Visionary Innovators and Intellectual Property in the 21st Century
Posted by Robert D. Hormats / April 26, 2012
![A photo taken at the University of Michigan shows a “responsive envelope system prototype,” a model for a structure that would be used in a building's exterior as part of a system to reduce its external power use and carbon footprint, Ann Arbor, Michigan, 2011. [AP File Photo]](http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2012_0426_innovation_michigan_m.jpg)
Today, we celebrate the contributions of scientists and innovators such as Steve Jobs, Thomas Edison, and Alexander Graham Bell. We recognize the writings of Jonathan Franzen, architectural designs of I. M. Pei, movies of Steven Spielberg, and many others like them whose works have changed the way we view our world and live our lives. Why today? Because April 26 marks World Intellectual Property Day, the annual celebration commemorating the formation of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in 1970.
This year's theme -- visionary innovators -- recognizes the unique and valuable contributions made by gifted individuals all over the world. Without innovation, civilizations remain static. The economist Robert Solow was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1987 for showing that technological innovation was responsible for over 80 percent of economic growth in the United… more »
Spotlighting the President’s National Export Initiative With Visiting Ambassadors
Posted by Robert D. Hormats / March 15, 2012
![Container ships docked at terminals in Port Elizabeth, NJ, Sept. 8, 2008. [AP File Photo]](http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2010_0317_export_initiative_m.jpg)
This is a busy week at the State Department. We are hosting British Prime Minister David Cameron. And all of our Ambassadors from around the world are in town for the Global Chief of Mission Conference. Following up on Secretary Clinton's very successful Global Business Conference, I took the opportunity of inviting several of our Ambassadors visiting us here in Washington to a breakfast to discuss the President's National Export Initiative (NEI) -- which featured prominently in the Global Business Conference.
Even with a 7:30… more »
Whales, Conservation and Eco-Tourism: Report from the G-20 Foreign Ministers Meeting in Mexico
Posted by Robert D. Hormats / March 06, 2012
![A tail of a gray whale surfaces at the Ojo de Liebre lagoon in Guerrero Negro, Mexico on February 22, 2011. [AP File Photo]](http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2012_0306_mexico_whaling_m.jpg)
On Sunday, February 19, while in Mexico for a G-20 Foreign Ministers meeting, Secretary Clinton, a few of our colleagues, and I went whale-watching in Guerrero Negro, Mexico. We got up-close -- at times they were right up against our boat -- with a school of Eastern Pacific gray whales. These are majestic creatures. Adult gray whales weigh between 30 and 40 tons and can live up to 80 years. Remarkably, gray whales migrate more than 10,000 miles each fall from their feeding grounds off Alaska to the warm waters of Mexico to mate and give birth.
By the mid-twentieth century, largely due to unregulated and poor management of the commercial whaling industry, populations of large whales became severely depleted. In response, the International Whaling Commission (IWC) established a… more »
U.S. Diplomacy Supports American Business Abroad
Posted by Robert D. Hormats / March 04, 2012
![U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk delivers remarks at the first-ever State Department Global Business Conference at the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C., on February 21, 2012. State Department photo by Ben Chang/ Public Domain]](http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2012_0304_sgbc_panel_m.jpg)
Secretary Clinton hosted the State Department's first-ever Global Business Conference February 21-22, 2012. The event was very rewarding for both the U.S. government and the over 200 private sector representatives who joined us from more than 120 countries. Last Wednesday's robust discussions focused on regional issues and how we can move forward together to seize opportunities, grow the global economy, and create American jobs.
Here's are just a few of the key themes discussed during the sessions hosted by our regional bureaus:
Western Hemisphere
A key topic was the collaboration in the western hemisphere to address shared goals of expanding economic opportunities, increasing citizen security, and improving education. I was pleased to hear… more »
The Aging Population: Economic Growth and Global Competitiveness
Posted by Robert D. Hormats / February 13, 2012
![Old and young audience members listen as President Barack Obama speaks at the Town Hall Education Arts and Recreation Campus (THEARC) theater in Washington, June 21, 2010. [AP File Photo]](http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2012_0213_aging_population_m.jpg)
On Tuesday, February 14, the Council on Foreign Relations is holding a meeting on the "The U.S. Aging Population as an Economic Growth Driver for Global Competitiveness." The event is timely. Standard & Poor's reports that "No other force is likely to shape the future of national economic health, public finances and policy-making as the irreversible rate at which the world"s population is aging."
Hence, it's vital that we create opportunities to enable older persons to contribute to their economies and communities in increasingly effective and productive ways. This will require new policies and innovations that promote healthy aging, including advances in medicine, continued learning, and cultural norms regarding aging. As population aging is elevated to the global agenda, the countries that capitalize on the increasing percentage of older adults, and are able to increasingly… more »
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