Public Diplomacy
President Obama announced today his intent to nominate Tara D. Sonenshine for Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs, Department of State. Assistant Secretary of State (R) Ann Stock has been in the role of Acting Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs since July 8, 2011.
Sonenshine’s biography as posted on the White House website is as follows:
The following opinion piece on the importance and impact of international exchange programs, by William B. Lacy, Vice Provost of University Outreach and International Programs at the University of California, Davis, was recently posted on the Association of International Education Administrators (AIEA) website:
For more than 50 years, the U.S. Department of State has administered educational and cultural exchange programs as a means of building goodwill toward America throughout the world. “The Power of Exchange” series brings attention to hot topics in the international exchange world that highlight the important role that exchanges play in connecting America and Americans to the world.
The U.S. Mission to China adjudicated more than one million U.S. visas for Chinese students, tourists, and businesspeople during FY 2011, a 34 per cent increase from FY 2010, U.S. Ambassador to China Gary Locke recently announced in a press release by the U.S. Embassy in Beijing. This number consists of the contributions by the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, as well as the U.S. Consulates in Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenyang, and Chengdu, the press release points out.
The first U.S.-India Higher Education Summit was held last week at Georgetown University in Washington, DC, the Chronicle of Higher Education reports. Attendees of the summit, including numerous U.S. university presidents, leaders in the NGO international education and exchange community, and government officials, sought "deeper, broader, and more sustained collaboration" between the two countries, including educational exchange:
The Department of State plans to resume Fulbright student and scholarly exchanges and English language training programs in Libya, the Associated Press and the Chronicle of Higher Education both report.
The U.S. Diplomacy Center, an office in the Bureau of Public Affairs at the U.S. Department of State, has launched a new interactive website that aims to educate high school and college students about the world of diplomacy and the work of the State Department.
The National Council for International Visitors (NCIV) recently reported that a former Yemeni participant in the International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP), Ms. Tawakul Karman, is among the three women who were awarded the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize last week. Ms.
Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Roy Blunt (R-MO), chairs of the Senate Tourism Caucus, introduced on Tuesday a bill to boost U.S. tourism and “jolt” the U.S. economy, The Hill reported. The bill would speed up the wait for visas for international travelers to enter the United States, a move the senators said would “help the economy as growth and job creation stagnates.”
Representative John Lewis (D-GA) introduced last week H.R. 3056, a bill "to authorize the Gandhi-King Scholarly Exchange Initiative focusing on peace and nonviolence in global conflict resolution, and for other purposes."
