Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras got a special gift from his Chinese hosts during his official visit to China in July: a two-wheeled bicycle. Explaining the symbolic value of the gift, Tsipras said that the bilateral relations are like a two-wheeled vehicle. "One wheel is economic cooperation and the other, cooperation in culture and education. We are the cyclists who will develop our two countries," said Tsipras.

China has launched a program to promote stories of well-behaved outbound Chinese tourists in an effort to improve overseas images of Chinese world travelers. [...] China's tourism industry, which has seen rapid growth, has become an influencing force in the world. [...] "The behavior of Chinese [outbound] tourists is one of the important parameters to gauge the national soft power," ​

I did make it to the North America Lebanese Diaspora Energy Conference. There I moderated a panel discussion on "Branding Lebanon: Buy Lebanon and Lebanese Cuisine". LDE promotes entrepreneurship in Lebanon and the support was certainly there. The line-up of expatriate participants [...] represented all that is good about the Lebanese migrant tradition.

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. 

The Philippine Embassy in Doha marked a milestone in the field of cultural diplomacy with yesterday’s official opening of Sentro Rizal - a learning centre for Philippine arts and culture which is the second to be opened in the MENA region. [...] Hundreds of students from two Philippine schools in Qatar are set to benefit from the newly opened centre.

This year, Ashkenaz Festival presented a new program called The Israeli-Iranian Musical Initiative [...] The ensemble of Iranian and Israeli musicians have brought together traditional music, as well as jazz and western classical instruments, in an attempt to explore a dialogue between Israeli folk and traditional Persian music.

Two secondary teacher education students at the University of Delaware recently studied and taught in Eastern Europe in separate programs that each described as “a fantastic opportunity.” [...] Being immersed in another country and another culture was a valuable experience in itself, Fligor said, but she also gained new perspectives on teaching methods and education systems.