Hundred of journalists, bloggers, activists and officials from every corner of the globe have descended on Tunis to honor UNESCO's World Press Freedom Day. From Burma and Bahrain, to Qatar and Zimbabwe, those who write, film, text, and tweet the truth will spend three days listening, discussing, and exchanging ideas about the power -- and perils -- of free speech.
Over a year ago, Tunisia's Jasmine revolution sparked transitions throughout the Middle East. Millions have come out, and keep coming, to demand change and the right to express themselves -- from Tahrir Square and Benghazi, to Sanaa and Hom.
The clarion call for freedom has not been without its bumps and setbacks.… more »
President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton hosted Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda of Japan in Washington, D.C. on April 30, 2012. During a joint press conference at the White House, President Obama said, "It is a great pleasure to welcome Prime Minister Noda of Japan, one of America's closest allies in the Asia Pacific region but also around the world. And, of course, one of the reasons that we enjoy such a strong alliance between our nations is because it's rooted in the deep friendship between our peoples."
President Obama continued, "...We recognize that the U.S.-Japan alliance will remain the foundation of the security and prosperity of our two nations but… more »
On Sunday, April 1, Burma held parliamentary by-elections. Many Burmese people took part in the campaign and election process for the first time. In this video, taken during a press availability at the Friends of the Syrian People meeting in Turkey, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton comments on the elections and congratulates the Burmese people who participated. This video, courtesy of the U.S. East Asia and Pacific Media Hub, also includes still images from Burma's election day. You can find additional photographs and resources on U.S. Embassy… more »
This week's "Photo of the Week" comes to us from Michael Gross, who serves as the official photographer at the U.S. Department of State. In this photograph, Gross captures Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and First Lady Michelle Obama with the 2012 International Women of Courage Award winners: Maryam Durani, Kandahar Provincial Council Member (Afghanistan); Major Pricilla de Oliveira Azevedo, police officer, Rio de Janeiro Military Police (Brazil); Zin Mar Aung, political activist and NGO co-founder (Burma); Jineth Bedoya Lima, investigative journalist (Colombia); Hana Elhebshi, architect and political activist (Libya); Aneesa Ahmed, gender-based violence (GBV) activist and former Deputy Minister of Women's Affairs (Maldives); Shad Begum, human rights activist and founder/executive director of Anjuman Behbood-e-Khawateen Talah (the Union of Women's Welfare) (Pakistan);… more »
Seventy years ago, a group of men and women organized at Independence Hall in Philadelphia to lay a wreath before the Liberty Bell to commemorate the date -- February 1, 1865 -- that President Abraham Lincoln signed the 13th Amendment, banning slavery in the United States. The plan to set aside February 1 was led by Richard Wright, who was born into slavery in 1855. After Emancipation, Wright went to college, joined the army, and late in life became the first African-American in the United States to own a bank. A year after Wright died, in 1948, Wright's legacy was written into law when Congress passed a bill making February 1 National Freedom Day. Harry S. Truman was the first President to declare National Freedom Day, a tradition upheld every year since and reaffirmed again today by President Barack Obama.
As we mark that moment, when Lincoln sent to the states a… more »
2011 was a momentous year for the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs (EAP) as the culmination of much hard work that reflects the vision articulated by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton in an editorial for the November 2011 issue of Foreign Policy. This strategy guided the Bureau's activities from reinvigorating already strong relations with treaty partners, building new partnerships with emerging powers in the region, such as China, engaging with multilateral institutions, expanding trade and investment, forging a broad based military presence, and advancing democracy, human rights and the rule of law.
Our long-standing treaty allies continue to serve as the bedrock… more »
May 23: The State Department, through its office of the U.S.-Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI), is pleased to announce $1.5 million in funding to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) to support open governance and political participation in the Middle East and North Africa. more »
May 23: Today, Russia was invited to join the Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) at a ceremony hosted by its parent body, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in Paris. ã more »
![Members of the press hold placards during a rally to mark World Press Freedom Day in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, May 3, 2012. [AP Photo]](http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2012_0503_press_freedom_m.jpg)
![Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton laughs as Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda jokes while speaking during a dinner at the National Geographic Society in Washington, April 30, 2012. [AP Photo]](http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2012_0430_clinton_noda_japan_m.jpg)
![Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and First Lady Michelle Obama pose for a photo with the 2012 International Women of Courage Awards Ceremony winners: the Honorable Maryam Durani, Kandahar Provincial Council Member (Afghanistan); Major Pricilla de Oliveira Azevedo, police officer, Rio de Janeiro Military Police (Brazil); Zin Mar Aung, political activist and NGO co-founder (Burma); Jineth Bedoya Lima, investigative journalist (Colombia); Hana Elhebshi, architect and political activist (Libya); Aneesa Ahmed, gender-based violence (GBV) activist and former Deputy Minister of Women's Affairs (Maldives); Shad Begum, human rights activist and founder/executive director of Anjuman Behbood-e-Khawateen Talah (the Union of Women's Welfare) (Pakistan); Samar Badawi, political activist (Saudi Arabia); Hawa Abdallah Mohammed Salih, human rights activist (Sudan); and the Honorable Safak Pavey, Member of Parliament (Turkey), at the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C., on March 8, 2012. [State Department photo/ Public Domain]](http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2012_0309_IWOC_m.jpg)
