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 flags of the member states of the European Union flutter outside EU institutions, recent beehives of activity as top officials gathered from around the continent to respond to Britain’s momentous choice to leave the bloc behind. [...] And now it’s up to EU leaders to recalibrate and stop a further breakup, not only by delivering concrete results to citizens, like jobs, but also by making sure their case for unity is heard over the storm of criticism coming from Euroskeptics poised to take advantage at a turning point.

Experts say that it will take at least two years for formalities following Brexit to finally be in place. Given this scenario, will UK see a further drop in the number of students from India and will UK universities introduce more stringent policies for international students, particularly Indians?

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.”

The Old World is losing its “soft power”, its positive radiance and magnetism, as the support for the so-called “Brexit” becomes the symbol for the fear and rampant populism across the Continent. The Portland think tank’s “Soft Power Index” this year also found signs of Europe’s slide. The US has replaced Britain at the top and Germany has fallen from second to third place. And Canada bumped France down to fifth place.

An international forum held in Barcelona this week provided representatives of civil society and local government a chance to tell their uplifting stories of effort [...] to receive and integrate refugees into their communities. Organised by the Public Diplomacy Council of Catalonia, the one-day event saw a series of experts, officials and activists give their accounts of schemes and initiatives to care for new arrivals and, in the process, cast a much more favourable light on Europe.