A 150-Year-Old Publication Enters the E-Book Age
Posted by Joseph Wicentowski / May 23, 2012
![Image of Foreign Relations of the United States books available electronically on a mobile device, as seen on March 23, 2012. [State Department image]](http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2012_0523_frus_screenshot_m.jpg)
One year ago this month, Internet bookselling giant Amazon announced a landmark in the growth of e-books: the company's sales of e-books had for the first time exceeded its sales of printed books. This event is only one of many indications that the age of the e-book has arrived. Sales of mobile tablet and e-reader devices have skyrocketed. E-books are being adopted in classrooms and libraries across the United States. Printed books are not going away anytime soon, but e-books are here to stay. E-books also have great potential to transform government publishing, making the publications so critical to taxpayers' lives and the smooth functioning of our democracy freely accessible in the best new formats for reading.
Recognizing this trend and growing demand from its readers, the Office of the Historian began an e-book initiative in March, and today is releasing 12 more… more »
Museums and Communities Connect
Posted by Michele Peregrin / May 18, 2012
![Children participating in Museums Connect help design and construct a mosaic for their school. [State Department photo by Michele Peregrin/ Public Domain]](http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2012_0517_museums_connect_m.jpg)
For decades, the Department of State has recognized the importance of cultural institutions and the arts to connect individuals, build community, and showcase world cultures. At the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, we believe that arts and culture have the ability to go beyond language barriers to open new channels of communication and bridge differences.
A few weeks ago, I was fortunate enough to travel to our country's largest yearly conference for museum professionals. Organized by the American Association of Museums (AAM), this year's theme was "Creative Community." The conference focused on ways for museums to not only reach out to their local community, but to explore… more »
U.S. Student Ambassadors Tour the Forbidden City
Posted by Lee Satterfield / May 14, 2012
![Deputy Assistant Secretary Lee Satterfield tours the Forbidden City with NSLI-Y students, their host families, and teachers from their host school, Beijing 80, May 2012. [State Department photo/ Public Domain]](http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2012_0514_china_students_m.jpg)
Touring a city with a group of students, parents, siblings, and teachers could be conceived as a relatively ordinary experience, except that I was touring the Forbidden City with American high school students studying abroad in China on the National Security Language Initiative for Youth (NSLI-Y) program. The parents and siblings were members of their Chinese host families and the teachers are from their international high school, Beijing 80, known for its excellent academics and offering a unique cultural experience for its 3,000 students. The American students, who represent all corners of the United States, are perfecting their Mandarin skills, taking advantage of after school activities, living with host families, and learning about China's… more »
London 2012 Olympics Countdown Calls for Friendly Competition
Posted by Cindy Gire / May 13, 2012
![U.S. Department of State employees pose for a photograph after participating in Embassy Olympics at Reeves Field American University in Washington, D.C., on April 18, 2012, to mark 100 days until the start of the London Olympics. [Photography copyright Tony Powell/ British Embassy]](http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2012_0513_team_usa_m.jpg)
Today marks 75 days until the start of the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games in London. As London prepares to welcome the world for the Olympics, the British Embassy in Washington, D.C. organized a medley of sports activities, or "Embassy Olympics," in recognition last month of the "100 Days To Go" mark.
On April 18, international colleagues from the diplomatic community joined to compete in the "Embassy Olympics." SportsUnited representatives from the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs along with their colleagues in the Bureau of International Information Programs and Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs were key "players" in the event.
Even the rainy weather -- true to form for a British activity -- did not dampen the spirits of the participants. Embassy teams enthusiastically represented countries that have previously… more »
Why We Should Open SESAME
Posted by David T. Killion / May 12, 2012
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 »
TechCamp Goes to Tel Aviv and Ramallah: Empowering Women and Girls in the Middle East
Posted by Katie Dowd / May 09, 2012
![Elizabeth Linder of Facebook holds a discussion with TechCamp participants in Ramallah, May 2, 2012. [State Department photo/ Public Domain]](http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2012_0509_techcamp_ramallah_m.jpg)
Joining a global group of now more than 800 organizations, TechCamps Tel Aviv and Ramallah represented the eighth and ninth TechCamps coordinated under Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton's Civil Society 2.0 initiative. These TechCamps brought together three areas of focus for Secretary Clinton: strengthening civil society, innovation, and empowering women and girls. American and international trainers from companies, such as Facebook, Meetup, and Yahoo!, teamed together with the State Department's Office of Innovation and eDiplomacy to help raise the digital literacy of civil society organizations focused on women's empowerment though separate, intensive two-day workshops.
Each TechCamp focused on how to help ensure women and girls have the know-how and education… more »
Global Recovery: A View From the Americas
Posted by Roberta Jacobson / May 09, 2012
![Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs Roberta Jacobson delivers remarks at the 42nd Conference on the Americas at the Department of State in Washington, D.C., May 8, 2012. [State Department photo/ Public Domain]](http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2012_0508_jacobson_ascoa_m.jpg)
Economic recovery, at home, in Europe, across the globe, seems to be on everyone's minds these days. In the United States, the engine to power our economic recovery is fueled by human and physical resources right here in our own hemisphere. No one knows this better than the Council of the Americas. Since its founding in 1965, the Council's approximately 200 members account for a large percentage of U.S. investment in Latin America and the Caribbean. Their investment is linked by a shared belief that free markets and private enterprise, coupled with strong democratic governance, offer the most effective means to achieve regional economic growth and prosperity.
Yesterday, when we addressed the Council at their annual conference,… more »
Seeing Fulbright in Action in Amman, Jordan
Posted by Marianne Craven / May 07, 2012
![Screenshot of the Fulbright Program in Jordan website, as seen on May 7, 2012. [Image Courtesy of the Fulbright Program, 2008]](http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2012_0507_jordan_fulbright_m.jpg)
A few weeks ago, Fulbright Program administrators from across the Middle East and North Africa convened in Jordan with their U.S.-based colleagues for a dynamic three-day workshop. The Binational Fulbright Commission in Jordan, led by Executive Director Alain McNamara and supported by the U.S. Embassy in Amman, Jordan, hosted us.
Together with representatives from regional Fulbright Commissions, U.S. embassies and non-governmental partners, we reviewed academic exchange priorities, shared information and best practices, and addressed issues and challenges faced by the Fulbright Program… more »
Young African Leaders: Changing Perceptions
Posted by Nathan Arnold / May 05, 2012
![Charfie Habib Doutoum of Chad and Akere-Maimo Joseph Eno-Ebie of Cameroon outside the White House in Washington, D.C., May 2, 2012. [State Department photo/ Public Domain]](http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2012_0504_yal_ivlp_m.jpg)
What always energizes those of us who work on exchange programs for professionals is seeing the passion of emerging foreign leaders. This week, 20 Young African Leaders, participants in the International Visitor Leadership Program, arrived in Washington. In conversations with U.S. government officials -- including Grant Harris, Senior Director for African Affairs at the White House, and Ronan Farrow, the State Department's Special Adviser for Global Youth Issues -- the participants shared their experiences, gained a better understanding of U.S. policy, and discussed ways to keep the dialogue going after their program is over. Just as importantly, they talked about how their efforts are contributing to the changing impressions the world has about Africa.
Hindou… more »
Marking 234 Years of Treaty-Making
Posted by Eric D. Duyck / May 04, 2012
![The Treaty of Amity and Commerce and the Treaty of Alliance, which were signed on May 4, 1778, as seen in 2012. [State Department photo/ Public Domain]](http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2012_0504_treaties_m.jpg)
On today's date in 1778, diplomatic history was made.
Exactly 234 years ago, the United States ratified its very first two treaties: The Treaty of Amity and Commerce and the Treaty of Alliance. Together, these treaties created a formal alliance with France -- an alliance that would ensure the success of our nation's struggle for independence.
Late last year, the U.S Diplomacy Center acquired a very rare piece of this history -- the first American printing of these two treaties, commissioned by the Continental Congress and printed by John Dunlap of Philadelphia (famous for his 1776 broadsides of the Declaration of Independence). Only 300 copies were printed; very few survive today.
In my position… more »
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