The Office of the Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs released yesterday its “roadmap for Public Diplomacy” in a document titled Public Diplomacy: Strengthening U.S. Engagement with the World. In it, the Under Secretary, Judith McHale, lays out five “strategic imperatives” for 21st century public diplomacy:

Representatives Adam Smith (D-WA) and Mac Thornberry (R-TX) have together established a new "Strategic Communication and Public Diplomacy Caucus" and are actively seeking additional members to join, Matt Armstrong at MountainRunner reported.

The Voice of America filed a report recently on Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs Judith McHale’s February trip to Bangladesh (covered previously by the Alliance).

After a final Senate vote yesterday, the Travel Promotion Act (HR 1299) moves to the White House for President Obama’s signature. The act would authorize $10 million in seed money in FY 2010 — and in the future match as much as $100 million a year in corporate contributions — for a nonprofit entity designed to promote the United States as a destination for foreign tourists.

“Exchanges are a quintessentially American form of diplomacy that, if confirmed, I would hope to increase, to amplify, and to sustain in a lasting and meaningful way,” Ann Stock, nominee for Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs, said during her confirmation hearing yesterday afternoon. Appearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Stock noted her previous professional involvement with exchanges (especially leading cultural and artistic exchanges while at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts) and expressed her belief in the importance of committing to “an effort—a sustained effort—to find common ground”:

“All sectors of American society and government are focused on this profound challenge and I believe exchanges are a key element. In exchanges, we rely on and engage our single greatest asset—the American citizen.”

The U.S. Travel Association expressed its concern with the Department of Homeland Security’s ESTA program and its mandatory compliance policy in a recent press release. ESTA, the Electronic System for Travel Authorization, is a system that determines eligibility to travel to the United States for those individuals from Visa Waiver Program countries. (For more information on ESTA, please visit ESTA FAQ). Roger Dow, president and CEO of the association, expressed particular concern with the government’s efforts to register travelers, saying “it is common sense to couple mandatory compliance with a substantial effort to register all travelers.” In particular, Dow noted, beginning March 20, “thousands of travelers who pose no security risk could be denied boarding on U.S.-bound flights by airlines.” 



At the same time the House goes to the floor today to pass its version of the State-Foreign Operations spending bill (in which educational and cultural exchanges are funded at $600 million, $33 million less than the Obama administration’s request but a $62 million increase over current levels), the Senate Appropriations Committee will begin work on its own State-Foreign Operations bill. Senators will seek to increase funding for diplomacy and the Foreign Service, “even as overall funding for foreign affairs takes a hit,” reports CQ.com:

Public Diplomacy magazine announced today that it has launched its summer 2009 issue. Two articles of particular interest include:

Eight former U.S. Secretaries of State jointly penned an op-ed in yesterday’s Politico calling for a drastic increase in U.S. global engagement:

We, former secretaries of state of different administrations and different political parties, and with differing views on many other issues, are nevertheless of one mind on this issue of critical importance to our country’s national security. We call on Congress to act accordingly and fund this critical need.

Rep. Jim Moran (D-VA) introduced last Friday a resolution (H Res 569) “supporting the work of citizen diplomacy organizations and encouraging the convening of a Presidential Summit on Global Citizen Diplomacy.” The full text of the resolution is pasted below.

On the same day, Moran also introduced a bill (HR 2985) to establish a “public diplomacy international exchange program to be known as the Ambassador's Fund for Strategic Exchanges, and for other purposes.” The Alliance will circulate more information on this bill as it becomes available.