At a time when Islamic State militants around the world have sledgehammered antiquities, French President François Holland helped launch a cultural heritage initiative at the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly meeting. [...] The French President announced the creation of a $100 million public/private fund, with the United Arab Emirates, to safeguard endangered cultural heritage sites. 

The measure has already generated a dramatically increased number of tourists not only from Thailand but from across Southeast Asia. They have now become a major source of Taiwan's foreign-currency earnings, economic growth and development. Most importantly, it has expanded people-to-people exchanges between Taiwan and a region previously little seen by outsiders. 

The conversation between Australia and our Asian neighbours is often one-sided [...] But the arts sector is developing a two way insight that has much more than just economic benefits. Delegates from across the Asia Pacific will gather in Adelaide this week to exchange information and ideas beneficial to the whole sector.

The Thailand embassy in Doha is planning to organise a series of cultural activities and events in the coming months to celebrate the 89th birthday of King Bhumibol Adulyadej on December 5. “The recent ‘Muaythai Roadshow in Qatar’ last month was a huge success in promoting traditional Thai boxing in the country and we plan to organise such [an] event again,” Thai ambassador Soonthorn Chaiyindeepum told Gulf Times.

China has never been shy about its desire to acquire “soft power” – the kind of cultural and economic influence that can’t be wielded by military might. And Hollywood has often been a partner in its project. China’s bid for soft power was on show this week, as Sony Pictures Entertainment formed an alliance with Dalian Wanda, a Chinese company that has become one of the world’s largest media empires...

The Tao Nan Primary School pupil was among 120 students - 60 local Marine Parade residents and 60 from the Japanese School of Singapore - at Moshi Moshi, Hello! Singapore-Japan Exchange 2016, an event to promote intercultural exchange and mutual understanding between children from the local and Japanese communities.

A Cultural Festival of Turkic-Speaking States will be held in Seoul, Korea, from November 8-13. The festival will bring together cultural figures from Azerbaijan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, Azertac reported. The opening ceremony will take place at the National Museum of Korea on November 8.

Something of a musical exchange-student program, the organization brings young musicians from all over the world to the U.S. together for a month each year to collaborate on music. Started in 2012, OneBeat hopes to celebrate the ways that the arts can impact local and global communities, as well as help people connect across cultures through music.