Austrians do not know enough about Romania, and creating a country brand is "a challenge," Austrian Ambassador in Bucharest Gerhard Reiweger stated on Wednesday, at the Youth's Perspective on Romania's Public Diplomacy within the EU" event. [...] "The image of a country's economy is part of the global perception. If Austria is perceived only in cultural or tourism terms, it means that we have to work on our image from the economic involvement point of view. It is the same for Romania.

It is a confusing question: Who is responsible for Egypt’s image? The investment conference in Sharm El-Sheikh created an “attractive atmosphere”, however the Egyptian government did not complete it. The same thing happened with Lionel Messi when he came to Cairo to promote the treatment of Hepatitis C in Egypt. Finally, Pope Francis’ visit to Egypt shed light on Egypt’s efforts in religious tolerance. After the visit, we were very happy and exchanged congratulations, but we did not realize, as usual, that the difficult part would be in the next day.

Do you know something about Luxembourg most people don't? Or maybe you have a specific angle on a well-known Luxembourgish subject, place or activity? If so, then Luxembourg's Economy Ministry is hoping to recruit you as a "guide for one day" as part of its latest nation-branding effort. The guided tours that will be offered through this initiative will start from June 23 and can range from local life, night life, shopping, history, Luxembourgish markets, cafés and gastronomy to leisure and sports.

The symbolic gesture of picking São Paulo for the grand opening of Japan House hints at the value attributed by Japan to its strategic global partnership with Brasília. [...] unless Tokyo and Brasília decide to go for a thorough re-evaluation of the terms upon which their dysfunctional bilateral cooperation was structured over time, and think of innovative ways to carry it through in the future, Japan House will be of little help in making the ties that unite the two countries even bolder.

There are no I  [❤]  North Korea bumper stickers, no shot glasses with North Korean city names. But imagine a reality where the 69-year-old totalitarian state was a free and open country that welcomed tourists to frolic in its streets. This improbable reverie inspired the Swedish design agency Snask to create a ready-to-use nation brand identity kit, complete with a new North Korean flag brandishing a message of love.

Ahead of youth month, Brand South Africa has partnered with the Sunday Times Generation Next to host this year’s youth marketing conference. The conference looks at youth brand preference and consumer behavior and explores how the youth can drive growth in local brands. This partnership is in line with Brand South Africa’s domestic objective of promoting and championing programmes that enhance the Nation Brand. 

Tourism is a key foreign exchange earner in East Africa. Rwanda, which is still heavily dependent on foreign aid after the 1994 genocide tore the nation apart, has been seeking to boost the sector. Tourism generated $404 million from 1.3 visitors in 2016, and revenues are expected to climb 14 percent to 460 million in 2017.