Public Benefit
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Citizen Dialogue Program Delegates visit students at a ?madrassa? in the Sinza community of Dar es Salaam. State Photo/Dar es Salaam, Citizen Dialogue Program |
United States values as a nation and as a people are the foundation of our international engagement. Public perceptions of the U.S. directly affect our ability to achieve our foreign policy and development assistance objectives. The Department of State and USAID vigorously communicate this intersection of values, interests, and policy. Through diplomatic engagement, assistance, and dialogue, the two agencies foster a two-way flow of people, ideas, and information?a process defined by mutual learning and respect and designed to create peaceful and productive relationships between the United States and other countries.
2007 Resources Invested
| State Operations |
Foreign Assistance |
Total |
|---|---|---|
| $974 million | N/A | $974 million |
Strategic Priorities
Offer a Positive Vision: The Department and USAID offer a positive vision of hope and opportunity that is rooted in the most basic values of the people of the United States: our deep belief in freedom, including freedom of expression and religion, and our belief in the dignity and equality of every person. We believe that a free people, well-informed, will make the best choices for the common good, as factual information is the antidote to ignorance, misunderstanding, and violent extremism.
The U.S. Government sponsors educational programs at all levels, advocates for the rights of people, and partners with countries across the world to fight terrorism, which threatens the right of all people everywhere to live in security and peace. The Department of State?s Bureau of International Information Programs, for example, communicates through a wide range of speaker, print and electronic outreach programs in English, Arabic, Chinese, French, Persian, Russian and Spanish. The Bureau also provides information outreach support to U.S. embassies and consulates in more than 140 countries.
The following indicator measures the level by which participation in public diplomacy programs engages international audiences on issues of foreign policy, society and values to create an environment receptive to U.S. national interests.
| Performance Indicator | 2005 Results |
2006 Results |
2007 Target |
2007 Results |
2007 Rating |
2008 Target |
2009 Target |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Percent Reduction in the Level of Anti-American Sentiment Among Key Foreign Audiences | N/A | N/A | 17% | 17% |  |
18% | 19% |
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Karen Hughes, Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs, talks to a Filipina Muslim student trying a computer during her visit to the volatile island of Jolo in the southern Philippines, a known hotbed of the Muslim extremist Abu Sayyaf group. AP Photo |
Marginalize Extremism: As part of its transformational diplomacy effort, the U.S. Government counters extremists, who threaten freedom and peace, by promoting education and educational exchanges, democratization, good governance, and economic and human development as a path to a positive future in just, secure, and pluralistic societies. The U.S. works to isolate and discredit terrorist ideology and de-legitimize terror as an acceptable tactic to achieve political ends.
Nurture Common Interests and Values: Common interests and values are integral to U.S. Government communications. Programs and messages are built on areas in which U.S. Government expertise corresponds to the interests and needs of our partners and counterparts. Creating indigenous capacity?whether it is in health, education, free press, workforce training, agriculture, law enforcement, or governance?is key to long-term progress, the stable development of civil society, and firm and friendly bilateral and multilateral relationships.
The following indicator summarizes the impact of bringing youth to the United States to learn about American values, civil society, independent thinking, and public action. As our most important constituency, youth and those who influence youth are our allies in the global struggle against extremist ideology and violence in nations where there are soaring populations of vulnerable youth and a lack of opportunities to build a stable life. These public diplomacy programs engage young people and offer a positive vision of American democratic values.
| Performance Indicator | 2005 Results |
2006 Results |
2007 Target |
2007 Results |
2007 Rating |
2008 Target |
2009 Target |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Percent of Youth Participants who Increase their Understanding of American Values, Society and Culture Immediately after their Program Experience | N/A | 92% | 90% | 95% |  |
95% | 95% |
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