" The greatest good you can do for another is not just to share your riches, but reveal to them their own."
 
~  Benjamin Disraeli ~

Whether you entered 2011 on January 1, or are preparing for the Year of the Rabbit, I hope this season of new beginnings finds you well and happy!

We have exciting plans this year for International Focus, and look forward to sharing more events and programs with you and our international communities soon.

Meanwhile, please enjoy the cultural news and resources in this issue of International Focus News, and be sure to join us at some of the great international events going on in the Triangle this month.

If you missed last year's International Festival, or would just like to relive a little of it, check out our new Festival Video on YouTube.

Wishing you and yours a 2011 filled with prosperity and every happiness!

Sincerely,

Clodagh Bastian
Executive Director

Poles In Lithuania Want Their 'W' Back

Poland and Lithuania are bonded by history, culture and Catholic faith but deeply divided over the letter w. 

Robot Can Read, Learn Like a Human

Marge, a robot on wheels, can read and understand human signs.
 

Court Backs Tourist Ban For Dutch Cannabis Coffee Shops

The European Court of Justice has ruled that Dutch authorities can bar foreigners from cannabis-selling coffee shops.
 

Defendant With No Language Proves Difficult To Prosecute

While courts have come a long way in providing access to interpreters in a host of exotic languages, no one is sure how to translate for a man who knows no language at all.

  

Women-Only Rail Cars Rolling In Jakarta

In a response to several sexual harassment cases on the Indonesian capital's bus routes, state rail company Kereta Api launched the country's first women-only train car. 

 

Project Visa provides information on visa requirements around the world.

The World Heritage List includes information and photos of 911 sites of global cultural and natural heritage.
  

Global Vision International runs volunteering programs in critical community and conservation projects in over 40 countries.

 

The Latino Migration Experience in North Carolina, a book by CGI Research Associate, Hannah Gill, explores the larger social forces behind demographic shifts, how NC communities are dealing with these changes, and how migrants experience the economic and social realities of their new lives.

Savortheworld is a blog by local culinary enthusiast, Karin Shank, which features recipes from a different culture each month.