Overseas, the State Department is working with other countries and organizations to share experiences, ideas, and practices that can assist partner nations to better protect public places.  Under the auspices of the Global Counterterrorism Forum (GCTF), the United States and Turkey are co-leading the “Protection of Soft Targets in a Counterterrorism Context Initiative,” which aims to raise awareness, identify needs, and leverage expertise and experiences to better protect potential soft targets.