Thousands of people descended at the Regency Hotel on Wednesday as Africans, Kuwaitis and expatriates celebrated Africa Day in a colorful style. The event featured lots of cultural displays – with each African country showcasing its rich tradition and cultural heritage in their respective booths. There were food fair, bonanza, free gifts and traditional dances. This is a good avenue to showcase African diversity and success. 

Some conventional public diplomacy measures are not suitable for countering violent extremism (CVE) because they are mismatched against extremists’ more aggressive tactics. But this week, the U.S. State Department has taken a significant step forward by announcing that it will place greater emphasis on development aid in its CVE efforts. A joint strategy that will better coordinate State Department CVE projects with USAID should bring new substance to public diplomacy that has CVE potential.

African countries, today, are exerting every effort to overcome the challenges they face with their own resources and through their one mechanisms. Turkey is an ardent supporter of African solutions for African issues. [...] Humanitarian diplomacy is one of the main components of Turkey’s approach towards Africa. Hosting the first-ever United Nations World Humanitarian Summit on 23-24 May is a clear sign of Turkey’s outstanding position in this field. 

Iran used both top-down and bottom-up approach to utilize its soft power and exert influence before sanctions were lifted. The emphasis at this time was more on the bottom- up approach. But Iran’s priorities in soft power strategies have tactically shifted due to the sanctions reliefs and its application of hard power.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Friday said Japan will accept 150 Syrians over five years, treating them not as refugees but as exchange students. The initiative accompanies other efforts by Japan to help stabilize conflict-stricken Syria and its announcement comes days before Group of Seven leaders gather for a summit in Mie Prefecture.

China is the most welcoming country when it comes to refugees, according to a new survey of citizens’ attitudes published on Thursday, with Germany ranking second and Britain third. In its first ever report to record global acceptance of refugees, Amnesty International surveyed more than 27,000 people across 27 countries and found that 80 percent of respondents would welcome refugees into their city, neighborhoods or homes.

Rather than encouraging people to tear up the dance floor or smoke weed, the singer-songwriter hopes his new tune, “Begin Again,” will inspire peace between Israelis and Palestinians. Lawrence’s song is one of 30 original compositions on the benefit album “2 Unite All,” which was released last month. The album enlists legendary talents like Roger Waters and Peter Gabriel to deliver music with themes of unity, forgiveness, and starting over.

The bold digital diplomacy campaign marked last year’s International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia (IDAHO), celebrated annually around the world on May 17. The decision to fly the rainbow flag was significant in that Canada was the first country to fly the LGBT flag at one of its embassies in the Arab world. And it provided great material for a social media advocacy campaign.