provides traditional Spanish cuisine adapted to the modern kitchen and local tastes. Larumbe, a Michelin three-star chef, has designed a menu that combines typical Spanish elements such as Iberian pork, olives and wine with an Oriental twist.
World taekwondo athletes are gathering in South Korea this week for the 4th World Taekwondo Culture Expo, which kicks off today and runs through July 7 in Muju, North Jeolla Province. Over 1,200 athletes and officials from 30 countries will take part in the annual event sponsored by the World Taekwondo Federation and the Ministry of Culture, Sport and Tourism.
As a world-renowned thought-leader on value creation through brand equity, [Martin Roll] was one of the earliest supporters of the Branding Korea Initiative and was particularly interested to share his thoughts on the challenges faced by Korea’s global brands...
Japanese diplomats say they are working hard to stop the decline in the number of British participants in the Japan Exchange and Teaching Programme (JET). They recognize the concerns of the UK-Japan 21st Century Group which recently highlighted the drop in the number of British JET participants since 2001...
Along with global initiatives such as development aid and promoting the Chinese language, these scholarships are not simply academic awards but part of a larger strategy by China to cultivate friends abroad and grow its soft power to match its burgeoning military and economic strength.
This partnership will help to increase global awareness of Istanbul and Turkey's unique cultural landscape - both historic and modern; as well as strengthening cultural relations between the UK/US and Turkey.
An international forum has heard that Australia needs to broaden its cultural engagement with Asia - and not be so ready to judge events in neighbouring countries. Michael L'Estrange, the former head of Australia's Foreign Affairs department, called for a more honest approach to relations with Asia.