Media Note
Office of the Spokesperson
Washington, DC
February 12, 2013

The U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs announces Major League Baseball Hall-of-Famer Barry Larkin and Olympian Natasha Watley will travel as sports envoys to India from February 12-18. Working with Major League Baseball and USA Softball, this trip marks the Department’s first joint baseball and softball program to encourage youth participation in sports.

In New Delhi and Imphal, Larkin and Whatley will lead baseball and softball clinics for underserved youth and their coaches, as well as engage in dialogue on sports and diversity. In both cities, the sports envoys will meet with officials from the Indian Baseball and Softball Associations as well as representatives from NGOs that promote youth sports opportunities. Throughout the exchange, they will speak with local media about how sports encourage in the development of good sportsmanship, leadership, and teamwork skills. MORE

About the Author: James B. Cunningham serves as Ambassador to Afghanistan.

Last week, I had the pleasure of attending the Winter Academy Gala Concert of the Afghanistan National Institute of Music (ANIM). Students ranging in age from 10 to 20 played Chopin and Ravel, as well as Afghan traditional songs and collaborative fusion pieces. 

In a historic tour that began February 3, 2013, ANIM students are traveling in the United States to perform at venues ranging from the world-famous Carnegie Hall andKennedy Center to the headquarters of the World Bank and Fordham High School for the Arts. Even more… more »

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On Tuesday, January 29, 2013, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton will hold a Global Townterview at the Newseum in Washington, D.C. A “Townterview” is a mix of a town hall and a television interview. The concept was first introduced by the Secretary when she entered office as a way to broaden people-to-people engagement.

This will be her 59th town hall and an opportunity to engage with young people around the world in advance of her last day as Secretary of State on Friday, February 1.

In partnership with media outlets from… more »

Press Statement
Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of State
Washington, DC
January 16, 2013

We are deeply concerned about the well-being of Lao civil society leader Sombath Somphone, who disappeared one month ago. Reports indicate that Mr. Sombath went missing on December 15, 2012 after being stopped at a police checkpoint in the capital city of Vientiane. We call upon the Lao government to pursue a transparent investigation of this incident and to do everything in its power to bring about an immediate and safe return home to his family.

Since receiving his education in the United States, Mr. Sombath has worked tirelessly to promote sustainable development in Laos and he inspired a new generation of young leaders. He founded the Participatory Development Training Center, which trains Lao youth and local government leaders in community development and poverty reduction. His disappearance has generated a tremendous amount of concern from his family, friends and colleagues around the world. We urge his immediate return home and send our thoughts and prayers to his family and loved ones.

Media Note
Office of the Spokesperson
Washington, DC
January 4, 2013

The U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs announces that 12 Burmese youth—six boys and six girls—and two coaches will travel to the United States January 7-20. The basketball exchange program, with support from the National Basketball Association (NBA), marks the first State Department Sports Visitor program with Burma. Throughout the program, the group will learn about sports in the United States by participating in basketball clinics with their American peers and engage in educational sessions on nutrition, conflict resolution, and disability sports.

The program builds on the first-ever Sports Envoy program in Burma, that sent Charlotte Bobcats General Manager Rich Cho, former Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) player Allison Feaster, current Los Angeles Lakers assistant coach Darvin Ham, and former NBA player Marty Conlon to Burma as Sports Envoys in August 2012.

The basketball exchange participants, ages 15-17, will visit North Carolina to attend a Charlotte Bobcats game and take part in a clinic with Cho, who was born in Burma, and Bobcats players. In Washington, D.C., the group will attend a Washington Wizards game and meet team members.

SportsUnited is the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ division devoted to sports diplomacy at the U.S. Department of State. Athletes and coaches from a range of sports are chosen to conduct clinics, visit schools, and engage with youth abroad in a dialogue on the importance of education, positive health practices, and respect for diversity. The NBA has partnered with SportsUnited since 2005, helping to host Sports Visitors from 20 countries and sending nearly 60 current and former NBA and WNBA players and coaches to travel to more than 30 countries as Sports Envoys.

For more information, contact Anna Griffin of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, U.S. Department of State, at eca-press@state.gov.

About the Author: Jennifer McAndrew serves at the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan.

Jawaid is a four-year-old trash picker. He wants to be a tree when he grows up.

At least, that’s what he tells his teacher during an art class sponsored by the LettuceBee Kids project in Islamabad, Pakistan.

“But you are not a tree,” the teacher tells him. “If you don’t like where you are, you can move.”

That’s the idea behind the LettuceBee initiative, which helps street kids like Jawaid move beyond a life of begging and trash picking, and re-integrate back into society through art, music, and mentorship.

The brainchild of Sarah Adeel, a Fulbright alumna and graduate of Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), the idea for LettuceBee Kids came about when she was in Pakistan in 2008 conducting research for her master’s thesis on child welfare in South Asia.

“I was doing a comparative analysis between orphanages and foster-care… more »

About the Author: Doug Carey serves as Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy Majuro.

Majuro Cooperative School in the Republic of the Marshall Islands put away their traditional red school uniforms and instead wore green and white - the school colors of Sandy Hook - to honor the children and teachers who lost their lives in Newtown. 

In a condolence card delivered to Ambassador Thomas Armbruster on December 21, the students said, “even though we are half a world away and living on a tiny island in the Pacific, we felt the pain…of the families and the community of Newtown.” Even though the United States and the Marshall Islands are geographically very distant from each other, the connection between the peoples of our two countries is particularly close. 

The Compact of Free Association between the Marshall Islands and the United States allows Marshallese students to travel, live, work and study in the United States; nearly…more »

About the Author: Mike Hammer serves as Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs.

Following Navy’s 17-13 win over Army earlier this month, you may have seen theWashington Post’s ”Sports Section” on December 9 that carried a photograph of Navy safety Kwazel Bertrand reacting to a fumble by Army late in the game.

Bertrand — appropriately wearing number 17 — was captured in that photo running off the field in victory while wearing a patch bearing the seal of the State Department. Naval Academy football players individually choose one or two patches to wear on their jersey for the Army-Navy game. Many players opt for patches with personal ties — a player may select the unit patch from a ship or squadron in which… more »

About the Author: Tara D. Sonenshine serves as Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs. Rose Gottemoeller serves as Acting Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security.

Think about it. Breaking the glass ceiling and advancing science go hand-in-hand. If we can get more women and girls - maybe half the world’s population - studying science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM), we have more chances to solve major global crises, from disease to arms control, from communications to health. Getting ahead on STEM is a challenge worth taking on.

Over coffee one day, we decided that we would do our part to address this challenge. The answer, we believed, was self evident: We need to recruit greater numbers of young people to enter the fields of STEM so that we can extend our budding talent pool. And we must reach out to the 50 percent of our population traditionally constrained from pursuing careers in science: women. 

That is what motivated us to create two programs, both launched on December 19, dedicated to removing barriers… more »

About the Author: Frankie A. Reed serves as the U.S. Ambassador to Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Tonga and Tuvalu.

“Youth what? Why would you sponsor a TechCamp in the Pacific region, where Internet connectivity is not widespread?”

That’s the question many of my colleagues asked me when I told them the State Department, in collaboration with PasifikaNEXUS and BrightPath, was going to launch “Youth TechCamp Fiji.” And, my answer to them was, that’s exactly the reason it should be done. The Department of State, along with our partners, recognized the value in enabling future leaders of the Pacific Islands to contribute to policy development, spur local content creation, and leverage connection technologies to make a positive impact in their communities and around the world.

From November 21-28, approximately 80 youth participants from Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea, and the Solomon Islands met in Suva, Fiji, for the first Youth TechCamp in… more »