Youth Soccer Promotes Peace and Reconciliation in Kenya
Posted by Karin L. Von Hippel / March 01, 2013
![Youths participate in an annual soccer tournament and sports day in the village of Kogelo in western Kenya, Nov. 4, 2012. [AP File Photo]](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20130302082407im_/http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2013_0301_kenya_soccer_m.jpg)
About the Author: Karin L. Von Hippel serves as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of Conflict and Stabilization Operations.
At a massive youth soccer tournament last weekend in Nairobi, the competition was peaceful, and the hope in Kenya is that the election season also will be peaceful.
Kenyans want to avoid the kind of violence that occurred after the 2007 elections. In Nairobi's Mathare slum, one of Africa's poorest and largest and a hotspot of violence in 2007, more than 20 people have died as a result of inter-ethnic fighting in recent months. Bob Munro, who created the Mathare Youth Sports Association (MYSA) in 1987, thought that a big tournament might be a good way to ease tensions.
Munro has an impressive track record. MYSA was designed, in part, to employ sports to help youngsters gain self-confidence and leadership skills. Besides offering athletics, the nonprofit supports activities that fight child labor, creates libraries and study halls, and helps kids with disabilities… more »
In Rome, Secretary Kerry Announces Nonlethal Assistance to Syria
Posted by Jared Caplan / March 01, 2013
![U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry Kerry delivers a joint press statement with Syrian Opposition Council Chairman Mouaz al-Khatib and Italian Foreign Minister Giulio Terzi in Rome, Italy, on February 28, 2013. [State Department photo/ Public Domain]](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20130302082407im_/http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2013_0301_kerry_syria_italy_m.jpg)
About the Author: Jared Caplan serves as a spokesperson and deputy director of the U.S. Department of State Regional Media Hub in Dubai.
Stop four of Secretary Kerry's Europe trip landed him in Rome and culminated with an announcement of $60 million in non-lethal assistance to strengthen the organizational capacity of the Syrian Opposition Coalition (SOC). With this announcement, the United States is now providing more than $115 million in non-lethal support for the civilian opposition. As liberated areas across Syria struggle to rebuild their communities without the support of the central government, this additional assistance will enable the SOC to help enhance the capacity of local councils and communities so they can expand the delivery of basic goods and essential services, fulfill administrative functions, and extend the rule of law.
Significantly, the Secretary also announced that the United States would extend the… more »
Supporting Culture and Better Futures in Afghanistan
Posted by Tara D. Sonenshine / February 28, 2013
![In this Feb. 6, 2013, photo, Afghan actor Fawad Mohammadi 14, rides a horse on Nader Khan's hill at the one of the areas where a part of the Afghani Oscar Nominee film titled Buzkashi Boys, shot in Kabul, Afghanistan. [AP File Photo]](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20130302082407im_/http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2013_0228_afghan_boys_m.jpg)
About the Author: Tara Sonenshine serves as Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs.
This past month I had the opportunity to meet two incredible groups of young artists from Afghanistan -- and to see firsthand evidence of how our public diplomacy efforts for young people in that country are bearing fruit. It was also a chance to underscore our commitment to support the strengthening and preservation of national cultures around the world.
The first artists were students of the Afghanistan National Institute of Music (ANIM), who began a State Department-funded tour in the United States with a concert of traditional Afghan music. I had the pleasure of introducing them, and we were joined by Secretary of State John F. Kerry, who shared his own love for music with the audience. Over the course of their… more »
Swazi Artists Bring Dr. King’s Values Alive Through Music, Poetry, and Art
Posted by Makila James / February 28, 2013
![Young man plays the guitar at a concert arranged by the U.S. Embassy in Swaziland to commemorate the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., January 24, 2013. [State Department Photo/Public Domain]](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20130302082407im_/http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2013_0228_swaziland_concert_m.JPG)
About the Author: Makila James serves as the U.S. Ambassador to Swaziland.
As we mark the end of Black History Month, which U.S. embassies and consulates commemorated worldwide in February, I'd like to take a moment to celebrate the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
In January, U.S. Embassy Mbabane joined with some of Swaziland's most talented musicians, artists, and poets for a special event held at my residence. We invited the artists to create original works reflecting Dr. King's values and the current situation in Swaziland and the world today. The result was an amazing afternoon of music, poetry, and art that brought together government officials, opposition members, youth leaders, business people, and artists, to commemorate Dr. King's legacy through Swazi eyes.
Through hip-hop, spoken word, Swazi soul, and… more »
A Press Avail in Paris
Posted by Mitchell Moss / February 28, 2013
![U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius hold a joint press conference after their working lunch in Paris, France, February 27, 2013. [State Department photo/ Public Domain]](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20130302082407im_/http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2013_0228_paris_press_avail_m.jpg)
About the Author: Mitchell Moss serves as Spokesperson at the U.S. Embassy in Paris, France.
We were all waiting for lunch to finish and Secretary Kerry to come striding through the ornate double doors that lead into the "Salon de l'Horloge" with French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius.
Built by Napoleon III in 1855, "ornate" doesn't begin to describe the Salon de l'Horloge, whose antique clock reminded all that the presser was now 45 minutes late. Framed in the floor to ceiling windows of the Quai d'Orsay was postcard Paris: “bateaux mouches” were plying the flooded Seine, and the elongated domes of Sacre Coeur could be seen on Montmartre in the distance, still showing traces of snow from a few days earlier.
Earlier that morning, the Secretary had stopped to shake hands with the motorcycle escort parked near… more »
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