Office of the Special Representative to Muslim Communities
Youth in Azerbaijan welcome Special Representative Pandith and Special Envoy Rosenthal
on their 2011 Hours Against Hate Campaign.
2011 Hours Against Hate
2011 Hours Against Hate is a joint campaign undertaken by Special Representative to Muslim Communities Farah Pandith and Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism Hannah Rosenthal, asking young people globally to pledge their time in volunteer service to others in order to stop bigotry and promote pluralism and respect across lines of culture, religion, tradition, class, and gender. (www.facebook.com/2011HoursAgainstHate) For example, a Muslim could volunteer in a Jewish community center or a Christian could volunteer in a Sikh organization, etc. Over the course of 2011, the campaign aims to build toward 2,011 hours of service. As part of this effort, Special Envoy Rosenthal and Special Representative Pandith visited countries where there has been a history of prosperous coexistence, including Spain, Azerbaijan, and Turkey, with more visits planned. We are also collaborating with NGOs to encourage their networks to participate. Volunteers may declare their pledged hours through the campaign’s Facebook site, which also serves to keep young people who have pledged service connected to each other. This is not a U.S. government campaign per se, but rather one in which the U.S. government is acting as a catalyst for global action stemming from the request of civil society. 2011 Hours Against Hate exceeded the pledge goals in its first couple months.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton welcomes 73 participants in “Generation Change”
to her annual State Department Iftar dinner. September 7, 2010.
Generation Change
Building off an initial event that brought together over 70 young American Muslims just prior to Secretary Clinton’s 2010 Iftaar, Generation Change aims to bring together successful and motivated young leaders under the age of 30 to amplify their ability to create positive change in their communities. In countries where youth have expressed their desire for mentorship and stronger links to outside communities working on similar issues, this network can provide a much needed platform for exchanging ideas and creating projects that can have impact on a global scale, both through offline events and online connections. Our embassies in every region of the world are now building “Generation Change” chapters. Embassies are reaching out to the next generation of young leaders in their host nations to implement diplomacy at the people-to-people level and build strong networks of young leaders who are positively influencing their communities now and in the years to come.
Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, launches women’s leadership initiative;
enlists five American women’s colleges. .
Women in Public Service Initiative
The range of complex challenges that exist around the world today and into the future require the robust participation of women in public service and political leadership to forge global solutions to improve governance, expand civil rights, and combat corruption. As Secretary Clinton announced on March 11, 2011 at the 100th anniversary of International Women’s Day, the State Department is working in partnership with five leading women’s colleges – Barnard, Bryn Mawr, Mount Holyoke, Smith, and Wellesley – to launch a new Women and Public Service initiative to advance women’s leadership in politics and governance worldwide. With rich traditions of educating women from around the world to be leaders for over 30 generations, these schools represent a legacy of historic achievement for women. Together with several State Department offices reporting directly to the Secretary – including the Office of Global Women’s Issues – SRMC and these women’s colleges will convene a series of global conversations and launch partnerships to ensure that we are educating and training a new generation of women to enter the public sector with the strategic leadership skills, energy, and commitment required to tackle today’s global challenges.
