Remarks at the Annual Meeting of the National Council of International Visitors

When I analyzed all that is happening in Africa and how my responsibilities have been transformed, I came to the conclusion that the 21^st Century is Africa's century. To make this a reality, however, will require not only the best efforts of government and the private sector, but it will require your best efforts and my best efforts, and the efforts of the many Americans and Africans who participate in our public diplomacy programs. We, all of us, are engaged in what Under Secretary Karen Hughes calls, "the diplomacy of deeds."

Diplomacy of Deeds

In mid January the U.S. NGO (non-governmental organization) Vital Voices hosted a leadership summit for African women and girls in Cape Town, South Africa. The purpose of the summit was to come together to share ideas, to mentor the next generation of African women leaders, and to encourage U.S. government and private sector support for the many projects these women have underway in their communities across Africa. A Nigerian participant who was a polio victim has returned home inspired to do more for people living with disabilities. A Sierra Leonean woman found the ideas so compelling and useful that she will use them in a special series for her UN radio program.

In another instance, a television co-production cost-shared by the Department and African International Television, an independent television network in Nigeria, produced a documentary on Avian Influenza that was broadcast to 30 million viewers on the same day that Nigeria announced the first case of a human death by avian flu. The timely documentary was able to educate the public on steps to take in preventing the spread of the disease and also to provide the views of U.S. and Nigerian experts on the situation.

These two examples are graphic illustrations of the "diplomacy of deeds," and I am sure that you can think of many, many more examples. Let me quickly outline the strategic goals of public diplomacy as outlined by Under Secretary Hughes.

Strategic Goals of Public Diplomacy

First, the U.S. should offer a positive vision of hope and opportunity that is rooted in our values - our belief in freedom and our belief in the dignity and worth of every single human being. I sat next to a young Zimbabwean human rights activist at lunch last week, one of the 400 African visitors who visit the U.S. annually. In the course of our conversation, I asked him what young people in Zimbabwe are interested in. He told me that he and the youth in his country are interested in a better life and in better governance of their country. He looked to the U.S. as the model of how things could be.

Second, we must reach out to Muslim communities; making it clear to the world that we recognize that the relatively small number of violent extremists who are committing acts of terror pervert Islam. Consequently, we are promoting more active inter-faith dialogues and welcoming visits from Muslim professionals and students to increase their understanding of Americans and learning from them about their religion and culture.

Third, we have to nurture the sense that Americans and people of different countries, cultures and faiths do have much more in common than the issues that divide us. Like us, people around the world want to express themselves freely, want to participate in their governments, and want education and opportunities for their children. Most of all, we and they want to live in peace and have the opportunity to advance, work hard and live productive and meaningful lives.

The Five E's of Public Diplomacy

In order to achieve the strategic goals, means employing effective tactics that have been boiled down to five words: engage, exchange, educated, empower, and evaluate. 

• We have to engage more vigorously. 
• We should exchange more often. 
• We must educate and recognize the importance of education, particularly English-language training programs, in our outreach efforts. 
• We need to empower our citizens and our representatives in embassies around the world to help share and engage in this dialogue with the world. 
• We have to continuously evaluate our programs to measure the impact of what we do and justify our expenditures and our investments in people.

This is a tall order in this period of reduced budgets. What it means is that we will have to be more creative in our programs and more strategic in our partnerships. Let me take time here to commend you for your efforts on behalf of the International Visitors Leadership Program (IVLP) - your Citizen Diplomacy Summit and your desire to redress the 20% reduction in international visitors. I will conclude by describing some of the new tools we are employing in the conduct of public diplomacy...

The New Architecture of Public Diplomacy

We recently held a global PAO conference here in Washington with the theme, "Public Diplomacy: A New Architecture." It was quite a revelation and eye-opener. I have only been back in the U.S. six months, arriving from my last post in Nigeria where I was Country Public Affairs Officer. Thus, everything seemed new and different to me. The message I took away from the conference was that public diplomacy is being taken to a new and exciting level, and that we practitioners are expected to be better communicators and to employ the latest in media technology.

Communications Hubs are the latest tools designed to get our policy message and information closer to foreign audiences on a regional basis and to get it out faster and in synch with local news cycles. Senior officers with special language skills have been assigned to head communications hubs in Brussels, London, and Dubai. Television is the driving force behind the hubs. It is anticipated that hubs will also be established in other geographic areas, including in Africa.

Citizen Dialogues are enhancing mutual understanding. The most recent dialogue (3 - 13 February) has just ended. The group visited Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Jordan and featured Imam Yahya Hendhi, Muslim chaplain at Georgetown University; Anisa Mehdi, producer; Ghiyath Nakshbendi, Principal Partner at Sangamore Group; and Azmat Khan, student at the University of Michigan. The itinerary included a stop in Mecca. Other dialogues are planned. Digital videoconferences and web chats are also increasing our ability to converse with foreign publics.

Ms. Michelle Kwan was designated the first Cultural Envoy by the State Department and recently visited China, Thailand, and the Philippines with Under Secretary Hughes. She had instant rapport with youth wherever she went and was an articulate spokesperson.

Secretary Rice has just announced a new award, the Benjamin Franklin Award, to recognize the contributions of an individual, or group of individuals, who has made significant contributions to U.S. public diplomacy.

I look forward to hearing from you what new innovations are changing the way you program International Visitors in your communities and how you fit into the new architecture of public diplomacy.

Thank you.