In case you missed Secretary Clinton’s Global Town Hall today. This was truly a global social media event. In addition to TV broadcasting to six continents, we live tweeted in 11 languages, took questions from Facebook, Twitter, and Sina Weibo, and carried the event live on YouTube (a first ever) as well as all U.S. embassy and consulate websites. We even took an email question from Antarctica.

Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs Tara Sonenshine, @TSoneshine, participates in a Global Twitter Q and A on December 5, 2012. [State Department photo/ Public Domain]

U.S. Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs Tara D. Sonenshine responds to questions during a Twitter Q & A in nine languages at the Department of State in Washington, D.C. on June 27, 2012. [State Department photo/ Public Domain]

U.S. Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs Tara D. Sonenshine responds to questions during a Twitter Q & A in nine languages at the Department of State in Washington, D.C. on June 27, 2012. [State Department photo/ Public Domain]

Media Note
Office of the Spokesperson
Washington, DC
May 29, 2012

On Thursday, May 31, 2012, at 2:00 p.m., EDT, the U.S. Department of State will host a Spanish-language Twitter Briefing. Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs Mike Hammer will take questions submitted to the Department’s official Spanish-language Twitter feed @USAenEspanol. Questions can be submitted starting today to@USAenEspanol using the hashtag #AskState.

Assistant Secretary Hammer will answer questions in Spanish from the podium in the Department’s press briefing room. Video clips of his responses will be made available on the Department’s YouTube Channel at http://www.youtube.com/user/statevideo.

@USAenEspanol is one of the Department’s 11 official Twitter accounts, which include  @StateDept (English), @USAbilAraby (Arabic),  @USA_Zhongwen (Chinese),  @USAdarFarsi (Farsi),  @USAenFrancais (French), @USAHindiMein (Hindi),  @USAemPortugues (Portuguese),  @USApoRusski (Russian),  @ABDTurk (Turkish), and @USAUrdu (Urdu). These social media accounts serve as a conduit for the U.S. Department of State to inform and engage publics around the world on foreign policy issues. They also support the Department’s 21^st Century Statecraft efforts, complementing traditional foreign policy by harnessing the digital networks and technologies of an interconnected world.

This press release is also available in Spanish.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton meets with Dick Costolo, CEO at Twitter, at the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C., April 27, 2012. [State Department photo/ Public Domain]

On June 29 at 9:30 am EDT, Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs Judith McHale will participate in the State Department’s first global “Twitter Q & A.” Using the hashtag #AskUSA, participants from around the world can simultaneously submit questions and share ideas directly with Under Secretary McHale about strengthening ties and increasing exchanges between the United States and other countries. The U.S. Department of State’s main official Twitter feed, @StateDept, will host the session.

Participants also can submit questions using the same hashtag (#AskUSA) in nine additional languages using the Department of State Twitter accounts listed below. Questions may be submitted starting now and will be accepted through the conclusion of the session on June 29.

Participants can submit questions to the following accounts using the hashtag #AskUSA:

@StateDept

@USAenEspanol (Spanish)

@USAenFrancis (French)

@USAemPortugues (Portuguese)

@USApoRusski (Russian)

@USAbilAraby (Arabic)

@USAdarFarsi (Farsi)

@USAHindiMein (Hindi)

@USAUrdu (Urdu)

@USA_Zhongwen (Chinese)