This summer, various events in the heart of Seoul invite locals to explore the colorful arts and culture of the Black Sea region...The Black Sea Cultural Festival will take place beginning Thursday through Sunday at the National Theater of Korea, near Mt. Nam, downtown Seoul. The event will showcase the arts and traditions of Bulgaria, Georgia, Romania, Turkey and Ukraine through dance performances, exhibition and lectures.

The global spread of English, with its sometimes corrosive effects on local languages, has caused much hand-wringing in many non-English-speaking corners of the world. But the implications may be more far-reaching in Indonesia...

It's the first time the EU has been represented at a world fair outside Europe: for 6 months (starting 1 May), the bloc will have its own pavilion in Shanghai - at the specific invitation of China, its second biggest trade partner.

This article first appeared on the MacArthur Foundation's Spotlight blog.

I spent the past week at the Virtual Worlds Conference and Expo in San Jose, California.

There were a number of interesting panels, but two themes caught my attention that I’d like to discuss here: 1) Concern for ROI or Return on Investment in Virtual Worlds; and 2) The Rise of China.

ROI