...I conducted some fascinating interviews with various representatives of the Kurdish and Palestinian movements on how national movements conduct public diplomacy and cultural diplomacy. This is the first article of a series based on my interviews, and deals with the public diplomacy of the Kurdish people as conducted by the American-Kurdish Information Network.

China zoomed past India as the main source of foreign students coming to the United States to attend college, with a 30 percent jump in Chinese students in a single year, according to a new report released today.

U.S. students studied in significantly greater numbers in less traditional destinations in 2008-2009, according to the new Open Doors survey report released today by the Institute of International Education (IIE) with funding from the U.S. Department of State.

Barely a year ago nearly 1,000 people from 80 countries gathered enthusiastically at the Palacio de Convenciones in Havana, Cuba, under the banner 'Innovating for the health of all'. More than half came from low- and middle-income countries.

Next Summer's Edinburgh International Festival will focus on the cultures of Asia and the influence of Eastern cultures on artists in the West. Announcing the Festival 2011 theme ‘To the Far West’ in Beijing today, Festival Director Jonathan Mills promised "a heady three weeks of exquisite artistic exploration which I hope will intoxicate audiences."

They are completely in love with the traditional dance forms of India. They take inspiration from Indians when it comes to dressing up. They relish Indian delicacies. But most importantly, one thing they truly cherish than anything else is to strike a conversation in Hindi. And it doesn’t end here.

When Pakistani Americans Mahnaz Fancy and Zeyba Rahman launched Pakistani Peace Builders (PPB) in May, they did so to bring Pakistani music and heritage to American audiences. An independent cultural diplomacy campaign, PPB aimed to counteract stereotypes and misperceptions of Pakistanis that Fancy and Rahman saw becoming more prominent.

Last week's two-day conference, “International Encounter of Journalists: Media Treatment of the Middle East,” was organized to “create a space for reflection and meaningful dialogue about media treatment of the Middle East and its influence on Spanish public opinion.”