This Saturday, February 11th, food fair Junta Local will take place from 10AM in the grounds of Botafogo’s Christ Church. With free entry and continuing until 6PM, the artisanal culinary fair hopes to promote cultural inclusivity and exchange through different international cuisines.

Airbnb, the "official alternative accommodation service" for the Olympic Games, has made a big investment into Rio and it's is already paying off. A city that once lacked enough hotels and is living under Brazil's recession has meant big opportunity for the homesharing marketplace. [...] In preparation for the Olympics, Airbnb has worked in coordination with the organizing committee to encourage people to open up their homes for visitors.

"I believe in sports as a true means of bringing countries and peoples closer. This is one of the most important segments of people-to-people diplomacy," he said. "You influence countries not by invading your neighbors but because of your soap operas, songs, sports and culture. This is what people now call soft power. This is as important as military power and much more lasting."

Anyone who has followed international affairs closely knows that one distinctive flaw in U.S. cultural diplomacy is our public welcome pavilions at major world events, including the Olympics and the World Cup. (...) After experiencing this first-hand Maxine Turner, President of the U.S. Welcome Pavilion, stepped in to create a space where U.S. culture and business can come together to reach a global public. We spoke with her about her plans for the inaugural U.S. Welcome Pavilion at the 2016 Rio Olympics.

The State Department’s Sports Envoy program will pair Paralympic gold medalist and reigning Chicago marathon champion Josh George with Olympic gold medalist Allyson Felix for a week-long series of clinics and engagements in Rio de Janeiro from November 4-8.

Organizers of the Rio 2016 Olympics on Thursday revealed plans to provide language training for more than a million people ahead of the event. Brazil ranks behind many of its counterparts in the language learning stakes, comparative international studies show, and few people speak English outside major cities.