The Entrepreneurial Spirit of the Arab Spring

Posted by Rob Lalka and Thomas Debass / January 18, 2012

About the Author: Rob Lalka serves as Global Partnerships Liaison and Thomas Debass serves as Director for Global Partnerships in the Secretary of State's Office of Global Partnerships.

In the midst of the political and economic revolutions and evolutions of the Arab Spring, there is a theme emerging. It isn't as popular to talk about as the power of social media for mobilization, and it hasn't received the same media coverage as the crowds in city squares across the Middle East and North Africa, but it's a vital part of what is happening in our world.

As venture capitalist Craig Hanson so aptly stated in the San Jose Mercury News, "Entrepreneurship is the next phase of the Arab Spring."

We talked about Craig's message a great deal yesterday when we hosted the 25 entrepreneurs from Jordan who accompanied His Majesty King Abdullah II on his visit to meet with President Obama this week. At a luncheon here at the State Department, we connected these… more »

Music Helps Revive Afghanistan’s Cultural Heritage

Posted by Candace Faber / January 18, 2012

About the Author: Candace Faber serves as Assistant Cultural Affairs Officer at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan.

Razor wire pierces the orange sky as we drive through Kabul's haze and rush hour traffic to the Afghan National Institute of Music (ANIM). For the second year in a row, ANIM is hosting famed Afghan and international musicians for its "Winter Music Academy," an opportunity for the students to work with master teachers. Tonight, the wide community of ANIM's supporters -- including representatives from the U.S. Embassy's Public Affairs Section, which funds both the winter academy and ongoing Access English micro-scholarships -- has the delight of hearing these masters in concert. In the front row are representatives from the World Bank, and after the first song -- Henri Duparc's "L'invitation au voyage," sung by Kabul-born artist Mashal Arman -- one whispers to another, "You are in Kabul, not Paris. Kabul! Can you believe it?"

I can believe it, and not only because… more »

Secretary Clinton Presents 2011 Awards for Corporate Excellence

Posted by DipNote Bloggers / January 18, 2012

The U.S. Department of State presented the thirteenth annual Secretary of State's Award for Corporate Excellence (ACE) on January 18, 2012, during a ceremony in the Benjamin Franklin Room of the Harry S. Truman building, Washington, DC. The prestigious ACE recognizes the important role of U.S. businesses in advancing good corporate governance and democratic principles worldwide. The award honors exemplary business practices, corporate social responsibility, and innovation in a company's overseas operations.

You can view a transcript of the Secretary's remarks here. more »

Can Mobile Money Transform a Country?

Posted by Charley Johnson and Priya Jaisinghani / January 17, 2012

About the Author: Charley Johnson serves as a Presidential Management Fellow, and Priya Jaisinghani serves as a Supervisory Program Officer at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).

Two years after the earthquake, Haiti is rebuilding not just brick by brick, but click by click.

The earthquake left behind a government in rubble, an economy in shambles, and a people living in makeshift camps, coping with enormous loss. Against this backdrop, the possibility of progress lives not just in the resilient spirit of the Haitian people, but also in the simple power of their mobile phones.

In June 2010, USAID and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation launched the Haiti Mobile Money Initiative (HMMI). This program leveraged the private sector and the ubiquity of mobile phones to bring financial services to Haitians, 90 percent of whom didn't have… more »

Travel Diary: Secretary Clinton Emphasizes U.S. Focus on Democratization in Africa

Posted by DipNote Bloggers / January 17, 2012

More: Interactive Travel Map | Photos

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton traveled to Liberia, Cote d'Ivoire, Togo, and Cape Verde on January 16-17, 2012, to demonstrate U.S. commitment to post-conflict return to peace, good governance, and economic development as well as to emphasize U.S. focus on democratization.

In Liberia, Secretary Clinton attended President Sirleaf's inauguration and presided over the in-house dedication of the new U.S. embassy compound to demonstrate America's commitment to an enduring friendship with the people of Liberia, as well as the importance of our bilateral relationship with the Liberian Government. At the ribbon-cutting ceremony, Secretary Clinton… more »