Why We Should Open SESAME

Posted by David T. Killion / May 12, 2012

An object of the exhibition,

About the Author: Ambassador David T. Killion serves as U.S. Permanent Representative to UNESCO.

Next week I am going to a meeting in Switzerland for SESAME, which I happen to think is the most exciting and revolutionary scientific undertaking that practically nobody outside of the scientific community has ever heard of.

What is it and why do I think it is so radical and so important?

The first question is easy.

SESAME actually stands for 'Synchrotron-light for Experimental Science and Applications in the Middle East' and will be the region's first major multi-country scientific research center. It's being developed under the auspices of UNESCO and is scheduled to open fully in Jordan in 2015. When it is completed, SESAME will be the Middle East's only source of so-called "high intensity synchrotron X-rays," key building blocks for research into biology,… more »

Posted under: Near East and Asia

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Spotlight on Food Security: The Key to Economic, Environmental, and Global Stability

Posted by Tjada McKenna / May 11, 2012

A child reacts after receiving food distributed at a refugee camp in Kabul, Afghanistan on Aug. 14, 2010. [AP File Photo]

About the Author: Tjada McKenna serves as Deputy Coordinator for Development for Feed the Future.

You may have noticed a lot of increased talk about "food security" lately, particularly in the international development realm. There's good reason for that.

A family experiences food security when it lives without hunger or even fear of hunger. In essence, it means that people have enough food to live happy, healthy lives. It's a right I'm sure we all wish were accessible to every man, woman, and child on the planet.

Yet global hunger and chronic malnutrition remain two of the greatest development challenges today. Nearly 20 percent of all people in the world live on less than $1.25 a day, and almost one billion suffer from chronic hunger. Compounding this problem is the fact that, by 2050, the global population is expected to grow to more than nine billion people, requiring up to a 70 percent increase in agricultural production to feed us all. Given increasingly… more »

Posted under: Policy

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Photo of the Week: Secretary Clinton Visits Kolkata

Posted by Hannah Johnson / May 11, 2012

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton signs the guestbook at the Victoria Memorial Hall in Kolkata, India, on May 6, 2012. [State Department photo/ Public Domain]

About the Author: Hannah Johnson serves as an Assistant Editor for DipNote.

This week's "Photo of the Week" shows U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton's signature in the guestbook at the Victoria Memorial Hall in Kolkata, India, on May 6, 2012. Secretary Clinton visited Kolkata during her recent travel to China, Bangladesh, and India.

While in India, Secretary Clinton also met with Indian External Affairs Minister Somanahalli Mallaiah Krishna in New Delhi, where she said, "It's always a pleasure to be back in Delhi and to reaffirm what President Obama has called one of the defining partnerships of the 21st century. The United States and India are two great democracies with common values and increasingly convergent interests."

Secretary Clinton and Minister Krishna… more »

Posted under: Photo of the Week

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Emerging Africa: Unleashing Africa’s Innovation Potential

Posted by Kris Balderston / May 10, 2012

In this photo taken, Nov. 8, 2011, a woman poses with her Blackberry mobile phone in Johannesburg. The woman says she cherishes her phone as a link to family and friends, and also sees it as a radio, a library, a mini cinema, a bank teller, and more. [AP File Photo]

About the Author: Kris M. Balderston serves as the Special Representative for Global Partnerships.

In the last week, I've travelled from Johannesburg to Cape Town to Addis Ababa. Along the way, I've been struck over and over again by the ingenuity, entrepreneurship, and innovation of the people I have met -- from townships to capital cities, from villages to major metropolises. Innovation parks are taking a place next to factories, investment banks next to mobile phone banking kiosks, and internet startups next to mom-and-pop store fronts. As I touched down in Ethiopia for the World Economic Forum on Africa, I was struck by the thought: Africa is emerging.

Buoyed by a decade of growth and bullish predictions for the future, Africa is on track to become the next big investment destination. The Economist indicates that six of the… more »

Posted under: Africa

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Tackling Old Problems With New Ideas

Posted by Jose W. Fernandez / May 10, 2012

Thousands of counterfeit watches, seized during a Philadelphia-area investigation, are set before a rolling compactor to be destroyed, in Philadelphia, April 26, 2010. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials and Customs and Border Protection officials smashed the bogus watches to mark the 40th anniversary of World Intellectual Property Day. [AP File Photo]

About the Author: Jose W. Fernandez serves as Assistant Secretary of State for Economic and Business Affairs.

Last week, the U.S. Department of State and non-profit industry group the Center for Responsible Enterprise and Trade (CREATe.org), partnered to host a roundtable discussion, "Safeguarding Intellectual Property and Preventing Corruption in Global Markets." During the session, leaders from industry, government agencies, academia and non-governmental organizations discussed the increased penetration of counterfeit goods in the global supply chain, and the urgent need for collaborative public and private sector initiatives to improve supply chain integrity.

At the heart of the discussion was a central question: How can the business community, governments, and civil society generate new approaches to the immense challenges of protecting intellectual property… more »

Posted under: Policy

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