The Aging Population: Economic Growth and Global Competitiveness
On Tuesday, February 14, the Council on Foreign Relations is holding a meeting on the "The U.S. Aging Population as an Economic Growth Driver for Global Competitiveness." The event is timely. Standard & Poor's reports that "No other force is likely to shape the future of national economic health, public finances and policy-making as the irreversible rate at which the world"s population is aging."Hence, it's vital that we create opportunities to enable older persons to contribute to their economies and communities in increasingly effective and productive ways. This will require new policies and innovations that promote healthy aging, including advances in medicine, continued learning, and cultural norms regarding aging. As population aging is elevated to the global agenda, the countries that capitalize on the increasing percentage of older adults, and are able to increasingly…...
Through Cultural Diplomacy, Sparking Conversations on the Silver Screen
The American Film Showcase, a partnership between the U.S. Department of State and the University of Southern California's School of Cinematic Arts, uses film as a public diplomacy tool to bring people together and foster greater understanding across cultures. An arts-based exchange, the Showcase is a dynamic way to share the vision, artistry and diverse viewpoints of American filmmakers. USC convened a committee of 23 notable filmmakers, academics and film experts that recommended a slate of films for their cinematic mastery and without regard to specific policies or practices depicted in the film. The program, like so many of the Department's public diplomacy initiatives, demonstrates the diversity of thought and style in the United States.This was the basis of a two-day…...
President’s Budget Request Reflects Strong Commitment on Global AIDS
Today, the Obama Administration issued the President's budget request for fiscal year (FY) 2013. It demonstrates that the United States remains fully committed to the fight against global AIDS, and will meet the President's ambitious targets for HIV/AIDS treatment and prevention announced on World AIDS Day 2011. I am so proud that, even in a challenging budget environment with strict budget caps, the Administration has continued to make this work a priority.This budget will enable PEPFAR to achieve the President's stated goals for the program, including on prevention and supporting 6 million people on treatment by the end of 2013. As we move towards creating an AIDS-free generation,…...
Fiscal Year 2013 Budget Request
More: FY 2013 Executive Budget Summary | Fact Sheet | Foreign Assistance DashboardToday, Deputy Secretary of State Thomas Nides and U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Administrator Rajiv Shah discussed the FY 2013 State Department and USAID budget. Deputy Secretary Nides said, "State and USAID account for just one percent of the federal budget. ... Today, I want to explain how we use that one percent to make the outsized contribution to America's prosperity, security, and leadership."
Deputy Secretary Nides continued, "This budget follows a…...
Syria: “The Violence Is Not Equal”
Editor's Note: This entry appeared first on the U.S. Embassy Syria Facebook page. You can find additional satellite imagery of Syrian military movements here.The violence is not equal.
Yesterday I put out a note about the situation in Syria as I've witnessed it from the ground and since leaving the country. A terrible and tragic development in Syria is the use of heavy weaponry by the Assad regime against residential neighborhoods.…...
Entrepreneurship and Economic Growth in North Africa
Just as my Department of State colleagues witnessed the entrepreneurial spirit of the Arab Spring with Jordanian entrepreneurs in Washington, D.C., I experienced that same spirit energizing the halls of the Ryad Mogador Agdal in Marrakech, Morocco.I recently participated in the second U.S.-Maghreb Entrepreneurship Conference, initially launched one year ago in Algiers just weeks before the uprisings in Tunisia that sparked the Arab Spring. The conference was the annual partnership meeting of the ...
Photo of the Week: Innovation and Global Development
Our "Photo of the Week" comes to us from USAID photographer Morgana Wingard and depicts women collecting clean drinking water. Abebow Gesesse, the owner of a poultry farm in Mojo, Ethiopia, received a loan from Dashen Bank thanks to a USAID guarantee through their Development Credit Authority program. The loan allowed him to buy his own truck, construct an additional barn, and build a well and water pump for his farm. Abebow invited the 200 households in his town to access the water at no cost. One of the women said, "Before we had access to this water pump we would have to walk 6 kilometers to be able to purchase clean water. Abebow lets the community access his…...Bridging Technology and Sustainable Development: A Closer Look at the Rio+2.0 Conference
The Department of State's Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs and Office of E-Diplomacy recently teamed up with Stanford University to host Rio+2.0: Bridging Connection Technologies and Sustainable Development.Held on-site at the Stanford Graduate School of Business in Palo Alto, California, the three-day conference energized the global discussion about connection technologies and how they can foster the global sustainable development agenda. The interactive event also explored the issues…...
A Note on Recent Events in Syria
Editor's Note: This entry appeared first on the U.S. Embassy Syria Facebook page. You can find additional satellite imagery of Syrian military movements here.First, like people around the world, my colleagues and friends are watching the video coming out of Homs and some of the other Syrian cities in the last days with horror and revulsion. I hear the devastating stories about newborns in Homs dying in hospitals where electricity has been cut and when we see disturbing photos offering proof that the regime is using mortars and artillery against residential neighborhoods,…...
Inequality and the Lost Generation
Recent events at the start of 2012 offer a glimpse of the struggles that lay ahead, both in the United States and abroad. From the Occupy Wall Street movement, to young people airing their grievances throughout the Middle East and beyond, all these events are indicative of a larger and more fundamental issue. The issue is one that President Obama framed for Americans clearly in his State of the Union Address:"The basic American promise that if you worked hard, you could do well enough to raise a family, own a home, send your kids to college, and put a little away for retirement...[is] the defining issue of our time...how to keep the promise alive... No challenge is more urgent. No debate is more important...we can restore an economy where everyone gets a fair…...