Notice to the Press Office of the Spokesman Washington, DC December 9, 2004 Secretary of State Colin L. Powell to Honor Department of State Culture Connect AmbassadorsSecretary of State Colin L. Powell will recognize the efforts of the first CultureConnect Ambassadors of the Department of State in a ceremony on Monday, December 13, 2004. The ceremony will take place at 3:30 p.m. in the Treaty Room in the U.S. Department of State's Harry S Truman Building, 2201 C St, NW, Washington, DC. The CultureConnect program, created two years ago by Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs Patricia S. Harrison, comprises men and women from the arts, sports and business who are willing to contribute their time and talent on behalf of youth. For the past two years, these Cultural "Ambassadors" have worked with young people worldwide, through master classes, concerts, discussions and mentoring through the CultureConnect website. The first CultureConnect Ambassadors include: Debbie Allen, Michael Kaiser, Denyce Graves, Daniel Libeskind, Yo-Yo Ma, Wynton Marsalis, Frank McCourt, Joel Meyerowitz, Doris Roberts, Ron Silver, and Mary Wilson. Former Georgetown basketball players Omari Faulkner and Courtland Freeman also have joined the program as CultureConnect Envoys, traveling to all regions of the world to conduct basketball clinics. Through this program, the Cultural Ambassadors and the Cultural Envoys have traveled to over 40 countries and worked with tens of thousands of youth. The ceremony will be open to the press. Pre-set-up time for cameras: 2:45 p.m. from the 23rd Street Entrance. Media representatives who plan to attend must present one of the following press credentials: (1) a U.S. Government-issued identification card (Department of State, White House, Congress, Department of Defense, or Foreign Press Center), (2) a media-issued photo identification card, or (3) a letter from their employer on letterhead verifying their employment as a journalist, accompanied by an official photo identification (driver’s license or passport). Press Contacts: 2004/1347
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