The Chinese Embassy held a cultural show (Chinese cuisine-class), popularizing authentic Chinese food to promote bonds of friendship between the two countries. Chinese culinary art was displayed on the occasion. It was the part cultural diplomacy, promoting people-to-people’s contacts, said Mrs. Diana Bao, wife of Chinese ambassador while speaking at the show as a chief guest. 

A delegation from China’s Tibet Autonomous Region has made a four-day visit to Britain to promote Tibetan culture and the achievements reached during the region’s recent development. [...] Speaking at a media briefing in London, Mr Baimachilin, the chairman of the delegation, said: “The purpose of our visit is to strengthen the exchange and communications between the National People’s Congress of China with the UK Parliament, as well as the exchanges with the local legislatures.

The upper levels of university administrations need and want to maintain “a welcoming environment,” said James Dorsett, director of international students and scholars at Michigan State University in Lansing. “It’s the responsibility of the whole institution as a learning institution to be a welcoming and supporting place for all students.” Dorsett pointed to the “You are welcome here” video campaign that many U.S. schools participated in to promote inclusion for international students who might have felt fearful when the executive order was announced.

The strongest defense of JET comes from those who view it as a diplomatic soft-power tool. MOFA officials agreed to support JET because they believed participants would increase their understanding of Japanese society and return home sympathetic toward Japan. [...] “the JET Programme has been wildly successful as a public diplomacy effort for Japan.” Calling it a “vital diplomatic tool."

Principal Ryan Cleary said the idea came from the school's desire to work on cultural learning in an authentic way. "Learning about different cultures is part of the West Hartford curriculum and we do a lot of things with the resources we have," Cleary said. "We wanted to go a step further and learn about another culture through an authentic, real relationship and actually get to know somebody else. We wanted them to find a deeper meaning. We felt this would have a lasting impression." 

Syrian students and academics scattered by war have had their careers and education disrupted. We spoke to the founder of the Jamiya Project, which is trying to reconnect Syrian academics to refugee students through blended online and in-person learning. Syria's Higher Education sector has been wrenched apart by the war. Once-flourishing universities have lost professors, students and facilities to violence and the exodus of 5 million people from the country.

Tunisia plans to enhance trade with Brazil, but it also hopes for cooperation from Brazilians to address unemployment among its youth. The goal is to harness Brazil’s experience in startup businesses and technical education.

The PPEM will allow the two countries to exchange information, identify common objectives and strategies and create opportunities for people in both countries to benefit from the sharing of social, cultural and economic capital across government, academia, business and civil society.