Virginians may not know it, but for the month of July, the state is hosting a select group of future world leaders. The Mandela fellowship, started by President Obama, is a prestigious program that brings some of Africa’s best and brightest young leaders to the U.S. This year, Virginia Commonwealth University is one of just four colleges hosting 50 Mandela fellows for six weeks.

This chance meeting in the depths of a Berlin winter marked the start of a new phase in Syrian refugee Abdallah’s life. [...] “Our concerts are a piece of Syria in Berlin,” said Abdallah, 28, who fled growing violence near his home in Aleppo, north-western Syria, and arrived at a shelter outside the German capital last October.

Sport has become an essential tool in the European Union’s soft power approach. Over the past few years, the political vision promoting economic development through sport has become a standard practice in Europe’s policies of solidarity and sustainable development. Yet, how can the European experience help improve the Olympic ideal of using sport to promote peace and prosperity?

The day before the “Brexit” vote, when British citizens will decide whether to remain in the European Union, they were in London initially to pass out croissants fresh off the Paris train to convince their still-European compatriots not to leave the E.U. [...] “Our aim was never to affect votes,” she said. “I think we’re all aware that this campaign has been incredibly divisive, that there’s been so much anger, and we just wanted to do something that had positivity and friendship at its heart.”

An art project at an Islamic school in Melbourne's north has led to a remarkable cultural exchange between the country's oldest Australians, some of the newest and some of the toughest. [...] The piece will be at the centre of Ilim College's commemorations for the National Aboriginal and Islander Day of Celebration (NAIDOC) in July and celebrates the shared history of Aboriginal and Muslim people in Australia.

Turkey's Jewish community is using the occasion of Ramadan to highlight unity with the Muslim faith by hosting an outdoor iftar (fast-breaking meal) at a synagogue in Edirne, reported the Daily Sabah on Friday. The feast was held outside the Great Edirne Synagogue, recently restored by the government, which stands in remembrance of the Jewish community that was forced from the city during the Thrace pogroms of the 1930s.

The deceit of history consists in making us believe we live in the present; when in reality, history is all there is, and everything is but mere repetition. [...] Pope Francis, in delivering a message of hope, invoked the founding fathers of the European project, and exhorted European political leaders to follow their footsteps and that “Today more than ever, their vision inspires us to build bridges and tear down walls.”

Tourism is one of the fastest growing sectors internationally with approximately 1.2 billion international tourists and $1.25 trillion in international tourism receipts worldwide. This gives it a direct influence on many areas such as economic development, employment, environmental awareness, cross-cultural peace and dialogue and country image. [...] Thus, it is a source of honor and pride for us to host EXPO 2016 in Antalya under the theme "Flower and Child" and motto, "A Green World for the Next Generations."