Daya Kishan Thussu’s Communicating India’s Soft Power: Buddha to Bollywood (Sage, 2016) is a rare resource on the subject of the country’s ‘soft power’. As the author himself claims, “on the soft power of China itself there are at least half a dozen books published in English – many more in Mandarin – while in the case of India the terrain is blank, despite its large array of soft power elements”. 

What began two and half years ago as a dream cultural connection between Harlem and Havana, Cuba, is practically a reality.[...] Lloyd Williams, president and CEO of the Greater Harlem Chamber of Commerce, said, “We have worked out an agreement with the Cuban Ministry of Culture that on an annual basis, in winter, it will be Harlem going to Havana … and during the summer months, it will be Havana coming to Harlem. During that appearance here, they will participate in Harlem Week.”

The top human rights body of the United Nations voted on Thursday to appoint an independent monitor to help protect gay and transgender people around the world from violence and discrimination. The U.N. Human Rights Council, based in Geneva, creates an “independent expert” charged with identifying the root causes of violence and discrimination against people based on their sexual orientation and gender identity, and then talking with governments about ways to protect them.

Last October, the Institute of International Education led a delegation of college and university officials from the United States on a cultural immersion trip to Cuba, the first of what officials hoped would be many following the return of diplomatic relations with the country. Since then, thousands of students and dozens of officials from U.S. institutions have traveled to the island in the expanded version of cultural exchange agreements between the two nations. 

Malaysia’s filmmaking industry is ready to move on to the next level, with the country’s first international film festival and award show – the Malaysia International Film Festival (MIFF), and Malaysia Golden Global Awards (MGGA) – to be held in the first quarter of 2017. [...] The international film festival is co-organised by Malaysia’s National Film Development Corporation (FINAS) and supported by the Ministry of Tourism and Culture Malaysia, and is a joint effort between Malaysia, Taiwan and Hong Kong.

He plans on working in partnership with the private sector in creating a geopark that encompasses a marine protected area. [...] there’s hope that it may be recognized as a global geopark by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). [...] Ly Son Island is considered a living museum for Hoang Sa artifacts. The museum displays more than 1,000 documents, photos, and artifacts associated with the heroic Hoang Sa and Truong Sa troops.

More Canadian and Mexican students will soon be able to dust off their passports as travelling between the two nations on exchange is expected to become easier and lead to more work experience. That announcement, made jointly by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Mexico’s President Enrique Peña Nieto on June 28, gives Alan Iniestra optimism for the future. “They showed that they are really engaged, to work between these countries,” said the Mexican university student. 

“You are the symbols of India’s soft power. You are the unofficial ambassadors, the cultural ambassadors,” Indian President Pranab Mukherjee told expatriates in Windhoek, Namibia, last week. The Southwest African nation has barely 300 expatriates, a miniscule part of a 30 million diaspora spread globally that is being rallied as never before. Mukherjee chose this motley group of businessmen and professionals to propose “a new relationship” with the entire continent of Africa.