ASEAN and UNESCO underscored the role of documentary heritage in binding ASEAN people together and recognised the importance of preserving and promoting access to this valuable part of ASEAN’s collective heritage.“Documentary heritage can shed light into the rich and diverse cultures of the peoples of ASEAN. They help us understand each other better and catalyse inter-cultural dialogue towards peace,” 

Sunday’s election in France made most people breathe a little easier but the worldwide trend is still troublesome. Nations are turning inward and if not building physical walls, as President Trump has proposed, they are erecting rules and new regulations [...] Last month at a Culture Summit in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, called “The Creative Mind of the Connected World: Culture as a Change Agent in the Digital Age,”

Indians' relations with Turks have deep roots in history, memory, culture, language and society. Their political relations can be traced back to different phases in past centuries [...] The Topkapı Museum has several items from the country, including a precious gift from a Hindu King in South India. Muslims in India along with the support and cooperation of the Hindus have a history of political and financial support extended to Turkey not less than five times during 1874-1920. 

Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias said that the upcoming Forum of Ancient Civilizations conference, hosted by Greece, will bring together countries with some of the world's oldest cultures to find ways of exercising soft power across the world.[...] The two-day conference is due to take place in the Greek capital of Athens on Sunday and will feature representatives from China, India, Iraq, Iran, Egypt, Italy, Mexico, Peru, Bolivia as well as Greece.

In 2016, New Zealand and the Philippines celebrated 50 years of good diplomatic relations with a series of activities that included sports events, seeing how such is a good platform to bring people together. And taking cue from it, the two countries recently engaged in another session of sports diplomacy with a couple of rugby matches. [...] “Rugby is a huge part of New Zealand culture. We are delighted to see how much rugby has grown in the Philippines,”

The Trump administration has proposed cuts in FY18 of 28 percent to the State Department, with much deeper cuts likely to the Bureau for Educational and Cultural Affairs, and a significant narrowing of the types of exchange programs our country supports. If enacted into law, these combined changes would greatly harm our nation’s public diplomacy efforts and, ultimately, our national security and economy. 

An Abu Dhabi-based Arabic TV channel launched a series of new Chinese entertainment and cultural programs for the first time in the Arabic language. The line-up, entitled USILK, broadcast different programs and series not only on China’s culture and entertainment, but also on China’s politics and new strategies under the Xi Jinping leadership. The move indicates China’s willingness to expand its media footholds and to better communicate China’s messages to the region.