Communications Minister Faith Muthambi on Wednesday said more needed to be done by the government, private sector and civil society to achieve a “consistent and cohesive” approach when marketing South Africa locally, in the African continent and internationally. Building a national brand depends on nation building and how cohesive we are as a nation. 

Now that I have been elected Governor of Tokyo, which will host the 2020 Games, I am quickly preparing myself and my team for the grueling tests of management that lie ahead of us. In particular, we must become world-class cost-control accountants, so that the Games are a success not just for the athletes, but also for the citizens of Tokyo and all Japanese. We want to take pride in our Games, and we cannot do that if we hobble future generations with debt.

Back in 2012, the Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak set up a department tasked with building the Malaysia nation brand. [...] We did offer up plenty of ideas, one of which was that the Malaysian singer-entertainer, Yuna, should be the face of any Malaysia nation branding initiative.

Soft power refers to the ability to change what others think and do through attraction and persuasion rather than compulsion and coercion. Scholars are still divided and failed to agree on an exact definition of soft power which remains loose and vague.

New ABC managing director Michelle Guthrie has outlined plans to renew an international expansion into overseas markets like China as part of a “soft power push” to influence Australia’s standing on the world stage. Two years after the controversial Australia Network was shut down because the government did not believe the ABC was meeting its contractual obligations, Ms Guthrie has foreshadowed a new offensive.