Brand South Africa in collaboration with the Gauteng Department of Economic Development, will host various stakeholders ... as part of its workshop to build South Africa’s competitiveness and a cohesive image of the South African Nation Brand. Government asserts that; “the Nation Brand alignment workshops are a critical part of achieving coordinated and coherent manner of presenting the country. This year we aim to further drive these conversations... making it inclusive and diverse with the core message, to build a strong Nation Branding.”

Why is culture important in this day and age? When the world, as some say, is becoming more flat, when social media platforms make instant communication possible, when cities all over the globe resemble each other more and more, of what significance is it that the Philippines should project itself as having a distinct identity and culture—in other words, possess a brand that is as easily identifiable as the Japanese, the Brazilian or the Egyptian?This is the question that cultural diplomacy poses, and which is the challenge given to Filipino diplomats in the 21st century.

Public diplomacy is perception. Remarkably—and, unthinkably, as recently as one year ago—today China seems to be the world’s most likeable superpower. [...] Li, who landed in Berlin on Wednesday, hoped to use his three-day trip, with stops in Germany and Belgium, to “voice support for an open economy, free trade and investment [and] global regional peace and stability."  Trump, on the other hand, failed to support NATO, decried Germany as “very bad” for its trade policies, and even pushed aside Montenegro’s prime minister to the front of a group photo. 

After the success of Prime Minister Modi's take-yoga-global campaign, it's now the humble Khadi that he wants to take across borders as India peddles its soft power on the international stage. "The government is aiming at making the 'Khadi' a global product identity of India, as it did for Yoga. But before, taking the major step, it plans to put its house in order. A global identity of Khadi would also allow many rural artisans to earn better," a person with direct knowledge of the mater told ET.