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 »
Freedom of expression is a cornerstone to any thriving democracy.
This idea came to life while I spent three days at UNESCO's World Press Freedom Day in Tunisia, where I had the opportunity to listen to and engage with journalists, bloggers, and citizen activists from across the Middle East and North Africa and beyond.
I arrived May 3 in Tunis to deliver remarks at Tunisia's Presidential Palace to a crowd of more than 400 in attendance, and thousands more watching virtually. The audience welcomed video… more »
Swarms of photographers surrounded a woman, blinding those near her with their flashes. Officials and journalists alike waited eagerly in a makeshift line to greet this woman who clearly was revered by those at the opening session for World Press Freedom Day in Tunis.
The woman at the center of this attention was Tawakkol Karman, was a 33 year old Yemeni journalist, known in her country as the mother of the revolution, and now known throughout the world as one of three women to share the Nobel Peace Prize in 2011. She has been in and out of jail, but still speaks out.
"We have risen for freedom of the press," she told a rapt audience from all over the world. "The young have sacrificed themselves while writing, filming and texting in alleys,… more »
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 »
Combating violence against migrants and migrant smuggling, setting minimum standards for the treatment of prisoners, and ensuring access to legal aid -- these are among the challenges that the international community addressed last week in Vienna, Austria, where approximately 800 delegates representing 111 countries and 38 nongovernmental organizations gathered for the 21st session of the United Nations Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice (also known as the CCPCJ or Crime Commission).
Led by Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau… more »
Back in the United States my colleagues at the State Department have long recognized the power of jazz as a means of connecting people. More than 50 years ago, the Department launched a landmark jazz diplomacy effort featuring American musical legend Dizzy Gillespie. Ever since then, jazz has been a continuing feature of U.S. cultural engagement programs. (See some great old photos here.)
Well, I am very proud to announce the latest chapter in the State Department's "jazz diplomacy" program kicks… more »
On an unseasonably cold and rainy Sunday, the action inside the Smithsonian's new Warner Bros Theatre was anything but dreary. The afternoon's celebration of jazz featured a roundtable discussion with jazz experts followed by musical performances before a crowd of diplomats and other invited guests.
I was thrilled to co-host our inaugural Embassy Jazz Day, Bridging Cultures Crossing Divides, with the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History this past weekend. This occasion provided the opportunity to mark the role jazz plays in creating linkages between peoples, communities, and cultures while also enabling the next generation of jazz innovators to perform including Howard University's Afro Blue and Lena Seikaly. This event also represented a first: a partnership… more »
About the Authors: Victoria Holt serves as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs, and Annie Pforzheimer serves as Director for UN Peacekeeping in the Bureau of International Organization Affairs.
In countries recovering from war, it is normal to see UN blue helmeted military units -- they're big, obvious, and a reassuring presence.
But in Liberia, where President Johnson-Sirleaf was re-elected to a second term, that reassuring presence should be the uniform of a Liberian police officer -- with a blue helmet backing them up.
A long-term peace, I was reminded during my visit to Liberia in mid-March, doesn't come from soldiers, but… more »
Flying into Abidjan, you see that Cote d'Ivoire is back in business. Streets are lit, cars are new, and the downtown has the vibrancy and neon signs of a busy capital. Plans for development -- such as a new bridge to link the city across its lagoons -- are the government's focus.
Little of this was imaginable a year ago, when the country faced a dramatic crisis of leadership -- and a questionable future -- after its November 2010 elections. For months, the UN peacekeepers, backed by the international community and French Licorne forces, held the line against a defiant former leader who refused to step down despite losing the Presidential elections to his rival. Yet today, with former President Gbagbo in the Hague for war crimes, President Ouattara is moving forward to put the past behind and build a united nation.
Beyond the bright lights, much work remains.… 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 »
![Dr. Esther Brimmer, Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs, participates in an interview with a journalist in Tunis, Tunisia, May 3, 2012. [State Department photo/ Public Domain]](http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2012_0509_brimmer_tunisia_m.jpg)
![Nobel Peace Prize winner and human rights activist Tawakkol Karman of Yemen speaks at City Hall in in Oslo, Norway Dec. 10, 2011. [AP File Photo]](http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2012_0504_karman_m.jpg)
![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)
![Delegates at the 21st Session of the UN Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice in Vienna, Austria, April 27, 2012. [State Department photo/ Public Domain]](http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2012_0501_justice_usun_viena_m.jpg)
![Louis Armstrong, atop camel, enchants the ancient sphinx and pyramids at Giza, near Cairo, Egypt January 28, 1961. His wife Lucille, lower left, records the scene on film as the camel perks its ears in appreciation of the unusual concert. The Armstrongs are on a U.S. State Department sponsored Goodwill Tour of Africa and the Middle East. [AP File Photo]](http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2012_0426_satchmo_egypt_m.jpg)
![Performance at the Embassy Jazz Day, Bridging Cultures Crossing Divides, co-hosted by the U.S. Department of State and the Smithsonian National Museum of American History, in Washington, D.C., on April 22, 2012. [Smithsonian Institution photo by Harold Dorwin]](http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2012_0425_jazz_day_m.jpg)
![United Nation's peacekeeping policewomen, from India, arrive at the airport in Monrovia, Liberia, Jan. 30, 2007. [AP File Photo]](http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2012_0411_unmil_liberia_m.jpg)
![An aerial view of the central Plateau neighborhood of Abidjan, Cote d Ivoire, Jan. 4, 2011. [AP File Photo]](http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2012_0406_io_cote_divoire_m.jpg)
