Organized by UNAIDS (Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS) and ICCR (Indian Council for Cultural Relations), the concert will see Diabaté, also a UNAIDS goodwill ambassador, play kora, a 21-string bridge-harp used extensively in West Africa, to belt out some mesmerising melodies.

As a part of the mandate for public diplomacy in the Ministry of External Affairs, the Division is required to conduct activities engaging and educating Indians about government policies and Indian culture – a form of internal public diplomacy.

India is in an enviable position in Southeast Asia as it can exercise leverage through its soft-power, a missing strand in strengthening ties with the countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). A soft power approach however requires investments in institutions, through which India and Southeast Asian countries can strengthen their diplomatic outreach and understanding.

APDS Blogger: Jerry Edling

Amid the cacophony of new technologies that seem to proliferate with each passing year, radio remains a beacon to the disenfranchised. It is arguably the most affordable medium, and its reach makes it a viable way of reaching rural and isolated areas in which residents typically feel marginalized. As Colin Fraser and Sonia Restrepo Estrada note in UNESCO’s Community Radio Handbook,

Youngster across the country are submitting short videos for the ‘India is’ Global Video Challenge in three categories- India Is... Colorful, India Is... Creative, and India Is... Wherever you are till December 31. “Such a competition helps us understand how the youth perceives our country,” says Navdeep Suri, joint secretary of The Public Diplomacy Division.

APDS Blogger: Aparajitha Vadlamannati

Durban is all set to be the new venue for climate diplomacy, as leaders, negotiators and experts across continents gather in that South African city of to cobble up a consensus on the future course of action towards a more livable earth.

We know India’s military prowess but ignore its soft power: India has hosted the Asian Games twice, the 2010 Commonwealth Games and the Cricket World Cup in 2011 along with Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. Bollywood is the world’s largest film industry and in 2009 alone produced 2,961 films.