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Washington DC: Summit on Citizen Diplomacy
Washington DC: Summit on Citizen Diplomacy
American Voices YES Academy program has been selected as one of nation's top ten best practices in international cultural engagement
American Voices is pleased to announce their citizen cultural engagement program has been selected as a Best Practice by the International Cultural Engagement Task Force and the U.S. Center for Citizen Diplomacy (USCCD) and as such will be highlighted as a key component of the upcoming U.S. Summit for Global Citizen Diplomacy, to be held November 16-19, 2010 in Washington, DC.
In preparation for the Summit, Task Forces in nine sectors – business, community-based organizations, development assistance, global health, higher education, international cultural engagement, international voluntary service, K-12 education, and youth service - were created to highlight ways in which organizations within each sector can expand existing initiatives and offer new and innovative programs to encourage more engagement of Americans in global citizen diplomacy. The Task Forces are co-chaired by experts in their respective fields and represent broad networks of U.S. non-profit, non-partisan organizations. Summit Task Force groups compiled and vetted hundreds of program submittals as part of the selection process, and will make presentations on the role of their sector in increasing U.S. citizen engagement in international affairs at the Summit in November.
As part of the criteria, the creative use of new technologies and the identification of international partnerships were highly encouraged. Each selected proposal focuses on one or a combination of major global challenges that Americans as citizen diplomats working collaboratively with fellow American and international partners can address. They are:
· Preserving the Environment
· Reducing Poverty & Disease
· Increasing Respect for Human Rights
· Creating a Globally Competent Society
· Encouraging International Cultural Engagement
· Achieving Food Security
· Securing U.S. & Global Financial Security
The International Cultural Engagement Task Force examined existing and proposed new international cultural engagements that help enhance mutual understanding, respect, and trust. These included partnerships and collaborations among individuals and organizations in the U.S. and abroad, in the fields of dance; design; folk arts; humanistic study and publication; film, television and digital arts; libraries; literature and writing; music; opera; heritage preservation; music-theater; theater; and the visual arts; and the presenters, exhibitors, and networks of these artistic and humanistic endeavors. A special effort is being made to showcase best practices in these areas, including, in particular, connections and collaborations among local and regional citizen activities and established national and international programs that are working to improve mutual understanding, respect, and trust.
Portfolio summaries of the selected Best Practices from each of the nine sectors will be available at the Summit for all participants, including potential funders.
The U.S. Summit for Global Citizen Diplomacy is a national meeting presented by the USCCD in partnership with the U.S. Department of State, Office of Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs. The Summit is designed to broaden the momentum generated from the work of the USCCD as a national resource base and network for Americans to be engaged as citizen diplomats, and two major leadership forums focused on the revival of citizen diplomacy as a critical component of U.S. public diplomacy and foreign policy strategy.
The Summit will be the first such meeting since President Eisenhower’s People-to-People conference on the same subject 54 years ago, and will serve as the launch for a “Decade of Citizen Diplomacy” with a goal to double the number of American citizen diplomats by 2020.
A complete listing of the selected Top Program organizations, and detailed information about the U.S. Summit for Global Citizen Diplomacy may be found at: www.usc4cd.org/summit.
American Voices and the U.S. Center for Citizen Diplomacy stand together in their commitment to the expansion and promotion of citizen diplomacy initiatives and urges their fellow Americans to join the effort.
The U.S. Center for Citizen Diplomacy (USCCD) is a non-profit, non-partisan organization established in 2006 to promote and expand opportunity for all Americans to be citizen diplomats, and affirm the indispensible value of citizen involvement in foreign relations. Additional information about the USCCD and the U.S. Summit for Global Citizen Diplomacy may be found at: www.usc4cd.org
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