The sarkari festival of India abroad has been forced to try a new template, with corporate contributions and a professional production company brought in, which could not have been easy at a time when the government is cutting spending on culture. Organising the Confluence Festival of India was a learning, and sometimes, a humbling experience, especially for Indian High Commissioner to Australia Navdeep Suri.

The 1st River Nile Dragon Boat Festival, a unique event ever held in Egypt that combines sport and culture together, kicked off on Saturday. "The event is a new chapter in the Egyptian-Chinese cultural and civilization intermingling," said Atef Abdel Hamid, Governor of Cairo.

To promote cultural exchange between China and South Korea,  Korean Culture Day was held at the Korean Cultural Centre in Beijing on Wednesday. [...] As part of the activities, students from the Korea National University of Arts in South Korea, the Manhattan School of Music in New York and China's Central Conservatory of Music presented traditional Korean folk songs and classical Chinese music.

'Korea Corner' has been set up at Kigali Public Library in Kacyiru. It aims to increase access to Korean literature and culture for Rwandans. [...] "Though Korea is geographically far away from Rwanda, the psychological distance between people can be shortened. This will help bridge the distance between the two countries," he said.

The local content production industry has received a huge boost following the signing of a cultural co-operation deal where local films will be broadcast in China.  The Rwanda-China broadcasting co-operation agreement that was signed between Rwanda Broadcasting Agency and the Chinese embassy in Rwanda will improve the quality of services and professionalism in broadcasting and the cultural industry.

This driving energy has taken the group to global venues like Australia's Womad, Lisbon's Music Box, and Malaysia's Rain Forest World Music Festival. It's bringing them to the U.S. for the first time this autumn for a tour as part of Center Stage, the ambitious cultural exchange program initiated by the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.

he University of Kentucky’s Confucius Institute is now offering a student ambassador program as an opportunity for students to get involved and help represent the best of what the Confucius Institute has to offer. Student ambassadors will promote events and programs, strengthen relationships between communities through Chinese cultural outreach at UK, and provide support from CI to UK students, faculty and staff.

Pop culture has worked a powerful magic in South Korea, turning it into one of the coolest places on the planet, which begs the question: How can Singapore get in on the act? The Hallyu fever, which started around 20 years ago, had overtaken Japanese pop that held sway from the 1980s to the early 1990s, and shows no sign of cooling.