Photo of the Week: Increasing Women’s Economic Participation in the Americas
About the Author: Hannah Johnson serves as an Assistant Editor for DipNote.
Our “Photo of the Week” shows Deputy Secretary of State William Burns and Colombian Vice Foreign Minister Patti Londono signing a memorandum of understanding on the Small Business Network of the Americas in Cali, Colombia, October 23, 2012.
Deputy Secretary Burns and Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere AffairsRoberta Jacobsontraveled to Cali for the fifth Pathways to Prosperity in the Americas ministerial. The government of Colombia hosted the event, attended by high-level government officials, policy makers, business leaders, academics, and representatives from international organizations throughout the… more »
Deputy Secretary of State William Burns and Colombian Vice Foreign Minister Patti Londono sign a memorandum of understanding on the Small Business Network of the Americas on the sidelines of the Pathways to Prosperity in the Americas ministerial in Cali, Colombia, October 23, 2012. [State Department photo/ Public Domain]
It Starts With One: Alumni, Youth Empowerment, and a Vision for a Better Future
About the Author: Jeff Weinshenker serves as a Public Diplomacy Officer in the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs.
It all starts with one. One idea. One individual. One community. And one vision for a better future.
It starts with Juan Pablo in Bolivia teaching at-risk youth how to express themselves through sports and culture, developing their own identity so others won’t define it for them.
It starts with Martha in Costa Rica or Yelitza in Panama, who found ways to reach the “unreachable” — gang members, drug users, and school dropouts in whom others had given up hope.
Sometimes it begins with an idea — teaching robotics to 10-year-olds in a drug-ravaged community in Costa Rica. Piece by piece, with the support of dedicated adults, these boys and girls learn to construct something bigger — engines, cars, complex systems — and along the way, they rebuild themselves and their neighborhoods.
Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs Roberta S. Jacobson, State Department Director of Policy Planning Jake Sullivan, and U.S. Chief of Protocol Capricia Penavic Marshall discuss their work at the UN General Assembly in New York. [Go to http://video.state.gov for more video and text transcript.]
Increasing Access to Affordable Electricity Across the Hemisphere
On Thursday, I had the pleasure of participating in a meeting with Secretary Clinton that she co-hosted with Colombian Foreign Minister Maria Ángela Holguin to advanceConnecting the Americas 2022 (Connect 2022), the newest initiative under the Energy and Climate Partnership of the Americas. The meeting included many foreign ministers from the Western Hemisphere and focused on how Connect 2022 aims to increase energy access to citizens across our hemisphere.
More than 31 million people in the Western Hemisphere lack access to affordable, reliable energy services. Compared to the rest of the world, the Americas has high rates of electricity access, but far too many… more »
Security and Partnership in the Americas: All in a Day’s Work
A few weeks back, I had the privilege of attending a remarkable event where I witnessed teams from many nations come together to put their bodies and minds to the test, competing against one another in a series of athletic events to see who would emerge as the true champion. I wasn’t at the London Olympics; I was in the middle of Tolemaida, Colombia at the Ninth Annual Fuerzas Comando exercise, a competition featuring special operations forces from 21 countries, and came to face-off with elite military forces from across the Western Hemisphere.
Around the world, Foreign Policy Advisors (POLADs) — diplomats assigned to serve as advisors to U.S. military commanders in the United States and overseas — have become a key element in forging “whole of government” solutions and approaches that combine diplomacy, development and defense in pursuing our nation’s foreign policy…more »
U.S. Deputy Secretary of State William J. Burns Delivers Remarks With Colombian Minister of Foreign Affairs Maria Angela Holguin in Bogota, Colombia on July 31, 2012. [Go to http://video.state.gov for more video and text transcript.]
Trade Is Not Just for the Coasts, It’s for the Heartland Too
When most Americans think of states that export, the ones on the coasts or those bordering Mexico or Canada are usually the first to come to mind. We tend to think of computer chips from California or beef from Texas. What most Americans are missing, however, are the export powerhouses that exist in the middle of our country, at America’s heart. Colorado is a perfect example. While it is a landlocked state in the middle of the country, it also sits between Canada and Mexico, and at the midpoint between Tokyo and Frankfurt. Last year, Colorado exported over $7 billion worth of goods and services to countries around the world.
The United States was born a trading nation in 1776, and commerce has been the essential life blood of the United States and our entrepreneurial spirit. In observance of the annual World Trade Week, the World Trade Center Denver hosted a World… more »
U.S.-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement Enters Into Force
One and a half million Colombian flowers were sent to the United States on May 14 as the first shipment under the U.S.-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement, which goes into force today. The United States is the largest market… more »
Colombia’s Women: Making Peace and Prosperity a Reality
About the Author: Melanne Verveer serves as the Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s Issues at the Department of State.
From warm and walled Cartagena to temperate and sprawling Bogota, Colombia is a country whose 46 million people represent the very definition of a nation redefining itself. I recently had the opportunity to spend a few days in Colombia, where Secretary Clinton launched WEAmericas, a new initiative focused on women entrepreneurs — one of the greatest drivers of economic growth. I also visited Bogota, where I spoke with government and civil society leaders on the global scourge of gender-based violence (GBV) and how we can better collaborate to prevent, respond to and address this issue.
More than 50 years of internal armed conflict has had a devastating impact on many of Colombia’s women. Nearly 80 percent of those displaced by the conflict are women and children. Only a small number… more »
![Deputy Secretary of State William Burns and Colombian Vice Foreign Minister Patti Londono sign a memorandum of understanding on the Small Business Network of the Americas on the sidelines of the Pathways to Prosperity in the Americas ministerial in Cali, Colombia, October 23, 2012. [State Department photo/ Public Domain]](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20130216184930im_/http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2012_1026_burns_colombia_m.jpg)
![Deputy Secretary of State William Burns and Colombian Vice Foreign Minister Patti Londono sign a memorandum of understanding on the Small Business Network of the Americas on the sidelines of the Pathways to Prosperity in the Americas ministerial in Cali, Colombia, October 23, 2012. [State Department photo/ Public Domain]](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20130216184930im_/http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_mcd1g7lBtF1qcug8io1_500.jpg)
![Regional Alumni Enrichment Workshop on Youth Empowerment and Citizen Security in Costa Rica [State Department photo/ Public Domain]](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20130216184930im_/http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2012_1011_costarica_alumni_m.jpg)
![Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, alongside Columbian Foreign Minister Maria Angela Holguin Cuellarmeets, center left, addresses the Connecting the Americas meeting on the margins of the United Nations General Assembly, Sept. 27, 2012 in New York. [AP Photo]](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20130216184930im_/http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2012_0928_connecting_americas_m.jpg)
![Twenty-one special operations forces teams stand ready on the parade field displaying their nations colors during the opening ceremony at the Colombian National Training Center at Fort Tolemaida on June 6, 2012. [Photo by 107th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment]](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20130216184930im_/http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2012_0814_pm_m.jpg)
![The snow capped Rocky Mountains are pictured over the Denver skyline on March 17, 2007. [AP File Photo]](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20130216184930im_/http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2012_0425_denver_m.jpg)
![A shipment of flowers was the first commercial shipment from Colombia to the United States under the Free Trade Agreement between the countries, May 14, 2012. [U.S. Embassy photo/ Public Domain]](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20130216184930im_/http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2012_0515_colombia_roses_m.jpg)
![Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women's Issues Melanne Verveer meets with Colombian woman entrepreneurs alongside the launch of WEAmericas. [State Department photo/ Public Domain]](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20130216184930im_/http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2012_0423_verveer_weamerica1_m.jpg)
