On the heels of the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence (GBV), which ran from November 25 through December 10, the United States engaged with regional partners to spur action against GBV within our own hemisphere. Gender-based violence is a global epidemic that has no boundaries. According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, every one of the Caribbean islands has a sexual violence rate that is higher than the world average.
From December 11 to 13, I had the privilege of being part of the first Caribbean Dialogue on Rule of Law and Gender-Based Violence, co-hosted by the Department of State and Florida International University (FIU) in Miami. Approximately 80 representatives from 12 countries of the… more »
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 »
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 »
Following Navy's 17-13 win over Army earlier this month, you may have seen the Washington 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… more »
Mayke Randa was sitting in a conference room in San Francisco earlier this month when her hand shot into the air. She was eager to talk to the representative from Medic Mobile, a tech company in San Francisco that uses mobile technology to improve healthcare in challenging settings. "I use Twitter and Facebook to run five non-governmental organizations in Indonesia, but we haven't used mobile phones for outreach. Today is a fantastic moment for me to meet the people behind important new social networking tools. I can bring this experience and knowledge back to my organizations and make a real impact."
Mayke founded of a social movement in Indonesia called "Blood for Life" that uses online tools to connect blood donors and patients in dire need of transfusions. She is one of 25 activists from… more »
Do you know which country's constitution promises that a minimum of 60 percent its land area will be maintained as forest for all time? Which country's government pledges to protect, conserve, and improve the pristine environment and safeguard the biodiversity of the country; prevent pollution and ecological degradation; secure ecologically balanced sustainable development while promoting justifiable economic and social development; and ensure a safe and healthy environment? The answer is the Kingdom of Bhutan, a small Himalayan country located between China and India. Bhutan's use of a "Gross National Happiness" index to measure progress, rather than GDP, is well-known, but fewer people know of the importance that Bhutan attaches to conserving its natural environment and biodiversity.
The Second Asian Ministerial Conference on Tiger Conservation held in Thimphu, Bhutan… more »
Here are just a few stories that you may have missed from the Department of State in 2012:
1. The U.S. Department of State designated January 2012 as 21st Century Statecraft Month, which kicked-off a year-long commitment to digital engagement, including our first nine-language Twitter Q&A and first Persian-language Google+ Hangout.
2. The State Department announced improvements to the visa process and a decrease in the interview wait times in key tourism markets, such as Brazil and China, as part of the State Department's… more »
As Christmas approaches, my husband and I are almost halfway through our year-long assignment to Kabul. Serving at an unaccompanied post was not something we had to do, but something we chose to do. We expected the work to be interesting and rewarding, but we had no idea how many special, rare, and unique moments were in store for us.
I consider myself enormously privileged to have the opportunity to meet a wide variety of Afghans, many of them students and many of them incredibly brave. I value the brief glimpses into the lives of others, the few moments when I learn a little about the difficulties that other people face daily.
In a provincial capital, women talked about some of the obstacles that prevent girls getting an education. In one village, for example, girls cannot go to school after sixth grade because there is no female teacher and adolescent… more »
The recently completed World Conference on International Telecommunications (WCIT) demonstrated that there is not yet a global consensus on certain fundamental issues concerning the telecom and Internet sectors. Nevertheless, the WCIT highlighted the importance of continuing the conversation about those issues, and we would like to highlight two areas where there is potential for progress.
First, the United States Delegation and many allies remain fully committed to the inclusive multi-stakeholder Internet governance model, which is a pillar of the Internet's great success. The Internet has thrived under the multi-stakeholder governance model to become a worldwide phenomenon, and our support for that model is unwavering. The multi-stakeholder governance model must be a welcoming environment for all stakeholders, including governments. Concomitantly, we hope the… more »
My journey on the road to Samarkand brings me to the Navoi International Airport and cargo facility, where I am met by airport executives who brief me and my colleagues on the joint venture cargo operation between Uzbekistan Airways and Korean Air. They give us a tour of the site, noting that Korea is Uzbekistan's fourth largest trading partner, after Russia, China, and Kazakhstan. Trade with the United States, on the other hand, is a mere two percent of Uzbekistan's total trade, highlighting the enormous potential for future growth. On the tour, I learn that weekly flights from New Delhi, Mumbai, Dhaka, and other South and East Asian cities use the facility for shipping their goods to Europe, Russia, and the Middle East -- a very modern incarnation of the ancient Silk Road.… more »
DipNote is the official blog of the U.S. Department of State—a place to share stories, discuss experiences, and inspire new ideas on the important foreign policy issues of the day. more »
Secretary Kerry (Feb. 22): "We meet as very special friends in a very strong alliance, an alliance that I can say to you is really evolving into a global partnership and which is critical to the peace and security of the Asia Pacific." President's Re more »
During her Feb. 25-26 trip, Assistant Secretary Brimmer delivers remarks at UNESCO's 10-year review event for the World Summit on Information Society (WSIS+10) and at the UN Human Rights Council opening session. more »
![Children play in Kingston, Jamaica, May 30, 2010. [AP File Photo]](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20130224111349im_/http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2012_1231_jamaica_women_m.jpg)
![Students and parents at the Majuro Cooperative School honor the victims of Sandy Hook in the Republic of the Marshall Islands on December 21, 2012. [U.S. Embassy Photo/Public Domain]](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20130224111349im_/http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2012_1221_coop_honors_sandy_hook.__m.jpg)
![Under Secretary Sonenshine and Acting Under Secretary Gottemoeller pose for a photo with a student group the Tomorrow’s Women in Science and Technology (TWIST) in an event at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science & Technology in Alexandria, Virginia. [State Department photo/ Public Domain]](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20130224111349im_/http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/1228_2012_empowering_women_engaging_girls_m.JPG)
![A Navy Wide Receiver catches a pass over an Army Cornerback in the Navy vs. Army football game in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on Dec. 8, 2012. [AP Photo]](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20130224111349im_/http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/1208_2012_navy_army_football_game_m.jpg)
![Augusta Babson, a Program Officer in the Office of International Visitors in the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, poses for a photo with a participant in a U.S. Department of State-sponsored International Visitor Leadership Program exchange program at Twitter Headquarters in San Francisco, California, December 2012. [State Department photo/ Public Domain]](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20130224111349im_/http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2012_1222_twitter_m.jpg)
![U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton meets with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, Chair of the National League for Democracy and Member of Parliament from Kawmhu Constituency, at the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C., September 18, 2012. [State Department photo/ Public Domain]](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20130224111349im_/http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2012_1222_S_Daw_Aung_San_Suu_Kyi_m.jpg)
![Afghans walk down a snow covered road after a snowstorm in Kabul, Afghanistan, January 23, 2012. [AP File Photo]](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20130224111349im_/http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2012_1222_afghanistan_m.jpg)
![A man works on his laptop as his iPhone lays beside it at a coffee shop in Columbia, Missouri, May 13, 2009. [AP File Photo]](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20130224111349im_/http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2012_1222_computer_missouri_m.jpg)
![The Amir Temur Museum in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, shown January 2002, houses information about Temur, the 14th century conqueror and Uzbek national hero, as well as exhibits on the history of Uzbekistan. [AP File Photo]](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20130224111349im_/http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2012_1222_tashkent_uzbekistan_1_m.jpg)