The New America Foundation celebrated Social Media Week with an event about the State Department’s use of digital engagement. The panel included Richard Buangan, the Director of Digital Engagement from the Bureau of Public Affairs, Hilary Brandt, the Director of the Office of Innovative Engagement from the Bureau of International Information Program, and Suzanne Philion from the Bureau of Educational & Cultural Affairs who is the Senior Advisor for Innovation. Each of these panelists discussed their current practices and the future use of digital technologies for the U.S.

Newly appointed Secretary of State John Kerry gave his first foreign policy address at the University of Virginia. He stated,“there is no longer anything foreign about foreign policy” and illustrated the important impacts of globalization. Kerry believes that the largest obstacle for U.S. Foreign Policy is Congress and addressed the strict budget constraints with foreign affairs funding in the federal budget. Secretary Kerry, a former Senator, illustrated the implications of cutting funding to foreign aid and the negative effect it will have on U.S. influence abroad.

In honor of World Radio Day on February 13th, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, discusses the importance and necessity of radio. Growing up in a poor village in South Korea, Secretary General Ban Ki-moon shares his personal experience on reliance of radio in his childhood.  Radio is a unique medium that educates, informs, and entertains both in rural and urban environments. It’s also a key tool for the conduct of public diplomacy. As new technology alters the way the world communicates, its essential to recognize the significance of radio in connecting the global community.

The Afghan Youth Orchestra began its U.S. tour at the Department of State preforming for the newly appointed Secretary John Kerry. 48 young musicians ranging in age 10-21 are set to preform at Washington’s Kennedy Center, New England Conservatory, and at New York’s Carnegie Hall. The tour is being sponsored by U.S. Embassy in Kabul, the World Bank, the Carnegie Corporation of New York and the Afghan Education Ministry.

President Barack Obama nominated Democratic Senator John Kerry to be the next Secretary of State. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee held a conformation hearing in which they discussed top U.S. Foreign Policy priorities such as the relations with Iran, China and the Middle East. On January 29, 2013 Kerry was confirmed with a 94-3 vote in the Senate.

At the Institute for Cultural Diplomacy’s Annual Conference, Katalin Bogyay, President of the General Conference of UNESCO examines the ways in which culture can facilitate peace. Specifically, she discusses the ways in which UNESCO creates educational standards for the global community. Bogyay focuses on how UNESCO combines peace building, culture, and education to create international change. 

The Senior Advisor for Innovation to Secretary Clinton, Alec Ross, speaks on the potential of technology and the ways in which his team applies innovation in service of the United States’ diplomatic and development goals. This video is one of a ten-part series produced by the the United States Diplomacy Center and the Office of Broadcasting Services with State Department officers asking them to answer the question “Diplomacy is…”.

Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs, Tara Sonenshine speaks on The Future of Public Diplomacy at the Heritage Foundation. Specifically, she discusses present State Department programs, as well as the effectiveness and evaluation of these programs to illustrate the impact of public diplomacy on foreign policy. Under Secretary Sonenshine looks at the effectiveness of Public Diplomacy through statistics that show how important public diplomacy programs are important to the future of the United States.