As a child, I had to sit on the sidelines as my friends played on neighborhood playgrounds that were not designed for wheelchair users. In those days, it probably never crossed the minds of playground designers that children like me were excluded. We were excluded, and more importantly, the problem continues for millions of children today.
The "right to play" is a universal human right enumerated in Article 24 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The right to play is the right to rest and leisure, and with it the right to engage in recreational activities. It is important to recognize that play environments often do not sufficiently take people with disabilities into consideration in their design. The onus is often on parents to push… more »
About the Author: Jonathan Shrier serves as Special Representative for Global Food Security (Acting).
We congratulate Ambassador Ertharin Cousin on her appointment this week as the next Executive Director of the UN World Food Programme (WFP). We look forward to continuing our strong relationship with WFP and the other the UN food agencies based in Rome. The WFP has a long and illustrious history of responding to the world's most pressing food and hunger crises, and under the energetic leadership of Ambassador Cousin, we are confident that it will continue its remarkable work as a leader of global efforts to eradicate hunger.
As the Ambassador to the UN food agencies in Rome, Ambassador Cousin has already worked closely with WFP, FAO, IFAD and other Rome-based international organizations and diplomatic missions to ensure… more »
About the Author: Dr. E. William Colglazier serves as Science and Technology Adviser to the Secretary of State.
As the United States and nations worldwide work to build their economies within the context of the global marketplace, the ability to innovate is the most basic and essential underpinning. As I travel worldwide or meet with foreign guests in Washington, D.C., one of the most common questions for me is to describe the U.S. system which leads to innovation. What are the policies which support innovation and what are the practices on the ground which propel innovation? My response always touches on the need to invest in education and scientific research, to value and protect intellectual property rights, and to support a system which allows failures while celebrating success, which seeds promising ideas with funds, and which nurtures future innovators.
If the fundamentals are right, innovation proceeds, economies grow and solutions to tough problems, including energy… more »
This week's “Photo of the Week” was submitted by U.S. Air Force Captain Alden Y. Gilroy to the Office of Art in Embassies for the “Serving Abroad…Through Their Eyes” exhibition. Pictured is First Lieutenant Matthew Suber, who was serving as the Force Protection Officer during Exercise AFRICA ENDEAVOR, the largest communications exercise on the African continent. The Gambian Army hosted the event at Fajara Barracks, which is also home to many families of their soldiers.
Captain Gilroy describes the photograph: “Children nearby were playing near the exercise administrative building, and we went outside to visit them, and say hello during one of our breaks. The children always lingered near the fences curious about all of the foreign armed forces and beckoned for… more »
About the Author: Ann Stock serves as Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs.
On Wednesday, January 18, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton announced that Hall-of-Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the NBA's All-Time Leading Scorer and New York Times' best-selling author, will serve as a Global Cultural Ambassador.
As a Cultural Ambassador, Mr. Abdul-Jabbar will work with young people worldwide and use people-to-people interactions as a means to create opportunities for greater understanding. He'll kick-off those efforts next week in Salvador and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Click here to learn more.
"I am excited and honored to serve my country as a Cultural Ambassador for the U.S. Department of State," said Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who has focused his efforts after his NBA career on engaging youth through socially-minded projects and education. "I look forward… more »
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 »
Across the eastern Horn of Africa, more than 11 million people -- a number greater than the populations of Houston and New York City combined -- are now in need of emergency assistance to survive. Learn more about the current crisis, including how you can help.
Mr. Ford, I do not find your arguments persuasive. The putative rebel forces are reported to have armored personnel carriers and the Israeli DEBKAfile…
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Well, perhaps one can appreciate why we Americans reject federal militarization of our local police and joint task forces involving federal troops, Fusion…
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Feb. 13, 2012: Senior officials delivered remarks on the FY 2013 Department of State - USAID budget request. Watch for a replay at video.state.gov. More on Budget more »
Spokesperson Nuland (Feb. 10): "We will have more of this declassified U.S. national imagery available both on site in coming days but also on our new site www.stateondemand.com, where news organizations can find all of our content to pull down around the world. more »
![Children swing on a playground in Frankfurt, central Germany, on May 11, 2008. [AP File Photo]](http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2012_0120_playground_m.jpg)
![Amb. Cousin walks through a marketplace in Bangladesh, Sept. 29, 2010. [Public Domain]](http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2010_0929_marketplace_bangladesh_m.jpg)
![Dr. E. William Colglazier, Science and Technology Adviser to the Secretary of State, celebrates the launch of the Innovation Generation with winners of the Conrad Foundation Spirit of Innovation Award, all students at Thomas Jefferson Science and Technology High School, in Washington, D.C., on January 19, 2012. [State Department photo/ Public Domain]](http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2012_0120_Innovation_Generation_m.jpg)
![First Lieutenant Matthew Suber plays with children while in The Gambia for Exercise AFRICA ENDEAVOR. [Photo by Captain Alden Y. Gilroy/ U.S. Air Force]](http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2012_0112_potw_gambia_m.jpg)
