As a program officer with the U.S. Department of State's Foreign Press Center, I help make sure foreign journalists reporting on the United States have access to U.S. government officials and receive information on U.S. foreign policy. Yesterday, I had the opportunity to share with a group of foreign journalists one of America's greatest traditions -- volunteerism.
On a cold, brisk Saturday morning, the journalists and I joined volunteers from all walks of life at the D.C. Armory, where individuals were assembling personal care kits for U.S. service members, first responders, and wounded warriors. Grandmothers, students, families, and military veterans were united together at the armory, as they participated in this National Day of Service project to honor… more »
Have you participated in a State Department-sponsored exchange program? Stay connected. Do you teach English abroad? We have free resources to help. Do you want to engage in citizen diplomacy? One of these new websites holds the information you need to get you started.
After extensive research and planning, five of ECA's websites have been given a sleek redesign in order to better serve our audiences. The launch includes five distinct new websites, each uniquely designed to provide people around the globe with the information they need to engage in citizen diplomacy and English teaching/learning activities. The redesigned sites allow Americans and foreign audiences to easily discover how they can be a part of the Department's academic, cultural, sports, youth, professional, or private sector exchanges.
International Exchange Alumni, American English, Exchanges,… more »
On our final day of this multi-blog series on partnerships, I'd like to highlight other ways in which the Global Partnership Initiative helped advance a number of other meaningful partnership activities. These partnership "wins" include:
- Liberalizing Innovation Opportunity Nations (LIONS@FRICA): In May, I helped launch the LIONS@FRICA partnership at the World Economic Forum on Africa along with key public and private sector partners to strengthen… more »
Continuing our series on global partnerships, today's entry highlights major achievements for diaspora engagement in 2012. We also spotlight a brand-new flagship -- the culmination of three years of work -- that is now being piloted in Brazil. Check out our infographic highlighting these partnerships, read more about our efforts, and share your thoughts with us in the comments section.
The Future Leaders Exchange Program (FLEX) began 20 years ago as a way to introduce high-school students from Eurasia to American society and in turn, expose U.S. citizens to the culture, traditions, and lifestyles of the people of Eurasia. As a sign of its success, FLEX continues to impact a new generation. Olga Pak participated in the very first cohort of students in the FLEX program in 1993-1994 and spent her exchange year in California. Aleksandr Kim, her son, is the first second-generation FLEX Program participant.
Aleksandr says his mother's positive exchange experience inspired him to pursue a FLEX scholarship. "My mother was telling me stories about her exchange year since I was 11 years old. She encouraged me to come to the United States.… more »
Throughout 2012, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton continuously emphasized the importance of partnering and cross-sectoral collaboration as a means to improve diplomacy and development outcomes around the world. At the Global Partnership Initiative, we have worked hard to achieve the Secretary's vision around partnerships by breaking down barriers to collaboration within and across the Department and with the private sector and civil society organizations. To say it's been a tremendously successful year for partnerships would be an understatement.
In 2012, we saw each of our four flagship partnerships grow and flourish beyond expectations and the focus on building partnerships… more »
As a young woman growing up in Louisiana, a career in the Foreign Service was never really on my list of life dreams -- but all that changed, beginning with graduate school and a research project in Africa that opened my eyes to the possibilities of diplomatic life.
Since joining the Department of State 31 years ago, I have lived and worked on four continents, traveling the world from Afghanistan to South Africa. I have witnessed the horror of genocide in Rwanda; I've celebrated the joy of people coming out of 15 years of war to elect the first woman president in Africa. I've never regretted those first steps out of my comfort zone and into the world of diplomacy.
I've been the face of America abroad, and I've been blessed with the opportunity to make a difference in people's lives and to represent my nation. The State Department needs the energy and passion… more »
Over the past decade, the international development community has recognized that investing in women is the most direct and effective way to promote economic growth, peace, and prosperity. Around the world, and more recently in developing countries, we have seen the transformative impact of information and communication technologies (ICTs), particularly mobile phones and the Internet. The question remains, what might be possible when we put these two powerful forces together by investing in women and ICTs in low-to-medium income countries?
This week, the U.S. Secretary of State's Office of Global Women's Issues and UN Women are convening the first International Forum on Women, ICT, and Development (WICTAD) in Washington DC,… more »
A remarkable new tool is becoming increasingly available to help end extreme poverty and ensure dignity and opportunity for people around the world -- a tool that few people think about when they consider how to bolster international development efforts. That tool is data, and in particular "open data" -- data freely available in formats that are easy to use in new and innovative ways, while rigorously protecting privacy.
The possibilities are truly endless -- it could be regional epidemiological statistics being made available to community health workers; or real-time weather information being made available to small-holder farmers; or loan information being made accessible to first-time borrowers. In these and countless other arenas, open data has the potential to not only improve transparency and coordination,… more »
Position that women accept for themselves in a society is iunfluenced by culture and values as they have evolved. Violence against women is an acute problem…
more »
Spokesperson Nuland (Feb. 23): "These attacks ... are only the latest demonstrations of the Syrian regime's ruthlessness and its lack of compassion for the Syrian people it claims to represent." 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 »
![Vice President Joe Biden, center, works with volunteers, filling care kits with necessities for deployed U.S. service members, wounded warriors, veterans and first responders, joining the National Day of Service as part of the 57th presidential inauguration in Washington, January 19, 2013. Army Capt. Cesar J. Visurraga, US Army Nurse Corps, is at left. [AP Photo]](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20130224205958im_/http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2013_0120_biden_service_m.jpg)
![Participants pose for a photograph at the DEMO Africa Forum in the Kenyatta International Conference Centre in Nairobi, Kenya, October 25, 2012. From left to right: Tom Genton, Senior Advisor, U.S. Department of State Bureau of African Affairs; Jon Gosier, CEO of Appfrica; Bahiyah Robinson, Appfrica; Barbara Birungi, Appfrica; Emmanuel Owusu Addai, Farmerline (Ghana), Apps4Africa 2011 West Africa regional winner; Marieme Jamme, Appfrica; Eric Mutta, Mini Shop Tanzania, Apps4Africa 2011 East Africa regional winner; and Thomas DeBass, Director of the Secretary of State's Office of Global Partnership Initiatives. [State Department photo/ Public Domain]](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20130224205958im_/http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2012_1025_demo_africa_m.jpg)
![Infographic on 2012 diaspora engagement by the Secretary's Office of Global Partnerships Initiative, January 2013 [State Department image]](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20130224205958im_/http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2013_0115_diaspora_engagement_m.jpg)
![Aleksandr Kim, a participant in the Future Leaders Exchange Program (FLEX), is pictured with his mother, Olga Pak, in Kyrgyzstan before travelling to the United States in January 2013. [State Department photo/ Public Domain]](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20130224205958im_/http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2013_0114_flex_program_m.jpg)
![Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade Francisco J. Sanchez introduces President Barack Obama’s video message at the Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES) in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, December 11, 2012. [State Department photo/ Public Domain]](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20130224205958im_/http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2012_1211_potus_ges_video_m.jpg)
![Special Representative for Global Partnerships Kris Balderston introduces U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton at the first-ever Global Impact Economy Forum at the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C., on April 26, 2012. [State Department photo by Ben Chang/ Public Domain]](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20130224205958im_/http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2013_0112_balderston_gpi_m.jpg)
![A woman talks on her mobile phone at an election rally in Faizabad, India, Feb. 2, 2012. [AP File Photo]](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20130224205958im_/http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2013_0110_woman_mobile_phone_m.jpg)
![USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah and U.S. Chief Technology Officer Todd Park discuss the impact of open data in the field of global development during DataJam at the White House in Washington, D.C. on December 10, 2012. [USAID Photo/ Used by Permission]](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20130224205958im_/http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2013_0103_data_jam_usaid_wh_m.jpg)
