Rare Russian Stamps

Posted on 4 March 2011 by Sara Lichterman

Vice President Biden travels to Russia, Finland and Moldova. The events in the Arab world should not be termed a “Facebook Revolution,” a panel of media experts warns. And a rare collection of Russian stamps was recently uncovered at the Smithsonian.

Biden’s Europe Trip to Focus on U.S.-Russia “Reset”
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During a during a March trip to Europe, Vice President Biden plans to “take stock” of the reset in relations between the United States and Russia that began after President Obama’s January 2009 inauguration. He also will visit Finland and become the first U.S. vice president to visit Moldova during the trip.

Not a “Facebook Revolution”
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Though social media may have been an important tool for the political upheaval in the Arab world, many media experts say that discussion over its role should not divert attention from the courage being shown by people standing up for their rights. Speaking at a panel on this issue, Michael Nelson, a Georgetown University professor, said, “At the end of the day, the Internet is not causing this revolution, but it is enabling it.”

Photo Gallery: Russian Imperial Stamps
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One of the best collections of Russian stamps in the world was recently found in a storage vault at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Postal Museum. The collection, composed of more than 14,000 Russian stamps, is truly exceptional in terms of its quality and rarity. At right, a rare 1896 design that was rejected because it did not include an image of post horns. The post horn was used throughout Europe to sound the arrival and departure of mail coaches and became the international symbol of mail service. The design ultimately approved for this stamp included the Russian Imperial eagle with thunderbolts across post horns.

New U.S. Pressure on Libya / The Kiwi Quake / A Boost in Biotech Crops

Posted on 28 February 2011 by Scott Orr

President Obama says it is time for Libyan leader Muammar Qadhafi to go. Rescuers continue to search for survivors of the New Zealand earthquake, though hope is dimming. An American blogger digitally speaks with students in Palestine’s West Bank about social media as a means for social change. February is Black History Month in the United States. And studies show large gains in the production of biotech crops.

Obama Backs Qadhafi Ouster
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President Obama calls on Libya’s leader, Muammar Qadhafi, to leave power now, saying that he and his government must be held accountable for violating the human rights and brutalization of the Libyan people. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton further amplifies the president’s position, saying that it is clear the Libyan people want Qadhafi out of power.

Kiwi Quake’s Deadly Toll
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A U.S. Search and Recovery team is on the scene in Christchurch, New Zealand hoping more survivors can be pulled from the city’s rubble. New Zealand Police put the death toll at 113 late February 25, while 70 survivors have been found alive in the days since the 6.3 magnitude quake. More than 200 people are still thought to be missing.

Social Media, Social Change
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Blogger Zerlina Maxwell spoke with 25 students in the Palestinian Territories’ West Bank via digital video conference for a State Department dialogue on “Promoting Social Media as a Means for Change.” Speaking about Hosni Mubarak’s resignation as president of Egypt, Maxwell said, “I think that social media allowed me, someone who is sitting in New Jersey with a computer, to experience that moment as if I were there.”

Black History Month
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Each February, Black History Month honors the struggles and triumphs of millions of American citizens and their contributions to the nation’s cultural and political life. February was chosen because it includes the birthdays of President Abraham Lincoln and the abolitionist Frederick Douglass.

Biotech Boosts Small Farm Yield
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Between 1996 and 2010, the production of crops genetically modified to increase yield rose 87-fold, surpassing 1 billion hectares, according to new statistics from the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications. Of the 15.4 million farmers planting such biotech crops, 90 percent are small, resource-poor farmers in developing countries. Developing countries produce 48 percent of global biotech crops. Above, a farmer tends to genetically enhance papayas in Hawaii.

Obama Condemns Violence in Libya / Human Rights Abuses in Iran / Social Networks Help Missing Kids

Posted on 23 February 2011 by Scott Orr

President Obama calls on the world to unite in condemnation of the Libyan government’s violent response to protests seeking new leadership. President Obama offers condolences to the people of New Zealand in the aftermath of a major earthquake. The U.S. has designated two Iranian officials for “serious human rights abuses in Iran.” And social networking is helping missing children.

Obama Condemns Violence in Libya
President Obama says it is imperative that the world speak “with one voice” to condemn the suppression of peaceful demonstrators in Libya and to support their universal rights, and adds that the administration is preparing “a full range of options” that the United States can take unilaterally and multilaterally in response to the ongoing violence.

Aftermath of Quake in New Zealand
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President Obama has conveyed the condolences of his family and the United States to the people of New Zealand affected by a second major earthquake in just six months. “As our New Zealand friends move forward,” Obama says, “may they find some comfort and strength in knowing that they will have the enduring friendship and support of many partners around the world, including the United States.”

Human Rights Abuses in Iran
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The U.S. Departments of State and Treasury have announced the designation of two Iranian officials for “serious human rights abuses in Iran.” “These designations underscore our enduring commitment to support Iranians seeking to exercise their universal rights and express our solidarity with victims of torture, persecution and arbitrary detention,” says Assistant Secretary of State Michael Posner.

Finding Missing Kids Online
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Authorities in Canada, the United States and elsewhere are using social media as a tool to help find missing children. Police in Canada have established Facebook, YouTube and Twitter accounts to post descriptions of suspected child abductors and Facebook has partnered with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and the U.S. Department of Justice to expand a U.S. system that alerts the public when children go missing.

Civil Society and Social Media

Posted on 8 February 2011 by Jane Morse

The term “civil society” can seem almost as amorphous as the term “social media.” Yet the two are becoming ever more powerfully linked to the promotion of democracy and human rights in the modern world.

Civil society can encompass any collection of nongovernmental activists, organizations, congregations, writers and/or reporters. They bring a broad range of opinions to the marketplace of ideas and are considered critical to a vibrant, well-functioning democracy. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton has described a free civil society as the third critical element to democracy – the other two being a representative government and a well-functioning market.

Social media consists of forms of electronic communication – typically using Internet- and mobile-based tools – which allow the creation of online communities to share information and ideas.

Pakistani University students use their mobile phones to record video of a protest condemning the killing of the governor of Punjab.

Civil society increasingly relies on social media because it is accessible, fast, efficient and easy to use. Seeing how social media can buttress civil society, the Obama administration launched an initiative back in 2009 to help grassroots organizations around the world master and effectively use digital technology.

In some countries with repressive governments that control traditional print, radio and televised media, social media may be the only access people have to unfettered discussions of issues. Philip Howard, an associate professor and author of the soon-to-be released book called “The Digital Origins of Dictatorship and Democracy,” says that for civil society in the 21^st century, social media creates “a digital ‘safe harbor’ in which conversations can incubate.”

“Information infrastructure is politics,” Howard says. “In many nations, it also is far more participatory than the prevailing traditional political culture. As a result, the new technology-based politics democratizes the old, elite-driven arrangements. Every time a citizen documents a human rights abuse with her mobile phone, uses a shared spreadsheet to track state expenditures, or pools information about official corruption, she strengthens civil society and strikes a blow for democracy.”

Social media, of course, is a double-edged sword: it can be used for good as well as for ill. The question is: Will the good uses outweigh the bad? What do you think?

Tunisia’s Viral Spread of Compassion, Rebellion

Posted on 6 February 2011 by oechslele

For months, the world has followed the unrest and protest in North Africa stemming from unemployment throughout Tunisia and Egypt. America.gov asked Bilel Bouraoui and several Tunisian entrepreneurs to share their stories of business development amid the strife in their region.

Bilel Bouraoui

My co-founders and I left the San Francisco Bay area for Tunisia two years ago to meet Tunisian venture capital funds managers and start an online social media business. We had no idea that we were going to witness one of the first social-media fueled revolutions.

We were aware of the Internet’s potential to change the region and the country where we were born, but we were far from grasping the extent to which the country’s tech-savvy, highly-educated youth would embrace it and integrate it into their lifestyle. It was obvious that a new generation of incredibly talented and creative young people had emerged. Yet, we had no clues to the plethora of skills they collectively showed.

It all started with Mohamed Bouazizi, a jobless young man from a remote town ending his own life after suffering an overwhelming injustice. As his story resounded so heavily in the hearts and minds of his region’s youth, they all stepped in to denounce a regime that seemingly no longer cares for its citizens.

That was the beginning of a month-long spiral during which the regime repressed its people, news and shocking videos spread over the Internet, and more people joined the revolution. Compassion and rebellion spread virally through social media networks. For weeks, young people across the country spent their days chanting in the streets and their nights exchanging information on the web until the whole nation was on the same wavelength. Pressure has mounted, people have died, and as more of them died, more became united and determined until the regime could no longer stand the pressure and collapsed.

Determination, compassion and creativity are the skills that helped the young people of my country achieve what once was considered impossible.

For an Internet entrepreneur, living the “Revolution 2.0” from the inside was a humbling experience. It is a promise for a better future, not only for Tunisia but for all nations with a young and well-connected population.

Egyptians Create Their Own Paths to Freedom of Speech

Posted on 2 February 2011 by Tanya Brothen

What do you do when officials in your country are limiting freedom of speech, but you have a message to distribute to the world? That’s a question some Egyptians have been dealing with as they demonstrate in the streets and call for economic and political reforms. The answer for many has been to create new paths of communication using old technologies.

And Egyptians’ communication workarounds seem to be working. When the Egyptian government hit the “Internet kill switch,” effectively shutting down access to the web in Egypt, citizens turned to DSL dialup services, modem-sharing, and have even created what has been called an independent “mesh” of connections that allow them to circumvent official Egyptian networks. Fax machines have also proven useful tools for distributing information within the country as well as sending messages out to the international press. Once Egyptian officials reestablished mobile phone service, Egyptian citizens started using Google’s new speak-to-tweet service, calling a designated number to leave a voicemail message that would then be turned into a tweet and broadcast via Twitter.

Many consider such technologies – fax machines, dial-up, and voicemail – out-dated, but they have proven invaluable to activists and regular citizens who have been cut off from more modern communication tools. By turning to these technologies, and with help from companies, organizations, and regular men and women outside of Egypt who are sympathetic to the Egyptian cause, Egypt’s citizens are creating their own paths to Freedom of Speech.

Learn more:

President Obama’s statement on the events in Egypt

United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Haiti Braces for Tropical Storm / New U.S. Central Bank Initiative / Social Media, Social Change

Posted on 4 November 2010 by Sara Lichterman

The U.S. is helping Haiti prepare for tropical storm Tomas. The Federal Reserve announces an aggressive new economic plan while the U.S. Treasury announces new sanctions on terror groups. Americans celebrate their heritage in many ways; explore a photo gallery showing some of them. And finally, watch a video of students from America and Kosovo discussing the potential of social media for effecting social change.

Haiti Braces for Storm, With U.S. Help
U.S. civilian and military personnel are helping the Haitian government prepare its people for tropical storm Tomas which is bearing down on the island nation. Of special concern: More than one million Haitians who have lived in temporary shelters after being displaced from their homes by the January 13 earthquake. At right, a man holds a child in a refugee camp.

New Action by U.S. Central Bank
The Federal Reserve has stepped in to boost the sputtering U.S. economy with an aggressive plan to buy $600 billion in U.S. Treasury securities aimed at reducing interest rates and spurring employment. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, right, says the buying of Treasury securities has helped in the past and looks to be effective again.

New Sanctions for Terror Groups
The U.S. Treasury Department announces actions against the financial and support networks of two Pakistan-based terrorist groups, including sanctions to seize or freeze the assets of their key leaders. The two terrorist groups, Lashkar-e Tayyiba and Jaish-e Mohammed, “have proven both their willingness and ability to execute attacks against innocent civilians,” says Under Secretary Stuart Levey.

Americans Preserving Cultural Heritage
Americans preserve music, dance and other cultural expressions by living and celebrating them in communities both large and small. This photo gallery explores ways Americans celebrate their cultural heritages. It includes shots from a Vietnamese Cultural Center in Boston, Massachusetts; a steel drum performance in Houston, Texas; and a Scottish Heritage Festival and Celtic Gathering in West Virginia. The photo gallery is part of an eJournal called “A Living Legacy: Preserving Intangible Culture”

Student Dialogue: New Media and Social Change
In the below video, students from the United States and Kosovo meet in Washington, D.C. to discuss the role of new media tools, such as Facebook and Twitter, and their profound effects on social change. One woman says that the international view of Kosovo as a whole has changed because observers see that young people in Kosovo are up-to-date on movies, culture and global issues and are not “all about war.” Another woman discusses how social media “gives people a voice who didn’t have a voice before.” See what others had to say.

[video href = "http://www.america.gov/multimedia/video.html?videoId=653165684001"]

Accelerate Innovation: Engage the User

Posted on 12 March 2010 by guest

Thomas Jelle is the managing director of Wireless Trondheim Ltd and an assistant professor in the Department of Telematics at Norwegian University of Science & Technology.

Experts and entrepreneurs from around the world discuss what governments can do to promote high-tech entrepreneurship and what the shape of technology entrepreneurship will be in the future.

Since the emergence of social media such as Facebook, consumers have a new way to share their opinions with providers of services and products. If enough consumers have similar interests and speak with a united voice, they are likely to be heard. They provide valuable feedback to producers, allowing them to adapt their existing products to new trends or user demands.

Across Europe users have been heard and have had influence on products and services. But why not use consumers in the product development process as well? It can be of great value if done correctly.

Developing new products or services, especially those involving advanced technology, can take years. Even if you have an idea for a product or service that is perfect the day you came up with it, that product or service may be obsolete once it hits the market as society’s and users’ needs change. By involving the consumer in all stages of product development, you will be able to adapt your product to the changing trends and avoid costly or impossible changes just before your product is ready. By keeping the processes open and involving the user, you can accelerate innovation while minimizing the risk of a product failure. Furthermore, this will ensure that when your product reaches the market, it will really sell, and that is what innovation is all about.

Governments that want to pave the way for innovative initiatives should help establish arenas for open innovation [making the boundaries between the firm and its environment more porous to facilitate two-way innovation transfer]. These are arenas, or “living labs,” where producers can develop and test products together with the consumer. Several living labs have been set up in Europe in the last few years, and they are starting to spread to other parts of the world.

I believe that the best way to utilize living labs is to link them with business incubation centers or universities, while maintaining close ties between the public sector and businesses. In Norway, we have set up Wireless Trondheim Living Lab as a collaborative effort between the public and private sectors, with the Norwegian University of Technology and Science as a key player. So far the results are promising, with new companies being established and new products being developed. Wireless Trondheim Living Lab and three other Nordic living labs have developed a toolbox that describes the experience of and techniques for user-driven innovation.

Notes from a Franklin Fellow: China, Blogs and the Meaning of Diplomacy

Posted on 24 February 2010 by guest

Guest blogger Frederick W. Marrazzo comes to the State Department via Silicon Valley in Northern California, where he helped recruit for a variety of technology companies before starting to produce his own public access television program in 2004. In 2007, Frederick completed a book project on the local Italian community in the Santa Clara Valley. He has a degree in East Asian languages and literature from the University of Maryland at College Park and an MBA from the Thunderbird School of Global Management in Glendale, Arizona.

As a Franklin Fellow with the Bureau of International Information Programs, which was part of the United States Information Agency until 1999 when the agency merged with the State Department, I have the opportunity to work as a member of the Chinese blogging project where I scan blogs in both English and Chinese.

The goal of digital outreach is meant to help the United States government carry out the mission of public diplomacy by communicating with audiences from different countries. Social media tools such as blogs give voice to more people than ever before.

As I read through some of the stories and comments that are highlighted on Chinese blog postings, I am reminded of why freedom of speech is so important to the American way of life and why we should encourage China to be more tolerant of different points of view.

A blog post on the China Digital Times points out a story in which the Xinhua News Agency, China’s official news outlet (i.e., Communist Party approved), conducted an interview with the police chief of a small county in Inner Mongolia, an autonomous region of China. In it, he talks about what is known as the “Three Ones” program, which recruits police informants from local citizens.

The meaning of “Three Ones” is derived from the numbers 10,000, 1,000 and 100. The 10,000 figure represents the number of informants that every police division is expected to recruit from their communities, villages, work units and other areas. The 1,000 figure comes from informants recruited by the actual combat units that include criminal investigation, economic investigation, Domestic Security Departments, Public Information Security Supervision, public safety and police stations. Finally, the 100 figure includes additional special criminal intelligence gatherers that come from the groups just mentioned.

According to the police chief, just over 12,000 people serve as informants to the local government in a county of just 400,000 people! Obviously “Three Ones” multiply very quickly.

Another story that I read, about a veteran of the “Counterattack Against Vietnam in Self Defense,” a punitive war between China and Vietnam that lasted just under a month from February to March 1979, clarified for me just how humiliating war can be. This made me realize that the work that we do at the State Department on a daily basis has an impact on world peace. When people die because of actions taken by governments, it underscores the urgency of diplomacy. Diplomacy is dignity.

Needless to say, I’m really glad to be contributing to the public diplomacy mission of the U.S. Department of State.