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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
On May 7-8, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton traveled to India, making stops in Kolkata and New Delhi. While in India, Secretary Clinton met with state officials and other civil society organization representatives and spoke with Embassy New Delhi staff. She also met with Indian Government officials to review progress in the strategic partnership, looking forward to the U.S.-India Strategic Dialogue to be held in Washington, D.C. on June 13 and… more »
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 »
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.
I recently led a delegation of young U.S. political leaders to participate in the 2012 Transatlantic Inclusion Leaders Conference in Copenhagen, Denmark, April 22-24, 2012. This training conference provided an excellent opportunity to strengthen relations between emerging minority leaders in the United States and Europe. Initiated by the Special Representative to Muslim Communities and the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs, the meeting was co-sponsored by Copenhagen Mayor for Employment and Integration Anna Mee Allerslev; the Danish Ethnic Youth Council; the German Marshall Fund; and the Transatlantic Minority Political Leadership Conference. This initiative was supported by U.S. Ambassador to Denmark Laurie S. Fulton, Rep. Alcee L. Hastings (D-FL), and Hannes Swoboda, MEP.
Over 70 elected leaders and civil society activists under the age of 35, from across the… more »
If you want to become a lawyer in Afghanistan, you enroll in a university and major in Law & Politics or Shari'a, either of which grants you an undergraduate degree and allows you to practice law. Therefore, a solid and comprehensive legal education can set the groundwork for a correspondingly flourishing and effective Afghan justice system. One month ago, I became the Program Manager for an innovative legal education grant that has been quietly making gains for Afghanistan's future lawyers with very little fanfare since 2004 by educating Afghan law professors and encouraging them to change the way they teach. This unassuming yet groundbreaking program, administered by the University of Washington in Seattle, and called the Afghanistan Legal Educators Support Program (LESPA), celebrated two recent events that speak volumes about the range of work the United States is doing… more »
This year marks the 60th anniversary of the German-American Fulbright Program -- one of the largest Fulbright Programs in the world. From March 18-21, the German-American Fulbright Commission held its annual Berlin Seminar and celebrated the program's success alongside the government of Germany and the U.S. Embassy in Berlin. Organizers and attendees recognized the Fulbright Program's decades of achievements and its growing network of 40,000 alumni.
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 »
![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)
![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)
![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)
![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)
![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)
![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)
![Special Representative Reta Jo Lewis speaks with a participant at the Transatlantic Inclusion Leaders Conference in Copenhagen, Denmark, April 2012. [State Department photo/ Public Domain]](http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2012_0503_lewis_transatlantic_m.jpg)
![Future law professor Parwiz Esmati from Albironi University, Afghanistan, poses in his judicial robes as he prepares to serve as a judge for the 2012 Jessup International Moot Court competition in Washington, D.C., March 2012. [State Department photo/ Public Domain]](http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2012_0501_moot_court_afghanistan_m.jpg)
![American Fulbright grantees gather to discuss experiences and share best practices in Berlin, Germany, March 19, 2012. [State Department photo/ Public Domain]](http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2012_0430_fulbright_grantees_m.jpg)
