uganda
The government of North Korea has rightfully gained a reputation in the West for isolation and obstinacy, but its diplomatic ventures in Africa have poised it to be significantly more influential on that continent than potentially anywhere else.
![chiang mai by Roberto Trombetta via Flick Creative Commons](https://uscpublicdiplomacy.org/sites/default/files/styles/275x168/public/uploads/Slide1_14.jpg?itok=j-m49_Ti)
PD News takes a look at what China, the UK, India and the U.S. have been up to this week.
This is Suzi Analogue here. If you’re now tuning in, ki kati from Kampala, Uganda. I am here, live in East Africa, from NYC (by way of a handful of other dope East Coast cities) instructing a beatmaking class at a cultural center here for youth. My background is a producer/songwriter. The class is a part of a cultural diplomacy program called Next Level that shares hip-hop around the world as a way for us to promote peace and understanding worldwide.
Why does Pope Francis capture the imagination of vast audiences across the globe as he travels to different parts of the world? Why do the statements he makes leave a deep and lasting impression in the minds and hearts of millions if not billions of people?
![This Week in PD African PD](https://uscpublicdiplomacy.org/sites/default/files/styles/275x168/public/uploads/J5PQH8L_fwsEF7bW4zg1n0tOWcCjVut5OgdGEAnQEmI.png?itok=2SA-NdP_)
Pope Francis announces that he'll be making his first trip to Africa stopping in Uganda and the Central African Republic, while other African countries addressed issues of development, human rights, good governance, and economic growth.
The African Growth and Opportunity Act of 2000 promised a brighter future for Uganda, but the country has seen few benefits.
The revered voice of Ugandan priest John Ssenyondo has gone quiet in his old parish in the Mexican town of Nejapa. His body was found in a mass grave last October, six months after he was abducted in broad daylight, while preaching against drug gangs. But his parishioners in Guerrero state continue to remember a man who stood for reconciliation.
A Ugandan official on Thursday said that cultural exchanges and cooperation with China has deepened the people to people relations of the two countries. Rose Namayanja, minister of information and national guidance told reporters here that over the years there have been increased cultural exchanges as Ugandan artists go to China and vice versa.