About the Author: Mark F. Brzezinski serves as the U.S. Ambassador to Sweden.
In his video message, President Obama speaks for all Americans who remember the courageous and selfless acts of Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg. In 2012, Sweden is celebrating the 100th anniversary of the birth of Raoul Wallenberg, a diplomat who chose not to be indifferent and to rise to a higher moral calling. We remember and revere this courageous man whose efforts saved thousands of Hungarian Jews from the Holocaust. Wallenberg paid with his life for his commitment to basic values. And we all have the obligation to ponder the full measure of Wallenberg's personal sacrifice and tragedy.
Born into wealth, for Wallenberg turning a blind eye to the hardship and suffering of others would have been easy. Instead, as First Secretary at the Swedish Legation in Budapest, Hungary during the darkest days of World War II, Wallenberg demonstrated a sense of self-sacrifice… more »
On April 19, people all over the world will commemorate Yom Ha'Shoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day. In Judaism, when we remember the dead we say "zikron l'vrach"-- may their memory be for a blessing. On this day, we stand united against one of the most sinister and evil chapters of history, scarred by the unthinkable deeds of governments and collaborators and the silence of so many.
In my job as Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism, two of the tools I use in my outreach to governments and civil society are education and dialogue. They are mandatory first steps to prevent and overcome ignorance and hate. We must advance the universal message that such evil must be confronted rather than ignored. We must forge connections between students, between communities, and between faiths.
In January, I was honored to attend a United Nations… 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 »
About the Author: Ann Stock serves as Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs.
Greetings from Brasilia!
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 »
About the Author: Kathryn Nash serves as a Foreign Affairs Officer in the Bureau of Conflict and Stabilization Operations.
On April 17, the first-ever Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of Conflict and Stabilization Operations (CSO), Rick Barton, will discuss how the bureau is working to prevent violent conflict and respond when crises do break out. You can join him for a live chat on the Department of State's Facebook page from 2:00-2:30 p.m. (EDT).
The Bureau of Conflict and Stabilization Operations (CSO) helps countries and people find the road away from conflict and toward peace. Over the last two decades, the United States has found itself increasingly involved in, and affected by, weak or failed states. The interconnected nature of today's world makes instability and conflict, even… more »
DipNote is the official blog of the U.S. Department of State —a place to share stories, discuss experiences, and inspire new ideas on the important foreign policy issues of the day. more »
Across the eastern Horn of Africa, more than 11 million people -- a number greater than the populations of Houston and New York City combined -- are now in need of emergency assistance to survive. Learn more about the current crisis, including how you can help.
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 »
![A candle is lit in front of a memorial wall holding the engraved names of tens of thousands of Holocaust victims in the Holocaust Memorial Center at the United Nations Holocaust remembrance day in Budapest, Hungary, Jan. 27, 2012. [AP File Photo]](http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2012_0418_holocaust_remembrance_day_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)
![Women carry an election banner in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, March 22, 2012. [State Department photo/ Public Domain]](http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2012_0416_cso_congo_m.jpg)
