Earlier this month I had the opportunity to participate in the Peace Corps Legacy Project, which documents the sustainable projects people of Suriname have carried out with the help of Peace Corps volunteers during the organization's 17 years in country.
The group I traveled with visited villages on the Upper Suriname River to see solar panel projects funded by the Energy and Climate Partnership of the Americas (ECPA) and put into place by Peace Corps volunteers and Suriname citizens. ECPA is a flexible, voluntary framework for countries to collaborate and cooperate on clean energy and climate change issues. Peace Corps Suriname's ECPA initiative focuses on energy poverty and climate change efforts and is supported by an interagency agreement between Peace… more »
I was glad to see more than 200 people in the audience for a discussion on water, peace, and security on the margins of the 67th meetings of the UN General Assembly yesterday. The United States, the European Union, and UN-Water co-sponsored the event, which drew senior representatives from governments, UN agencies, and international financial institutions. Secretary Clinton, whose remarks closed the event, has made water issues a priority in our diplomatic and development efforts, and I have been pleased to lead those efforts for the State Department.
Citing the findings in a recently released United States Intelligence Community Assessment on Global Water Security, Secretary Clinton noted… more »
Many of us have walked a stretch of beach and encountered trash. With many people living along coasts, it's not surprising that waste ends up on nearby beaches. Garbage and waste also ends up in the open ocean, far from shore. How did it get there? How are we supposed to remove it, along with the many other small debris islands drifting along in the currents and the microscopic plastic particles that we can't see, but that have converged in massive "garbage patches" in the world's oceans? Should we resign ourselves to the fact that debris will continue to accumulate in our oceans? Or can we do something about it?
Frequently we can learn a lot from seeing what other nations are doing to improve the lives of their citizens. I did, on a recent visit to Namibia.
Namibia has pioneered significant innovations in community engagement designed to protect its spectacular natural resources -- particularly its wildlife -- and provide a new source of income for its people. Its practices also give its people an opportunity to became more engaged in the decisions that affect their lives and their communities.
During my visit to Namibia, I met with the leaders of the King Nehale Conservancy, bordering on the magnificent Etosha National Park, to learn how Namibia's system of conservancies is benefiting local community members and encouraging those same members to play a greater role in both the management of wildlife and the development of sustainable tourism enterprises. These… more »
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton attended the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) Post Forum Dialogue in the Cook Islands on August 31, 2012, as part of our intensive engagement and ongoing collaboration with the Pacific Islands. Secretary Clinton led the highest-level U.S. interagency delegation in the 41-year history of the Forum with senior officials from the Departments of State, Defense, and Interior.
The United States and the Pacific Islands have enjoyed an enduring partnership and a steadfast friendship for over a century. Community engagement and the strengthening of people to people ties is an important component of my travels this week. I am accompanying Assistant Secretary Kurt Campbell and other U.S. government officials from the Department of Defense and USAID to the region, and this trip has only reinforced my belief in the profound possibilities for deeper engagement with the peoples of the Pacific Islands.
Earlier during the trip, while staying in the Marshall Islands, I was able to meet with a fantastic group of community leaders… more »
Pacific Partnership 2012 (PP12) has arrived in Cambodia, the final host nation for this year's mission. American Charge d'affaires Jeff Daigle welcomed participants at the opening ceremony on July 29 in Sihanoukville and emphasized PP12's contribution to overall USG efforts in the kingdom. Rear Admiral Russell Penniman and Vice Admiral Tea Vinh spoke for the U.S. Navy and Royal Cambodian Ministry of Defense respectively. Vice Admiral Vinh offered his country's appreciation for both the initial Pacific Partnership visit to Sihanoukville in 2010 and the current mission.
Transportation logistics is the key challenge to the Cambodian effort, as PP12 will operate along two major corridors running between the port of Sihanoukville, Cambodia's second city, and the capital of Phnom Penh about five hours to the northeast. PP12's two SH-60 helicopters have been working steadily… more »
On June 27, Secretary Clinton traveled to Helsinki, Finland where she met with Finnish Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja. They signed the U.S.-Finland General Security of Information Agreement and discussed a number of shared foreign policy priorities, including the European economy, Syria, Iran and climate change.
Secretary Clinton said, "Finland and the United States continue to work together closely to pressure the Assad regime to provide humanitarian assistance to Syrian civilians… more »
It's been an exciting eight days here in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil working at the U.S. Center, at the UN Conference on Sustainable Development, also known as Rio+20. Since the center opened its doors on Friday, June 15, the space has been buzzing with activity with visits from high level delegates, academics, scientists, youth and more and served as a dynamic, interactive place where people around the world, both in-house and online, could gather and exchange ideas. The center's 40 programs attracted over 68,000 people virtually and many of the events were standing room only.
Let's take a moment to review three of the most notable programs:
With more than 50,000 people from around the world attending the Rio+20 conference in Rio De Janeiro, the global conversation has reached an almost fever pitch. Presidents met with students, students with indigenous groups, indigenous groups with Nobel prize winning economists, economists with reporters, and reporters with just about all of us.
But for one, brief moment, it is fair to say a group of four men managed to rise above the fray and capture everyone's attention.
Amid the pomp and circumstance of yesterday's ceremonial opening, the lights briefly dimmed and astronauts from the International Space Station greeted the delegates in short video produced by our friends at NASA, the Russian Federal Space Agency, and the European Space Agency.
Thank you, Jonathan, for this insightful post on World Food Day and the importance of strengthening our efforts as an international community to end world hunger…
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Spokesperson Nuland (Oct. 17): "Assistant Secretary for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, Michael Posner, led a 22-member interagency delegation from the U.S. to discuss the full range of human rights issues affecting the country." more »
Oct. 16: Judith Heumann, Special Advisor for International Disability Rights, held a conversation with Ann Cody, Director of Policy and Global Outreach, BlazeSports; and Kirk Bauer, Executive Director of Disabled Sports USA. more »
![U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton delivers remarks at a roundtable on global water security at the United Nations in New York, New York on September 25, 2012. [State Department photo/ Public Domain]](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20121018234358im_/http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2012_0926_clinton_water_roundtable_m.jpg)
![A plastic container litters the beach in Sandy Hook, N.J. on April 18, 2011. [AP File Photo]](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20121018234358im_/http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2012_0919_ocean_litter_m.jpg)
![Zebras, as seen on Under Secretary of State Robert Hormats' travel to Namibia [State Department photo]](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20121018234358im_/http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2012_0920_zebras_hormats_m.jpg)
![U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton delivers remarks at Sustainable Development and Conservation event in Rarotonga, Cook Islands, August 31, 2012. [State Department photo by Ola Thorsen/ Public Domain]](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20121018234358im_/http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2012_0901_clinton_cook_islands_dipnote_m.jpg)
![Assistant Secretary of State for East Asia and Pacific Affairs Kurt Campbell and Admiral Cecil Haney pose for a photo with members of civil society in Phonpei in the Federated States of Micronesia, August 2012. [State Department photo/ Public Domain]](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20121018234358im_/http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2012_0806_campbell_m.jpg)
![National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration employees offer a course in fisheries management under the auspices of Pacific Partnership 2012 in Cambodia, July 2012. [State Department photo/ Public Domain]](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20121018234358im_/http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2012_0730_pp12_cambodia_m.jpg)
![U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton signs a General Security of Information Agreement with Finnish Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja on June 27, 2012, at the Government Banquet Hall in Helsinki, Finland. [AP Photo]](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20121018234358im_/http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2012_0627_clinton_finland_m.jpg)
