U.S. Center for Citizen Diplomacy Blog

June issue of our monthly newsletter is out. Grab your copy here.

A new research report by the Pew Global Attitudes Project concludes that “the image of the United States has improved slightly in many countries over the past year, the poll results show. But the new optimism appears to be driven largely by the fact that Mr. Bush will soon be leaving office.”Read the whole article about this report in the New York Times web site. 

The day of the forum is coming closer (May 27th in Des Moines, and May 28th in Omaha, Nebraska). Please visit this page to RSVP for this event. It is free and open to public, but RSVP is required.

Global Youth Service Day (GYSD) is the largest service event in the world, organized by Youth Service America and a consortium of U.S. and international organizations. GYSD is an annual global event that highlights and celebrates the year-round contributions of youth to their communities through volunteer service. During Global Youth Service Day, young people organize highly visible community service projects to address local and global needs. Events will take place on April 25-27, 2008 (save the date for GYSD 2009: April 24-26!). GYSD is celebrated in over 100 countries in every region of the world. For more information, visit www.ysa.org/gysd.

April 2008 issue of the Foreign Service Journal has picked our website as their “Site of the Month”. They say that the Center acts ” as a clearinghouse for the thousands of programs that offer opportunities for citizen diplomacy and helping citizens of any age locate the program or activity best suited to them. The Center’s user-friendly Web site also offers information on education and training programs, seminars and workshops related to diplomacy, a well as such useful advice as “Ten Things You Can Do To Support Diplomacy.” We would like to thank the Journal for this recognition.To read the article, please click here. It is under the Cybernotes section. 

According to a poll conducted for the BBC World Service, “The average percentage of people saying that the US has a positive influence has risen to 35% from 31% a year ago”. Read the full article and the report here. 

Over the past few months, we have been constantly changing and updating the content of our website. To evaluate our website, we have put together a survey. Please visit the following link and let us know what you think of our website. It will take no more than 3 minutes to complete the survey.

Take Survey

Check out the photos from the National Awards for Citizen Diplomacy ceremony held in Washington D.C on Feb. 12, 2008. Here is the link.

What will our world be like five, 10, 25, 50, 200 years from now? Will it be a safer and more prosperous world for everyone or an increasingly dangerous place, especially for Americans? How will Americans be perceived by other people around the world?

Many people of other cultures and views now see the United States as arrogant, soft, spoiled, pompous, demanding and intractable. They openly wonder whether America has begun an irreversible decline into greed, decay and immorality. But what can individual Americans do about that?

The U.S. Center for Citizen Diplomacy, established in 2006 in Des Moines, is asking all U.S. citizens to join our organization in the mission of a lifetime: engaging more Americans in relationships and partnerships with men and women from other homelands, trusting that such experiences will inspire surprising possibilities in times of future crises.

The center promotes the opportunity for all Americans to be citizen diplomats and affirms the indispensable value of citizen involvement in international relations. It is devoted to recruiting, educating, strengthening and recognizing citizen diplomats who strive to meet the duty of each generation. And it connects people to organizations who provide opportunities for Americans to participate both here and abroad.

As our government continues to search for effective ways to project a positive American image abroad, nothing demonstrates American values better than Americans. Tens of thousands of our fellow citizens travel outside the United States every year, each having an opportunity to leave a personal and lasting image among those they meet. Others welcome visitors at home, build friendships through technology with their counterparts abroad and raise funds to meet the needs of those overseas who are facing disasters of weather, war and famine.

These Americans of all ages may be everyday citizens, business people, teachers, artists, pen pals, humanitarians, students, researchers, adventurers and others. They are motivated by compassion, professional interest, curiosity and faith. They volunteer. As a result of being involved, they are informed and responsible citizens of our shared world.

They participate in the Peace Corps, Rotary International, Sister Cities, Partners of the Americas, the International Visitor Leadership Program, Doctors without Borders, Youth for Understanding, the Fulbright Program, the Institute for International Education and countless other organizations committed to the importance of Americans building personal relationships with people throughout the world.

Until now, public and private efforts to enhance the quality and quantity of this spontaneous flow of personal energy and goodwill have been insufficient. There is no consistent or routine measurement of the extent of the efforts’ impact, no methodical sharing of what works and what does not, and little focus on magnifying this extraordinary resource to the level of national attention it deserves.

Today, it is critical that America’s values be better understood throughout the world. It is the right and the responsibility of every American to be a citizen diplomat of the highest quality for our communities and our country.

The center is devoted to helping humanity learn genuine trust and respect for neighbors near and far. Initial investments of time, energy and resources - public and private - will enable the center to lift citizen diplomacy to the level of engagement that today’s global needs demand.

We invite you to join us and contribute to this work. Complementing other citizen-diplomacy efforts nationwide, we will work to forge a common future with mutual security, cultural diversity and realistic expectations.

JOHN K. MENZIES is honorary board chair of the U.S. Center for Citizen Diplomacy. He’s also dean of the John C. Whitehead School of Diplomacy and International Relations and a retired U.S. ambassador.

This page is for YAL fellows and any other member of the public to express opinion or initiate conversation on any global topics that interest them. To learn more about YAL Fellows Program, please click here.