On Thursday, February 16, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton will host and deliver remarks at an event commemorating the Ninth Anniversary of the International Day of Zero Tolerance to Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (FGM/C) at the Department of State. The event will be streamed live on DipNote at 1:00 p.m. EST.
Following the Secretary, Representative Joe Crowley (NY-07) will also deliver remarks. Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women's Issues Melanne Verveer will then moderate a panel discussion with leading experts and activists dedicated to the global effort to eradicate FGM/C and to raise awareness of its negative consequences on women, girls, families, and societies. The discussion will highlight the importance of fostering community-based approaches and engaging religious leaders and… more »
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Vice President Joseph Biden hosted a lunch in honor of Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping at the Department of State in Washington, D.C. on February 14, 2012.
Secretary Clinton said, "Today, cooperation between the United States and China is imperative to address the many vexing challenges we face, from countering proliferation, to addressing climate change, to promoting global economic security. Now, developing the habits of cooperation is… more »
In early January, I had the opportunity to engage with European policy-makers and analysts in Brussels, Vilnius, and Copenhagen. Given President Obama's announcement of the new defense strategy guidelines on January 5, my visit provided an opportune moment to share U.S. perspectives on the state of the transatlantic alliance as well as policy objectives for the coming year. My central message was clear: three years into the Obama Administration, the strategic alignment between the United States and Europe has never been greater. This theme… more »
They say the way to a person's heart is through their stomach. And whether you're enjoying the fruits (or beans!) of the world's cocoa harvest through your favorite candy bar during your afternoon snack, or receiving a heart-shaped box of cream-filled goodness for Valentine's Day today, it's worth considering how the delectable confection came to be in the first place -- and how supporting the industry can lead to increased global food security.
You might think that's quite a jump. But cocoa in West Africa contributes considerably to farmer livelihoods and national economies. Collectively, this region's 2 million smallholder cocoa farmers produce approximately 70 percent of the world's supply. With a projected strong, long-term demand, cocoa has great potential to increase these farmers' incomes. To do so significantly requires improving productivity to make cocoa farming… more »
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 »
The American Film Showcase, a partnership between the U.S. Department of State and the University of Southern California's School of Cinematic Arts, uses film as a public diplomacy tool to bring people together and foster greater understanding across cultures. An arts-based exchange, the Showcase is a dynamic way to share the vision, artistry and diverse viewpoints of American filmmakers. USC convened a committee of 23 notable filmmakers, academics and film experts that recommended a slate of films for their cinematic mastery and without regard to specific policies or practices depicted in the film. The program, like so many of the Department's public diplomacy initiatives, demonstrates the diversity of thought and style in the United States.
Today, the Obama Administration issued the President's budget request for fiscal year (FY) 2013. It demonstrates that the United States remains fully committed to the fight against global AIDS, and will meet the President's ambitious targets for HIV/AIDS treatment and prevention announced on World AIDS Day 2011. I am so proud that, even in a challenging budget environment with strict budget caps, the Administration has continued to make this work a priority.
This budget will enable PEPFAR to achieve the President's stated goals for the program, including on prevention and supporting 6 million people on treatment by the end of 2013. As we move towards creating an AIDS-free generation,… more »
Today, Deputy Secretary of State Thomas Nides and U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Administrator Rajiv Shah discussed the FY 2013 State Department and USAID budget. Deputy Secretary Nides said, "State and USAID account for just one percent of the federal budget. ... Today, I want to explain how we use that one percent to make the outsized contribution to America's prosperity, security, and leadership."
Deputy Secretary Nides continued, "This budget follows a… more »
Editor's Note: This entry appeared first on the U.S. Embassy Syria Facebook page. You can find additional satellite imagery of Syrian military movements here.
The violence is not equal.
Yesterday I put out a note about the situation in Syria as I've witnessed it from the ground and since leaving the country. A terrible and tragic development in Syria is the use of heavy weaponry by the Assad regime against residential neighborhoods.… more »
Just as my Department of State colleagues witnessed the entrepreneurial spirit of the Arab Spring with Jordanian entrepreneurs in Washington, D.C., I experienced that same spirit energizing the halls of the Ryad Mogador Agdal in Marrakech, Morocco.
I recently participated in the second U.S.-Maghreb Entrepreneurship Conference, initially launched one year ago in Algiers just weeks before the uprisings in Tunisia that sparked the Arab Spring. The conference was the annual partnership meeting of the more »
I am a proud citizen and i respect the people's sense of moral responsibility on this matter. but i fear it is way to ethnocentric for direct backing from…
more »
Spokesperson Nuland (Feb. 14): "We remain deeply concerned about multiple allegations of human rights abuses by security forces, including illegal and arbitrary detentions throughout the electoral process." more »
![Live Webcast: U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton will host and deliver remarks on International Day of Zero Tolerance to Female Genital Mutilation at the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, February 16, 2012, at 1:00 p.m. EST. You can watch the event live on DipNote and state.gov. [State Department image/ Public Domain]](http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/ZeroTolerance_507_LIVE_m.jpg)
![Flags of NATO members states seen in front of NATO headquarters, Brussels, June 11, 2009. [AP File]](http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2011_0307_nato_flags_m.jpg)
![A cocoa buyer examines beans to evaluate their quality as they are shoveled into sacks ready to be exported, in Guiglo in western Cote d'Ivoire, April 4, 2004. [AP File Photo]](http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2012_0214_cocoa_beans_m.jpg)
![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)
![A worker prepares a movie reel to be displayed in San Sebastian, Spain, Sept. 20, 2008. [AP File Photo]](http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2012_0213_film_reel_m.jpg)
![PEPFAR-funded AIDS care unit, White River Junction, South Africa, Dec. 15, 2008. [AP File Photo]](http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2010_0219_pepfar_clinic_m.jpg)
![Satellite imagery of Syrian military movements, February 10, 2012. [Copyright Digital Globe]](http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2012_0211_syria_m.jpg)
