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 »
Olá from Washington, D.C.! We're home again after a busy and exciting trip to Brasilia and São Paulo.
Tuesday was the first-annual meeting of the Open Government Partnership, whose member countries contain a quarter of the world's population. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, President Rousseff of Brazil, President Kikwete of Tanzania, and Prime Minister Gilauri of Georgia all spoke on the impact that government transparency and openness can make on the global community. More than 800 representatives from over 60 countries and more than 200 civil society organizations were in attendance.
Later, I met with members of the Brazilian… more »
This week's "Photo of the Week" comes to us from U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton's recent trip to Brasilia, Brazil. A staff member captured a photo of Secretary Clinton as she prepared to address the staff and families of the U.S. Embassy in Brasilia on April 16, 2012.
While in Brazil, Secretary Clinton delivered remarks at the opening session of the Open Government Partnership. Secretary Clinton said, "In the 21st century, the United States is convinced that one of the most significant divisions among nations will not be north/south, east/west, religious, or any other category so much as whether they are open or closed societies. We believe that countries with open governments,… more »
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton traveled to Brasilia, Brazil April 16-17, 2012. On April 16, the Secretary led the U.S. delegation for the third U.S.-Brazil Global Partnership Dialogue. She also met with Brazilian Foreign Minister Antonio de Aguiar Patriota, business leaders, and U.S. Embassy Brasilia staff and their families. In remarks with the Foreign… more »
Yesterday's Global Partnership Dialogue marked the culmination of a great deal of work by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA), as well as many other parts of the State Department.
My day was centered on meetings of the Education Working Group, which I led alongside Minister George Torquato Firmeza, the Director of the Cultural Division at Brazil's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. We were both excited to discuss new and developing avenues of cooperation and encouraged by the progress our delegations made.
People-to-people exchange programs dominated the Education Working Group conversation. President Obama and President Rousseff have made academic and research collaboration a priority between the… more »
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton will travel to Colombia, Brazil, and Belgium from April 13 to April 19. Secretary Clinton will accompany President Obama for the Sixth Summit of the Americas in Cartagena, Colombia from April 13-15. There, the U.S. delegation will meet with democratically-elected heads of state and government from throughout the Hemisphere to strengthen ties, expand partnerships, and continue progress in economic growth, social inclusion, and citizen security.
The Secretary will then travel to Brasilia,… more »
On April 9, President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton welcomed Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff to Washington, D.C. Presidents Obama and Rousseff discussed a broad range of bilateral, regional, and multilateral issues, including global economic growth, the situation in the Middle East, and progress the two countries have made as co-chairs of the Open Government Partnership. The Presidents reviewed the progress made under the three presidential dialogues launched during President Obama's March 2011 visit to Brazil -- the Economic and Financial Dialogue, the Strategic Energy Dialogue, and the Global Partnership Dialogue. The Leaders also announced a new presidential-level Defense Cooperation Dialogue, as well as met with the U.S.-Brazil CEO Forum to continue efforts to… 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 »
It is impossible to overlook Brazil's emergence on the world stage, or the steady domestic economic growth that pushed Brazil to become the sixth largest economy in the world in 2011. In the last decade, this growth has brought 40 million Brazilians into the consumer middle class, reduced income disparities, and increased socio-economic inclusion. Equally historic, women are increasingly taking leadership roles in Brazil's booming economy.
Meanwhile, in the political arena, Brazilians have elected their first woman president, Dilma Rousseff, who in turn populated almost a third of her cabinet with women. In February 2012, she appointed a woman to serve as CEO of the country's largest company, the energy conglomerate Petrobras.
In the private sector, women are similarly taking on key positions, including GE Brazil's new president, Adriana Machado, and Standard… more »
I recently returned from a ten-day visit to Brazil where I traveled to six cities throughout the country to meet with local government officials, business leaders, and civil society to promote subnational engagement with this vibrant democracy.
As the Special Representative for Global Intergovermental Affairs, I lead the Department's efforts to collaborate with state and local leaders and their counterparts abroad to meet U.S. foreign policy goals. My trip to Brazil provided an excellent opportunity to support collaboration between local officials in Brazil and the United States in preparation for Brazil's hosting a series of major international sporting events, including the 2014 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 Summer Olympics.
In 2011, the United States and Brazil signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) designed to foster enhanced cooperation and exchange… 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 »
![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)
![Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs Ann Stock meets with students at Centro Paula Souza in Sao Paulo, Brazil, April 18, 2012. [State Department photo/ Public Domain]](http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2012_0421_ann_stock_brazil_m.jpg)
![A staff member captures photos of U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton as she addresses the staff and families of the U.S. Embassy in Brasilia, Brazil, on April 16, 2012. [State Department photo/ Public Domain]](http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2012_0420_potw_clinton_brazil_m.jpg)
![A girl hands several drawings to Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton during a visit to the U.S. Embassy in Brasilia, Brazil, April 16, 2012. [AP Photo]](http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2012_0417_clinton_brazil_m.jpg)
![Secretary Clinton boards plane in Beirut, Lebanon, April 26, 2009. [State Department Photo]](http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2009_0716_clinton_departs_m.jpg)
![President Barack Obama and President Dilma Rousseff of Brazil deliver statements to the press in the Oval Office, April 9, 2012. [Official White House Photo by Lawrence Jackson]](http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2012_0410_us_brazil_1_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)
![Women executives pose for a photo following a business breakfast hosted by the U.S. Consulate General in Sao Paulo on March 1, 2012. [State Department photo/ Public Domain]](http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2012_0301_women_executives_brazil_m.jpg)
![Governor Agnelo Queiroz shakes hands with Special Representative Reta Jo Lewis in Brazil, February 2012. [State Department photo/ Public Domain]](http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2012_0216_rjlewis_brazil_m.jpg)
