Remarks at an Awards Ceremony Honoring CultureConnect Ambassadors and Basketball Envoys

(3:30 p.m. EST)

SECRETARY POWELL: Thank you very much. Well, thank you very much, Pat, for that kind introduction, and I thank you, also, for all the superb work that you and the members of your bureau have performed over the years to bring this about to make it such a vibrant program.

Alma and I are very pleased to welcome you all here today, and especially the ambassadors representing so many foreign countries who are with us today. And I'm especially pleased to honor our CultureConnect ambassadors and special envoys, and especially our sports envoys.

This is really an important program for us because American art and American athletics are invaluable windows into the movements of our society, into the heart of our nation and into the very soul of our citizenry.

The epic stories of the American people are best expressed through the rhythms of our music and of our poetry, through the grace of our dancers and athletes. That includes you, Debbie Allen. (Laughter.)

When it comes to helping people better understand America, the greatest ambassadors we have are the creators of American culture. We started the CultureConnect program two years ago to contribute unique American voices to the growing conversation within our globalized world and about our globalized world.

In this new environment, our public outreach efforts are important, but they are not enough. To be truly successful, we in government need dedicated private partners who are eager to make a difference, passionate and inspiring people like the men and women that we are honoring this afternoon.

Last year, we enlisted the help of these distinguished artists and athletes and sent them all across the globe. Their mission is to build connections and begin conversations with our world's most important and influential people, young people.

Reaching out to our world's youth is absolutely essential. They will inherit our world and be called upon to lead. So as Pat mentioned, whenever in our travel, wherever I go I make it a point to meet with young people. And the best thing about meeting with young people and having conversations with them is that you never know where these conversations will lead. There are no prearranged or taboo topics.

Recently, I had the opportunity to speak with youth in Bulgaria, Brazil and Korea. We discussed serious issues like the war in Iraq and the future of the European Union. We also discussed less serious matters. For example, in Korea, a young woman wanted to know what calypso was all about and would I please help her understand this music. (Laughter.)

So I told her about my Jamaican heritage. I told her about Harry Belafonte. And when all else failed, I sang to her, of course. (Laughter.)

In Bulgaria, I was really stumped the other day when a young student who was studying American film and wanted to know whether our top secret technology was really as cool and advanced as James Bond's gadgets. And then the young student asked me to explain the consistent pattern of scripts in James Bond movies. What I had to do with James Bond movies was beyond me, but why not? So I took a shot at it and I said, "Well, they all go the same way. James Bond is called and 007 comes in, says hello to Mrs. Moneypenny, or whatever her name was -- (laughter) -- and then there's a bad guy who's about to do something very, very bad, and James Bond goes out with all of his gimmicks, saves the day, the bad guy goes away and James Bond gets the girl. And that's a James Bond movie, no matter when it was made."

I was hit in the press the next day and the headlines said, "Powell Pans James Bond Movies." (Laughter.) You can't win. You can't win.

Wherever I go, I always find young people are completely fascinated by America. And it's so wonderful to sit with young people, and I will often ask them if they have been to the United States on one of the great programs that Pat runs. I say, "What did you see here? Don't just tell me about foreign policy. What did you see that you enjoyed or disappointed you or surprised you or you didn't like about America?" And it's fascinating the things they will tell you.

One young girl told me the other day she thought it was positively barbaric that we put ice in our tea -- such a thing as iced tea. (Laughter.) Another young student said, "We couldn't believe that people actually drank, in your schools, when they were serving lunch, they drank milk with pizza." That sounds totally barbaric. And I didn't have enough time to talk about the American Dairy Lobby, but I'll do that some other time.

And another wonderful young man said he was truly embarrassed that people laughed at him when he put ketchup on his pizza, to add even more tomato to a pizza.

But they also tell you wonderful stories about the young Brazilian kids who told me that they went to a restaurant in Chicago and they didn't have enough money to pay the bill, these 12 young people. It was at a Rustler's. And they didn't know what they would do. They thought they were in desperate trouble. They only had enough money for ten, not for 12.

So, finally, they called the waitress in distress and asked her, "What shall we do?" And the waitress looked at them and then left to go get a higher authority, and the kids were terrified. Twelve Brazilian students in Chicago.

And a few minutes later, the waitress came back and said to them, "It's all right, don't worry about. We're glad you enjoyed your meal. We're glad to have you here in America. And we'll cover the difference."

And the students looked at each other and looked at the waitress and said, "But won't you have to pay for it?" And she said, "Don't worry about it. The manager said we're pleased to have you here and we'll take care of it."

Now, the kids left and will never forget that image of America. And that's really the kind of America we are and that's what we want to do when we bring them here and when we send these wonderful people out. Folks out there want to learn about American culture. They want to learn more about the American people in order to learn more about themselves.

Every day of their lives, the young people of our world are reaching out to America, and America must reach out to them. This is CultureConnect's vision and all of you are helping to make it a reality. Consider what some of our Cultural Ambassadors have been up to recently.

Earlier this year, Frank McCourt traveled to Israel and spoke with a group of young Israeli and Palestinian students. Frank talked about the immense suffering he overcame as a child in Ireland and how he worked to express these memories in his writing. Frank implored all of the students to recognize that the hardships and heartbreak they experience in their young lives can be the seeds of future accomplishment.

Mary Wilson, the most supreme of the Supremes, visited Botswana recently to raise awareness of the danger of HIV/AIDS. Mary took an AIDS test publicly and encouraged others to do the same. And in order to get into the concert, your admission ticket was proof that you had taken an AIDS test.

Our sports envoys, you can tell which two they are -- (laughter) -- no, not you, Silver. But Omari Faulkner and Courtland Freeman dribbled their way through Eastern Europe and Southeast Asia shooting hoops and meeting with aspiring young athletes. And folks came out by the thousands to participate. Through their sports clinics, Omari and Courtland connected to diverse youth through the common language of the basketball court.

All of these men and women are working just as hard -- and you will hear their accomplishments in a moment -- traveling the world and reaching out to the next generation with their stories of American culture, of what we are really all about.

And the experience does not end when they come home. Through the CultureConnect website, our Cultural Ambassadors continue to stay in touch and serve as mentors to the young people that they've met. This is the kind of outreach we need in the 21st century: meaningful cultural connections that cement lasting friendships and shape the way that we think about one another.

In today's world, the cultural exchange between peoples is just as important as the official diplomacy between states. Today, our voices carry far beyond the apparatus of government and the cultural ties we forge between peoples and nations will help us to seize the countless opportunities of this young century.

Everyone here this afternoon is helping to make CultureConnect an amazing success. I'm especially grateful to all of you, our Cultural Ambassadors and Sports Envoys, for using your precious time and unique talents to make a difference in the world, for helping us. You are not only role models for the youth you meet around the world, you are an inspiration to your fellow Americans as well who dream of building a better future.

Thank you all so very, very much, and keep up the great work. Thank you.

(Applause.)

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