Young African Leaders: Changing Perceptions

Posted by Nathan Arnold / May 05, 2012

About the Author: Nathan Arnold serves as the communications officer for the Office of International Visitors in the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.

What always energizes those of us who work on exchange programs for professionals is seeing the passion of emerging foreign leaders. This week, 20 Young African Leaders, participants in the International Visitor Leadership Program, arrived in Washington. In conversations with U.S. government officials -- including Grant Harris, Senior Director for African Affairs at the White House, and Ronan Farrow, the State Department's Special Adviser for Global Youth Issues -- the participants shared their experiences, gained a better understanding of U.S. policy, and discussed ways to keep the dialogue going after their program is over. Just as importantly, they talked about how their efforts are contributing to the changing impressions the world has about Africa.

Hindou… more »

Women Journalists Speak Out for Press Freedom

Posted by Joanne Levine / May 04, 2012

About the Author: Joanne Levine serves as Senior Advisor in the Bureau of International Organization Affairs. She is attending the UNESCO World Press Freedom Day Conference in Tunisia May 3-5.

Swarms of photographers surrounded a woman, blinding those near her with their flashes. Officials and journalists alike waited eagerly in a makeshift line to greet this woman who clearly was revered by those at the opening session for World Press Freedom Day in Tunis.

The woman at the center of this attention was Tawakkol Karman, was a 33 year old Yemeni journalist, known in her country as the mother of the revolution, and now known throughout the world as one of three women to share the Nobel Peace Prize in 2011. She has been in and out of jail, but still speaks out.

"We have risen for freedom of the press," she told a rapt audience from all over the world. "The young have sacrificed themselves while writing, filming and texting in alleys,… more »

Marking 234 Years of Treaty-Making

Posted by Eric D. Duyck / May 04, 2012

About the Author: Eric D. Duyck serves as Museum Collections Assistant at the U.S. Diplomacy Center.

On today's date in 1778, diplomatic history was made.

Exactly 234 years ago, the United States ratified its very first two treaties: The Treaty of Amity and Commerce and the Treaty of Alliance. Together, these treaties created a formal alliance with France -- an alliance that would ensure the success of our nation's struggle for independence.

Late last year, the U.S Diplomacy Center acquired a very rare piece of this history -- the first American printing of these two treaties, commissioned by the Continental Congress and printed by John Dunlap of Philadelphia (famous for his 1776 broadsides of the Declaration of Independence). Only 300 copies were printed; very few survive today.

In my position… more »

Photo of the Week: President Obama Makes a Surprise Visit to Afghanistan

Posted by Sarah Goldfarb / May 04, 2012

About the Author: Sarah Goldfarb serves as an Assistant Editor for DipNote.

This week's Photo of the Week comes to us from the White House Official Photographer, Pete Souza. On May 2, President Barack Obama made a surprise visit to Afghanistan, where shortly after midnight Kabul time, President Obama and his counterpart, Afghan President Hamid Karzai, signed a 10-year strategic partnership agreement.

In an internationally televised addressed from Bagram Air Base, President Obama said, “Today, I signed a historic agreement between the United States and Afghanistan that defines a new kind of relationship between our countries -- a future in which Afghans are responsible for the security of their nation, and we build an equal partnership between two sovereign states; a future in which war ends and a new chapter begins.”

According to a White House fact sheet, the agreement is not only a signal of the United States' long-term… more »

Travel Diary: Secretary Clinton in China

Posted by DipNote Bloggers / May 04, 2012

More: Trip Page | Interactive Travel Map

In Beijing May 3-4, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner joined their Chinese co-chairs, Vice Premier Wang Qishan and State Councilor Dai Bingguo, for the fourth joint meeting of the U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue (S&ED). In a joint statement, the two countries described the talks as "candid, in-depth and constructive discussions" in which both sides "decided to advance practical cooperation between the… more »