Ten years ago today, the Twitter hashtag was born with a very simple tweet. [...] And while Twitter is celebrating today by promoting the rise of popular, non-political hashtags like #FollowFriday, #NowPlaying and #ThrowbackThursday, the hashtag’s most meaningful contribution in the U.S. and abroad has been its ability to rally the internet around more serious ideas and issues.

Switzerland has given an insight into why it was part of the negotiation that led to the release of the 82 Chibok girls abducted three years ago by the terror group, Boko Haram. According to a news report published yesterday by a UK newspaper, IBTimes UK, the Swiss government said its involvement in the negotiation with Boko Haram was a result of a request from the Nigerian government, in addition to “humanitarian concerns.”

The lights are being switched off around the world at 8:30 p.m. on Saturday evening, to mark the 10th annual Earth Hour, and to draw attention to climate change. The initiative began in Australia in 2007 as a grass roots gesture by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Australia against man-made carbon dioxide emissions linked to a warming planet. In 2017, it will involve the switching off of electric lights for an hour in 7,000 cities across 172 countries, at 8:30 p.m.

Irina Bokova, the director general of Unesco, talked about how culture was instrumental to economic growth, citing a 2015 study that said the arts generated 29.5 million jobs worldwide, more than the auto industry. “Development without culture cannot be sustainable or equitable or inclusive,” she said. Other discussions at the conference resonated more subtly with the most salient issues of the day, including panels on refugees, censorship, heritage preservation and cultural diplomacy.

Traveling to places like Finland, Ukraine, Poland, Costa Rica, Mexico, Romania, and Japan may seem to be only a dream for most children but through 4-H, almost anything is possible. The 4-H IFYE Association of the USA Inc. and the States 4-H International Exchange Program both conduct international exchange programs and cross-cultural education while promoting global awareness.

In 2016, under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India continued to enlarge its foreign policy options and generally pursue the goal of raising the country's international profile. Over the year India exhibited more self-confidence in dealing with challenges, showed more assertiveness in defending its interests, and displayed far more flexibility in exploring compromises on issues of global concern.

The Council believes today’s photography can document, inspire and teach people about public diplomacy and its potential for positive change in our world. We support visual storytelling on critical human, economic, political, cultural, environmental and social issues.  We believe this exhibit has the potential reach a vast global audience through the direct participation of photographers and the artistic community...

Ten months ago, nations from across the globe gathered in Paris to announce an historic agreement to combat climate change. [...] Speaking from the Rose Garden, President Obama welcomed this historic step in our global efforts to combat climate change.