About the Author: Josh Goldberg is the Environment, Science, Technology, and Health Officer at the U.S. Embassy in Cairo, Egypt.
Science Envoy and Nobel Laureate Dr. Ahmed Zewail concluded his second official trip to Egypt with a visit to the northern city of Alexandria on February 15. The main theme of his visit was education, and Dr. Zewail met with a group of more than 350 students and teachers to discuss ways to implement reform in the country’s school system.
A graduate of both Egypt’s public schools and the University of Alexandria, Dr. Zewail spoke briefly about the value of knowledge, science and technology for development. Following his speech, he moderated a 90-minute discussion that largely focused on teacher and student concerns with the Egyptian education system… more »
About the Author: Charlie Smith serves as Public Affairs Officer at U.S. Consulate Vancouver.
The flame is extinguished, most of the revelers have departed, and the streets are navigable once again. You can cross the street at Pender and Thurlow without dodging another four hundred pedestrians walking to or from the Olympic Cauldron. And if you were just now waking in a haze from the party that followed Canada's gold-medal hockey victory over the United States last Sunday (or, for those of us from below the 49th the terrific showing by U.S. athletes), you could be forgiven for thinking that something was missing from this city.
But the truth is that although the cheers have quieted -- for now -- and parking space is available, Vancouver, along with British Columbia and Canada, has gained substantially… more »
About the Author: Angela Barbano Emerson is a Cultural Affairs Officer at U.S. Embassy Santiago.
At 3:34 a.m. on February 27, I was jolted awake in my apartment in Santiago, Chile, along with most of the Chilean population. There was no doubt in my mind that a really big earthquake had just struck. Colleagues from the embassy immediately began reaching out to one another to account for everyone and make sure friends were safe. I made my way into the U.S. Embassy to start emergency response, along with many dedicated colleagues, both Chilean and American.
When I arrived at the embassy, I found that many… more »
About the Author: Paula Backus-Williams serves at the Washington Passport Agency in the Bureau of Consular Affairs.
Do you or your friends enjoy traveling? If so, you should visit us at the 6th annual Adventures in Travel Expo this weekend, March 6-7, at the Washington Convention Center located at 801 Mount Vernon Place, NW in Washington, D.C.
As one of the exhibitors at the travel expo, the Bureau of Consular Affairs' Washington Passport Agency will be handing out passport and travel information at Booth 618. Stop by and ask us any questions… more »
About the Author: Marsha McLean serves as Senior Consultant in the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs Office of Public Diplomacy.
We listened to Haiti today, at least to a group of eight Haitian women entrepreneurs representing micro and small businesses. And we learned about their needs and about their strength in the face of adversity.
We were in San Jose, Costa Rica, for the Pathways to Prosperity Ministerial at a conference for women entrepreneurs, in fulfillment of one of the goals of the Pathways initiative to ensure that the benefits of economic growth reach all our citizens. We felt there was a need to reach out to women in Haiti, so the group of businesswomen, government officials and multilateral organization representatives at the conference linked to our Haitian counterparts via video-conference.… more »
On Tuesday, March 2, Assistant Secretary Esther Brimmer traveled to Chicago to speak at the Chicago Council of Global Affairs and Northwestern Law School on the importance of multilateral engagement. This trip is the third in a series of trips she is taking around the United States to discuss U.S engagement at the United Nations and other international organizations, and to elaborate on the benefits to American citizens of multilateral engagement.
In Chicago, Assistant Secretary Brimmer said, "It is precisely a policy of broader deeper engagement -- the implementation of smart power that President Obama and this Administration have pursued for the last year -- that has renewed… more »
About the Author: Kristin M. Kane is a Public Diplomacy Officer in the Bureau of International Organization (IO) Affairs. She is attending CSW as part of the USUN-New York Press and Public Diplomacy team.
When I walked into Conference Room 4 of the Secretariat at the United Nations, I knew right away that this was not going to be a typical UN panel discussion. Seated at the head of the table was a woman with short-cropped, platinum blonde hair in a bright red shirt with bold white letters spelling "HIV Positive." She was singer Annie Lennox, formerly of the Eurythmics. The moderator, UNAIDS Executive Director, Mr. Michel Sidibe, opened up the session on a "Call for Action on Women, Girls,… more »
About the Author: Tom Weinz is the dedicated Foreign Service Liaison Officer for Pacific Partnership 2010.
Pacific Partnership 2010 (PP-10) was officially announced by U.S. Pacific Fleet Commander, Admiral Patrick M. Walsh, on February 24, 2010. The Navy's commitment to this significant humanitarian effort is especially welcome in light of the recent and ongoing tragedy in Haiti, followed by an even more powerful quake off Chile on February 27. The world community responded as one following the January 12 earthquake just 10 miles west of Port-au-Prince. In spite of the unprecedented response, there were media reports criticizing local and international efforts. From my vantage point, the massive… more »
In January, two groups of honor students from Gaza had the extraordinary opportunity to meet and share their experiences with some high school students from the Washington, D.C. area. The ability of Palestinian refugees to travel outside Gaza has been severely restricted since Hamas took over in 2007, making cultural exchanges like this one a rare occurrence. The group of 15 ninth-grade Palestinian girls from Gaza, followed a week later by a group of 15 boys, visited the United States to learn about American perspectives on human rights.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton will participate in a live townterview (interview + town hall) at Zumbi dos Palmares University, Brazil's only Afro-Brazilian institute of higher learning, on Wednesday, March 3 at 6:00 p.m. EST, 8:00 p.m. local time. The townterview is hosted in partnership with Brazil's Globo Network.
DipNote is the official blog of the U.S. Department of State —a place to share stories, discuss experiences, and inspire new ideas on the important foreign policy issues of the day. more »
Chile Earthquake
For information or inquiries about U.S. citizens in Chile, please call 1-888-407-4747. You may email: ChileEarthquake@state.gov.
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Assistant Secretary Crowley (Mar. 15): " We are determined as are Mexican authorities to get to the bottom of this particular tragedy, but also do everything we can to restore the rule of law in Mexico." Full Text» more »
Secretary Clinton (Mar 13): " is an example of what we call 21st century statecraft and an opportunity to extend our engagement...directly to the people of the world." Media Note» more »
Latest from Twitter
Today #SecClinton held event @ State honoring #Haiti Task Force; Volunteers worked day & night during & after quake. http://bit.ly/dkG5ET
![U.S. Science Envoy Dr. Ahmed Zewall addresses students in Egypt, Feb. 2010. [Embassy Photo]](http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2010_0305_Zewail_Science-Envoy_m.jpg)
![Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson waves Olympic flag during closing ceremony, Feb. 28, 2010. [AP]](http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2010_0305_vancouver_olympics_m.jpg)
![President Bachelet greets Secretary Clinton in Santiago, Chile, Mar. 2, 2010. [AP Photo]](http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2010_0305_clinton_chile_m.jpg)
![A plane departs from Oakland International Airport on April 3, 2008, in Oakland, California. [AP]](http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2010_0305_travel_expo_jet_m.jpg)
![Annie Lennox in World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates, Berlin, Germany Nov. 10, 2009.[AP File Photo]](http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2010_0304_Annie_Lennox_UN_m.jpg)
![USNS Mercy pictured under a rainbow off the coast of the Philippines, June 8, 2006. [AP File Photo]](http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2010_0304_Pacific_Partnership_USNS_Merc1_m.jpg)
![Honors students from Gaza interact with American youth, Washington, Jan. 2010. [State Dept. Photo]](http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2010_0304_gaza_students_m.jpg)
