http://blogs.state.gov/index.php/site/index/ en U.S. Department of State 2012-05-16T18:44:45+00:00 21st Century Statecraft -- complementing traditional foreign policy tools with newly innovated and adapted instruments of statecraft that fully leverage the networks, technologies, and demographics of our interconnected world.

Today marks the end of "21st Century Statecraft Month" at that State Department -- an entire month dedicated to using new tools and engaging new networks in pursuit of addressing today's challenges. During the month, I had the privilege to speak with a group of journalists and bloggers during a Live at State video web chat, the Department's interactive "virtual press briefing" platform. As the journalists, bloggers, and I discussed, we at the Department of State, much like many others, are learning and adapting to a world that's becoming increasingly disrupted, both for good and for ill, by social media. What we're seeking to do here, under the leadership of Secretary Clinton, is to keep pace, to listen, to learn, and to experiment. Hopefully, we've accomplished a little bit of each of those during the month of 21st Century Statecraft.

For starters, the Secretary's Office of Innovation and the Office of the Chief of Protocol hosted more than 100 members of the diplomatic corps to discuss online movements and social media. Ambassador Dino Djalal of Indonesia served as a special guest speaker and shared with his colleagues how he is effectively using Twitter to communicate foreign policy initiatives.

In addition, State Department Spokesperson Victoria Nuland held the Department's first-ever "Twitter Briefing," answering your questions gathered from the Department's 11 official Twitter accounts. As part of that effort, the Bureau of Public Affairs launched the Department's official Turkish-language Twitter account (@ABDTurk), which complements U.S. Mission Turkey's existing social media outreach and represents the U.S. commitment to building a strong partnership with the government and people of Turkey. @ABDTurk joins the 10 other official feeds in Arabic, Chinese, English, Farsi, French, Hindi, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, and Urdu.

Some other highlights from the month include:

· Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor Michael Posner delivered keynote remarks on January 17 at the 8th annual State of the Net Conference. Two years after Secretary Clinton first addressed global Internet freedom as a core policy priority, the Assistant Secretary reflected on the challenges and responsibilities of the public and private sector to advance a free and open Internet.

· Director of Policy Planning Jake Sullivan outlined U.S. foreign policy priorities for 2012 during a Live at State video web chat.

· Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs Esther Brimmer delivered remarks at the launch of "Teaching Respect for All," UNESCO's curriculum development program that promotes anti-racism and tolerance. U.S. Special Representative to Muslim Communities Farah Pandith, U.S. Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism Hannah Rosenthal, and other State Department officials joined a live web chat and Tweet-Up held in coordination with the event. You can join the ongoing discussion on Twitter by following the hashtag, #Dignity4All.

· Ambassador Ivo Daalder, Ambassador David Huebner, Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs Ann Stock, Acting Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs Mike Hammer, and the U.S. Missions to Haiti, New Zealand, and NATO held Twitter Q&A's to discuss various U.S. foreign policy issues.

· The U.S. Department of State launched My State Department, an optional interface on www.state.gov that allows users to customize the information they see on the website. This gives the public the opportunity to follow the issues that matter most to them -- ranging from food security to global women's issues.

Many thanks to all who participated in 21st Century Statecraft Month; we have been greatly encouraged by the positive response. As we continue to forge U.S. digital diplomacy, we hope you will continue to be a part of the conversation and stay tuned to www.state.gov, the DipNote blog, @StateDept on Twitter and the U.S. Department of State's official Facebook page for additional engagements throughout 2012.]]> http://blogs.state.gov/index.php/entires/21st_century_statecraft_continuing_the_conversation/ 2012-02-02T04:14:12+00:00
As information networks become more ubiquitous and powerful, new movements and power structures are forming, others are being disrupted, and the speed of communications is making all of this take place at a blistering fast pace. Connection technologies are changing the ecology of politics and government.

In a speech last February, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton reaffirmed the United States' commitment to Internet Freedom, the necessary backbone for people to be able to exercise their universal rights in an increasingly networked world. In her speech to a global audience, Secretary Clinton said:

"I urge countries everywhere instead to join us in the bet we have made, a bet that an open internet will lead to stronger, more prosperous countries. At its core, it's an extension of the bet that the United States has been making for more than 200 years, that open societies give rise to the most lasting progress, that the rule of law is the firmest foundation for justice and peace, and that innovation thrives where ideas of all kinds are aired and explored. This is not a bet on computers or mobile phones. It's a bet on people."

2011 also marked another major year advancing one of Secretary Clinton's signature initiatives, Civil Society 2.0. Civil Society 2.0 recognizes the important role civil society organizations play in empowering individuals to create change in their communities. Through this work, the State Department seeks to increase the effectiveness of civil society organizations working on a variety of issues by providing them with training in the latest technology tools to help facilitate those changes.

Participants learn how to use technology and integrate digital tools into their work. With new knowledge comes new capabilities -- and these groups are now better able to participate in the political process, visualize data to educate the public, communicate safely in restricted environments, and use mobile phones to create information networks among their members and the communities they serve.

We hosted five TechCamps in 2011. In June, Secretary Clinton participated in TechCamp Vilnius, which convened participants from 22 countries. One of the personal highlights of 2011 for me was introducing her to those seventy-five activists in Vilnius. The Secretary's excitement and engagement were obvious to everyone that was there.

To date, through TechCamps, we have trained more than 350 civil society organizations from more than 40 countries. Currently, we are planning several TechCamps aimed at helping to build capacity for civil society organizations working in education, women's empowerment, and open government.

As we begin 2012, we continue to celebrate the advances we have made in 21st Century Statecraft by hosting several different special events throughout January. Each week, we are inviting people from around the world to submit questions through Twitter using the hashtag #AskState. State Department Spokesperson Victoria Nuland will respond to those questions during our Twitter Briefing each Friday in January.

I will be participating in a variety of activities myself. This week, I'll address the diplomatic corps at the Blair House and participate in a Live at State video chat with bloggers and journalists from around the world. On January 19, I'll hold a Twitter Q&A, and look forward to receiving your questions.

As we look ahead, 2012 will doubtless bring forward more innovations and advances in technology that we cannot yet foresee. Citizens around the world will continue to develop new and creative ways to engage one another and their governments. Here at the U.S. Department of State, we will continue to do our best to adapt our the practice of statecraft to account for these changes as we advance our diplomatic and development goals.

Happy New Year!

Editor's Note: You can watch Alec Ross's Live at State streamed on video.state.gov at 9:45 a.m. EST on Tuesday, January 10, 2012.]]> http://blogs.state.gov/index.php/entires/2011_year_in_review_21st_century_statecraft/ 2012-01-09T15:26:55+00:00