Nelson Mandela died one year ago today, but his legacy lives on. He changed the image of South Africa from that of a country despised for its atrocities to a “Rainbow Nation” (Archbishop Desmond Tutu’s term) that protects and promotes human rights and democratic values.

It is always difficult to calculate the impact of U.S. domestic events on international audiences. But if experience is any guide, news travels fast, and people from Soweto, South Africa to Seoul are watching events in Ferguson, Mo.; Staten Island, N.Y.; and around the country as protests unfold over police shootings. In short, I would say, "Houston, we have a problem."

Brand Ghana and Brand South Africa are devising strategies to help improve the competitive brands of the two countries, and those of other countries in Africa.

The judgment will be analysed and cited extensively. It will be held up as a model for courts in other countries to follow when interpreting their own international law commitments. Through such citation and examination, the court’s influence will be spread and its values promoted, demonstrating the persuasive nature of soft power and of how we might realise Mandela’s ideal of making human rights the light that guides our foreign affairs.

 A rising call for African-led research has permeated Cape Town this week as HIV researchers and scientists from around the world flooded the city for the first HIV Research for Prevention Conference.

Bloom Consulting is a Madrid based strategy consulting company that specialises in country branding and business strategy. His work focuses mainly on nation building projects and the developing of brand strategies in the private sector, as well as corporate strategy and HR consulting. 

South African Deputy Minister of Arts and Culture Rejoice Mabudafhasi is expected to speak at the on-going Ubuntu Music and Arts of South Africa Festival being held in New York City, United States, his office said Tuesday.