Embassies and Consulates Are Going Green

Posted by Katie G. Kirkpatrick / April 22, 2012

Under Secretary Patrick Kennedy observes the Earth Day exhibit at the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C., April 19, 2012. [State Department photo/ Public Domain]

The State Department's Earth Day event, an exhibition titled "American Face of Green -- Embassies Leading the Way," demonstrated how our embassies, consulates and other diplomatic missions are going green. The displays included information on embassy-led tree planting projects, programs dedicated to recycling, reducing energy usage, and more. The participants in the exhibition, a mix of the State Department's regional and functional bureaus as well as Earth Day Network representatives and a local artist who creates sculptures purely from recycled materials, showed off the many projects that have been undertaken to demonstrate that America takes greening seriously.

American government agencies may not be the first institutions when one thinks of greening operations and practices. But, I would say that anyone who attended the exhibition would have to whole-heartedly reconsider.… more »

Posted under: Behind the Scenes

View Comments (4)

Young People Mobilize for Global Youth Service Day

Posted by Ronan Farrow / April 20, 2012

Youth volunteers clean the streets in Misrata, Libya, June 12, 2011. [AP File Photo]

This weekend marks the 24th annual Global Youth Service Day. In 100 countries, across six continents, young people between the ages of 5 and 25 will participate in their communities, leading grassroots projects in health, education, service, human rights, and the environment. In the past year, young people have played an unprecedented role in transforming their realities -- unseating repressive regimes, championing democracy, and innovating in technology, science, and business.

The United States wants to see the story of youth empowerment told for years to come. That's why, to tap the potential of this remarkable generation, we've built Embassy Youth Councils in nearly 40 countries. Each council convenes a cross-section of local young people on a regular basis to discuss shared challenges -- developing new policies and initiatives that reflect their concerns and ideas.… more »

Posted under: Behind the Scenes

View Comments (1)

Women in the World Summit and Suma‬

Posted by Molly Teas / March 10, 2012

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton stands with other participants of the Women in the World summit in New York City, New York March 10, 2012. [Photo courtesy of The Daily Beast]

I am writing today from the Women in the World put on by Newsweek and The Daily Beast in New York City. The event has a special significance for me because one of the featured participants is a young Nepali woman named Suma Tharu. Suma is one of the 1,200 young female scholars that my Bureau has supported through our partnership with Room to Read. 10x10, a global action campaign and groundbreaking film, brought Suma to New York for the Women in the World Summit to share her story.

Suma was originally slated to sing a song she wrote on the last day of the event. But, after hearing Suma rehearse, Tina Brown, the Founder of the Women in the World Summit, decided to change the entire agenda and… more »

Posted under: South and Central Asia

View Comments (5)

Engaging Overseas Audiences on the State of the Union Address

Posted by Dawn McCall / January 25, 2012


Last night, Americans gathered around their television sets -- or computer monitors -- to watch President Barack Obama deliver the State of the Union Address. For the first time, international audiences were able to watch the State of the Union Address live on U.S. embassy and consulate websites. The U.S. Department of State's Bureau of International Information Programs (IIP) streamed the speech with a new video player, placed directly on almost 300 English-language embassy and consulate websites and Facebook pages worldwide.

Our missions… more »

Posted under: Behind the Scenes

View Comments (10)

Year in Review: U.S. Diplomacy in South and Central Asia

Posted by Robert O. Blake / January 15, 2012

Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Robert O. Blake, former U.S. Ambassador to Sri Lanka, meets with members of civil society in Kilinochchi, Sri Lanka, on May 3, 2011. [State Department photo/ Public Domain]

2011 was an eventful year for all of us working in South and Central Asia. I've had the opportunity to reflect on the year and wanted to single out a few highlights. Secretary Clinton's visit to India in July advanced our ongoing strategic dialogue and underscored the continued growth in the U.S.-India partnership. Similarly, her visit to Central Asia in October affirmed our strong commitment to seeing a more prosperous and secure region that helps to bolster the stability of Afghanistan. We witnessed the first ever peaceful democratic transition of power in Central Asia when President Otunbayeva -- a recipient of… more »

Posted under: South and Central Asia

View Comments (2)

Protecting and Assisting the World’s Most Vulnerable Populations

Posted by David Robinson / January 02, 2012

Water center in Dolo Kobe, Ethiopia, 2011 [State Department photo]

With an estimated 40 million displaced people worldwide, up to 12 million who do not have citizenship to any country, and some 10.5 million refugees around the globe, the State Department's Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration (PRM) assists persecuted and uprooted people through our support to international organizations and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and by advocating for their protection through humanitarian diplomacy. From the Arab Awakening to the crisis in the Horn of Africa, global political upheaval and conflict have presented many humanitarian challenges, and as 2012 begins, I'd like to take a moment to share a few examples of the work we did last year.

Refugee Admissions: The United States welcomed more than 56,000 refugees… more »

Posted under: Policy

View Comments (4)

Page 1 of 1 pages