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.

In an extraordinary act of culture and courage, a Russian orchestra performed in the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra recently liberated from the Islamic State, but Western media mocked the event, notes Gilbert Doctorow.[...] The orchestrated performed a concert of Bach, Shchedrin and Prokofiev in the Roman Amphitheater to celebrate the return of culture to a UNESCO site desecrated by its Islamic State occupiers.

Larry Macaulay first arrived on Italy's shores in May 2011 after taking a dinghy from war-torn Libya. […] He recalls the long journey from Nigeria and how he ended up in 2014 as the founder and editor-in-chief of the Hamburg-based Refugee Radio Network (RNN) […] Between January and April of 2015, RNN started by taking phone calls from refugees and broadcasting an hour-long Refugee Voices show […]

Lawrence—part of Bruno Mars’ songwriting trio The Smeezingtons—has helped pen hits like CeeLo Green’s “F--- You,” Flo Rida’s “Right Round,” and Snoop Dogg’s “Young, Wild, and Free.” 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.

While a huge influx of immigration has brought much cultural diversity to the country, Qatar has also made concerted efforts to preserve its own heritage through cultural projects and the all encompassing Vision 2030

Social entrepreneur and educator Aziz Abu Sarah describes how he came to lead tours in which Jews, Muslims, and Christians cross contested borders to spend time in each others cultures.