All posts tagged Public Service

Obama-Biden Citizen’s Briefing Book

by waybeyondthebeltway on January 18, 2009 in Americans Abroad, General Interest, Government, Presidency, Public Service with 1 Comment

Tapping the power of the Internet in another step towards good government, openness and inclusiveness, the Obama-Biden Administration is offering citizens an unprecedented opportunity to provide input into policy. The Citizen’s Briefing Book allows individuals to share their ideas “on any issue facing the new administration, then rate or comment on other ideas. The best rated ideas will be gathered into a Citizen’s Briefing Book to be delivered to President Obama after he is sworn in.”

Take a look and get involved.

Nominations for the Benjamin Franklin Award for Public Diplomacy

by waybeyondthebeltway on November 19, 2007 in Americans Abroad, Diplomacy, Public Service with No comments

The State Department’s Office of Private Sector Outreach was created to develop and coordinate “innovative ways for the State Department to engage the private sector in our public diplomacy initiatives.” Indeed, Secretary Rice states, “The solutions to the challenges of the 21st century are not going to be met by government alone. They come from all sectors of American society working together.”

The Office of Private Sector Outreach page indicates that State now recognizes what all Americans abroad have always known, which is that public diplomacy “is certainly not the work of government alone.” Companies, universities, foundations, groups and individuals can and do represent and embody essential aspects of America.

In light of this, State has created the Benjamin Franklin Award for Public Diplomacy. The Washington Post reports that the award is:

a new annual award to honor a company, academic institution or other nongovernmental entity that does the most to promote the U.S. image abroad through intercultural understanding

Some obvious choices for the award: American Citizens Abroad, Business for Diplomatic Action, the Federation of American Women’s Clubs Overseas, and any number of the myriad and many members of the Association of American Clubs.

According to the State Department’s description of the award (available here as a PDF) the nominations are being accepted as from September 15, 2007 and until December 15, 2007. The nomination form is available here. According to the PDF, all nominations should be mailed, faxed, or emailed to:

Office of the Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs
U.S. Department of State
2201 C Street, NW, Room 7261
Washington, D.C. 20520
Diplomacyupdate@state.gov
202 647-9199/202 647-9140 (fax)
http://www.state.gov/r/partnerships

Harnessing the power of Americans abroad

by waybeyondthebeltway on July 23, 2007 in Congress & Elections, Diplomacy, General Interest, Government, Public Service with No comments

We’ve all seen estimates that there are at least 4 million United States citizens living abroad, but the truth is we don’t really know the number. The Census Bureau has been working to get an accurate number, but it’s a complicated process and those of us living abroad need to cooperate. According to the Census Bureaus‘ report, Issues of Counting Americans Overseas in Future Censuses:

“While data are available from Census 2000 on federal civilian employees and military personnel1, the Census Bureau does not know the number of private Americans living abroad under the other categories. No accurate estimate exists of the total number of Americans living abroad or of the other components of this population.”

Still, it’s a safe bet that the number of American citizens living overseas is in the millions so the question is, “How should the United States government utilize this invaluable community and engage it continuous dialog so that we might act and interact more effectively in our respective host countries, i.e. with the respective governments, interest groups, organizations, and individuals, and thereby enhance America’s world standing and trade opportunities while modeling American ideals?”

Please leave a comment if you have any suggestions.

American Citizens Abroad’s Thomas Jefferson Award Winners – 2006

by waybeyondthebeltway on July 17, 2007 in General Interest, Government, Public Service with 1 Comment

In 1993, American Citizens Abroad created the Thomas Jefferson Award to commemorate the 250th anniversary of Jefferson’s birth. This annual award is conferred upon U.S. State Department staff in recognition of their work and dedication to the ideals of America. The 2006 ACA Thomas Jefferson Award Winners are:

“David W. Abell is the U.S. Consul General in Baghdad. He joined the Foreign Service in 1987, and has served in Mexico City; Bridgetown, Barbados; Harare, Zimbabwe; Lagos, Nigeria; and Toronto. During his assignments in Washington, DC, David was an instructor for new consular officers, and later headed the Anti-Fraud Training Unit. In Baghdad, David is in charge of the U.S. Embassy section that provides essential services to the private sector U.S. community living and working in Iraq. In addition to the routine tasks of assisting with passports and absentee voting, David is on duty essentially 24 hours a day answering calls for help on a very wide variety of uniquely challenging problems and concerns. This is a hardship post in very dangerous circumstances. David volunteered for this assignment and his willingness to endure these trying conditions manifests the highest degree of patriotism and devotion to his fellow citizens. ACA salutes his courage, his dedication to his country, and his services to his compatriots living and working abroad. David has previously received several awards for his performance. Two of these cited his outstanding work in Harare and Toronto. A third recognized his role in improving the training of new consular officers. David and his wife, Mary, have a son who is currently a Midshipman at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis.

Rena Bitter is the Consular Chief in Amman, Jordan. She joined the Foreign Service in 1994, and has previously served in Mexico City; Bogota, Colombia; and London. She worked for a year directly with the British Foreign Office before becoming the Chief of the Nonimmigrant Visa Unit at the American Embassy in London. During an assignment in Washington, she served as a Special Assistant to former Secretary of State Colin Powell. In her current capacity in Amman, Rena has a double responsibility. She not only provides a full range of assistance to American citizens living and working in Jordan, but also provides vital backup and support to David Abell and his colleagues at the U.S. Embassy in Iraq. She and David form a powerful team working closely together to respond to the needs of U.S. citizens in very trying circumstances. Rena has also previously received awards for outstanding performance. Two of these cited her leadership of London’s Nonimmigrant Visa Unit, which is the largest visa processing post in Europe. A third noted her contributions to the office of the Secretary of State. As testimony to her courage and dedication, one of her supervisors wrote a few years ago: “If my grandkids were to find themselves in trouble, I would hope it would be Rena, or someone like her who would be available” to help them.”

Thank you David and Rena for your fine work on behalf of the U.S. and all of her myriad and many citizens around the globe. A list of previous winners of the ACA Thomas Jefferson Award is available here.