So what is public diplomacy all about? The basic idea is that in order to achieve a wide range of goals—­from economics to military—you need to get support of ordinary people. Whether the goal is to convince foreign publics that the rise of China poses no threat to the international system, or to persuade the so-called “Arab street” to shed its anti-Western beliefs, public diplomacy is called upon to work its miracles.

The 29th National Cowboy Poetry Gathering will host butteri, cowboys from Italy, who have their own unique poetry, music, gear and traditional techniques, but still have much in common with their counterparts in the American West and cattle cultures across the globe.

The one-month festival, under the slogan 'Thinking, embodiment, modernisation', aims to attract youngsters and promote culture through stage shows and musical events. A large number of Bahrain intellectuals, musicians, writers and thinkers will take part in the opening ceremony at Block No 338 in Adliya at 7pm.

The Guangzhou Acrobatic Ballet will perform at the Autonomous University of Santo Domingo on September 6 as part of the cultural exchange between China and the Dominican Republic.

Some Chinese experts believe their gardening practices, steeped in Eastern culture and philosophy, will not work in the West, but Jon Burley, associate professor in the School of Planning, Design, and Construction at Michigan State University, cannot see why not, because the quintessential Chinese garden is actually very versatile, he says.

The roar of the crowd as the British contingent entered the track on Wednesday sent shivers down my spine. Eighty thousand people erupted as the athletes wove their way through the brightly colored dancers, showered in camera flashes and always under the watchful eye of Queen Elizabeth II.

According to UNESCO, “half of the 6,000 plus spoken languages today will disappear by the end of the century” if the world fails to take action to preserve endangered languages.

A statue of late President Ho Chi Minh has been inaugurated in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Present at the ceremony on August 30 were representatives of the Vietnamese Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the Argentina-Vietnam Cultural Institute, diplomatic corps and Vietnamese friends.