This was clearly what Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Masidi Manjun meant when he said the aim of having SIFF was not really to select the best performing country but more towards promoting peace and making new friends. “The Sabah International Folklore Festival is a symbol of peace in the world. The 16 participating countries are symbolically showcasing this message,” he said when launching the event.

This month’s concerts have been made possible thanks to organizer Morten Traavik, a trusted figure in the area of cultural exchange as far as Pyongyang is concerned. He told local news agency Yonhap that the band can draw on the division of their homeland Yugoslavia in understanding sentiment towards the separation of the Koreas at the close of Tokyo’s colonial rule.

On Tuesday, the China Season of the 2015 China-U.K. Year of Cultural Exchange was launched in London, announcing a series of events to come in the next few months. The events have the goal of exposing U.K. residents to the culture and traditions of China.

Chinese Ambassador Liu Xiaoming said at the launch of China Culture Season that, thanks to the concerted efforts of both sides, China-UK people-to-people exchange has been more active in recent years than ever before.

Bangkok prepares to launch the brand new Asean Cultural Center. With the start of the Asean Economic Community less than five months away, Bangkok is once again underscoring its intention to become the hub of Asean with the opening on Friday of the first Asean Cultural Center.

In addition to cultural exchange, Malakhov sees the World Ballet Festival as a premium chance to get a look at the future of dance. [...] “It is a chance not only for the audience to see such a diverse range of professional dancers, but it is also a chance for the artists to watch and learn from their fellow dancers.”