The Middle East remains of a major geostrategic importance. Global powers found in the recent developments an opportunity to chart their way into the region; sending troops and reinforcements, rebuilding alliances and restoring old relations. Amidst this chaotic environment, a number of regional forces opted to adopt a different approach: soft power. 

As part of 2016's Year of China-Latin America Cultural Exchange, an exhibit showcasing contemporary Chinese art has opened in Panama City. [...] featuring a selection of 50 works of art by some 20 Chinese artists working in a wide range of media, from sculpture to video installations, and themes, from traditional landscape paintings to abstraction.

The United Nations’ adoption in 2014 of an International Yoga Day was remarkable for many reasons. [...] No International Day resolution has been co-sponsored by so many countries or has been passed in such a short timeframe. It was definitely a remarkable achievement for Indian diplomacy. It has also been hailed as a demonstration of India’s soft power.

A Syrian group is using the Pokemon Go craze to call attention to the plight of children in their war-torn country. The Revolutionary Forces of Syria media office has tweeted a series of photos of children holding photos with Pokemon Go images and signs with messages like, “I am in Syria. Save me. 

Pak-China cultural streets should be established in different cities of Pakistan to promote cultural harmony between the two friendly countries”. The idea was floated by President Pak-China Joint Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Shah Faisal Afridi. He said that the lack of cultural contacts between the two countries was one of the key challenges for a durable economic relationship between Pakistan and China.

Soft power – broadly a country’s ability to persuade other nations to cooperate without recourse to force – has long been a tool of Western foreign policy,  but in recent years Russia’s President Vladimir Putin has introduced his own much less benign variant of the initiative. 

The “soft power” of shows such as Downton Abbey and Sherlock can help the UK bounce back globally from the shock of Brexit and help Britain remain a cultural international powerhouse, according to a former ambassador and foreign policy adviser to David Cameron. [...] he is “pretty confident” that “there will be a group set up specifically” to promote Britain and its creative industries around the world.

The exhibition, Very Image, features the work of Taiwanese artists from Taipei-based artists’ collective VT Artsalon. Founded in 2009, the group positions itself as both a fostering ground for Taiwanese artists and an international connector with a view towards the global art stage, hosting a number of international exchanges and residencies.