A diverse crowd of more than 500 lovers of art, culture, and intercultural exchange converged on Monday evening at ADC Contemporary & BUILDING BRIDGES International Art Exchange at Bergamot Station in Santa Monica. The evening celebrated common bonds between Los Angeles and Qatar.

Despite Palestinians' limited opportunities for travel, the city of Ramallah, home to the PA, diplomatic missions and NGOs has become recognized as a crossroads for interaction of different cultures. The West Bank political and economic reality has spawned its own particular social reality in Ramallah. Foreign donors and international NGOs bring with them foreign national employees.

Qatar, the smallest Gulf monarchy, has become a global brand. Securing the 2022 World Cup was a PR triumph. It plans to compete to host the 2024 Olympics. It has a glittering portfolio: Harrods, the Shard, Paris St-Germain football club. Doha's Islamic art museum is a brilliant example of money in the service of high culture.

Jordan and Armenia signed on Monday an educational and scientific cooperation agreement, under which both sides will provide the other with scholarships to attend higher education and scientific institutions in either country.

A group of Romanian high school students is set to arrive in Israel on Monday as part of broader exchange programs that have helped crystallize strong relations between the two countries in the fields of education and Holocaust remembrance.

The aim of the visit was to share ADEC’s knowledge and expertise related to development of education, student assessment strategies, means of strengthening mutual cooperation, exam development, printing, marking and reports, professional development programmes and means of motivating qualified teachers.

First, that the combined power of the crowd can accomplish anything. Second, that it takes critical networks of communication and collaboration to activate that crowd. While the revolution eventually led to the collapse of a 30-year old regime, it has also had a lesser-chronicled impact - becoming a catalyst for a growing movement of technology start-ups booming across the country.

Discussions focused on local, regional and international cultural identities and the role of cultural exchange in shaping an inspiring dialogue rhetoric that uses cultural diplomacy as a means to achieve sustainable human development and real peace.