The government has commissioned three government agencies to develop the "New Zealand Story" as an aid to export growth but it says the new tools don’t signal the end of 100% Pure as a national brand.

Belief in something is very important, especially if one is selling a country brand. A country, after all, is an amalgam of the tangible and the intangible. It is a living thing with a soul that is a reflection of the many elements that make it up-including those little quirks that make it distinct and distinguish it from the rest.

A group of representatives from Taiwan's diplomatic allies in the Pacific is visiting Taiwan to learn more about the country's development, as part of Taiwan's cultural diplomacy, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Wednesday.

Alexis-Marchay Karklins, co-leader of the center of emerging markets at Ernst & Young, said that “recent trends have made the deployment and use of soft power crucial and it is not surprising that the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China) dominate this index.

Foreign Affairs is axing a $5-million program that funds Canadian studies abroad even though the department was told two years ago the program generates $70-million a year for the country’s economy.

Much ado has been made about burgeoning Chinese soft power, and how China is increasing its public diplomacy and extending its soft power reach. From expanding the number of Confucius Institutes around the world, to a growing international broadcasting effort, China has been actively working to wield more signficant soft power influence.

Some argue that when we talk of exporting Australian arts to Asia, we ought to be talking only of their role in soft diplomacy: that is, assisting Australia's political and economic agenda.....The implication is that the arts in Asia should not be valued on their own terms.