About the Authors: Ambassador Philip L. Verveer serves as U.S. Coordinator for International Communications and Information Policy at the U.S. Department of State, Lawrence E. Strickling serves as Administrator of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), and Julius Genachowski serves as Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

On the eve of the World Conference on International Telecommunications (WCIT), we believe that it is the right time to reaffirm the U.S. government’s commitment to the multi-stakeholder model as the appropriate process… more »

About the Author: Tara Sonenshine serves as Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs.

During the recent crisis in Libya and the events surrounding the online dissemination of a hateful video, many asked: what tools does the State Department have to respond to audiences and engage people around the world in real time?

The answer is many. A robust team at State is making use of every tool in the proverbial toolbox to communicate U.S. foreign policy and American values while identifying new and innovative ways to engage audiences. Good ideas have multiple authors, and multiple ways to circulate around the world. That is the essence of Secretary Clinton’s 21st Century Statecraft. And you can see it in our public diplomacy.

A quick look demonstrates the breadth and depth of our capabilities to meet the complexity of the communications challenges we face in… more »

About the Author: About the Author: Blake Narendra serves as an intern in the Bureau of Arms Control, Verification and Compliance.

Last Monday, I joined students and young professionals at a day-long conference at the Department of State to discuss the security challenges we all face in the 21st Century.

The 3rd Annual Generation Prague Conference highlighted the agenda and accomplishments that have followed President Obama’s 2009 Prague speech where he outlined the United States’ commitment to seek the peace and security of a world without nuclear weapons. Nuclear weapons have been with us for more than sixty-five years. Getting to “zero” will not occur overnight. Moving the Prague Agenda forward will only be possible if a new generation of leaders embraces this nuclear security challenge as an opportunity.

Acting Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security, Rose Gottemoeller, participated in a panel with Assistant Secretary for International Security and Nonproliferation… more »

Just as the Internet has changed virtually every aspect of how people worldwide live, learn, consume and communicate, connection technologies are changing the strategic context for diplomacy in the 21st century.

– Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton

For Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, modernizing U.S. diplomacy is a strategic imperative. The widespread diffusion of technologies such as broadband Internet, social media and mobile phones requires updating our policies and practices. Connection technologies now increase our impact across the range of diplomatic activities, from public diplomacy to commercial outreach, from disaster response to democracy promotion.

Supporting U.S. Values

Building on “The White House International Strategy for Cyberspace,” the State Department is promoting policies that support our values and objectives in cyberspace:

• Internet Freedom: The free flow of information online empowers individuals and strengthens societies, but some governments censor and use surveillance to chill free expression and arrest dissidents merely for the opinions they express. In addition to promoting Internet freedom globally, the State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) financially support human rights activists in this area.
• Internet Governance: Preserving an open, free, and secure Internet requires a stable and effective system of Internet governance. We are committed to the decentralized, “multi-stakeholder” model that includes governments, businesses, academia, and civil society. This has proven capable of solving technical and policy problems to address issues, such as data privacy and protection, intellectual property and taxation. MORE

About the Author: Robert D. Hormats serves as the Under Secretary for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment at the Department of State.

Today, we celebrate the contributions of scientists and innovators such as Steve Jobs, Thomas Edison, and Alexander Graham Bell. We recognize the writings of Jonathan Franzen, architectural designs of I. M. Pei, movies of Steven Spielberg, and many others like them whose works have changed the way we view our world and live our lives. Why today? Because April 26 marks World Intellectual Property Day, the annual celebration commemorating the formation of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in 1970. 

This year’s theme — visionary innovators — recognizes the unique and valuable contributions made by gifted individuals all over the world. Without innovation, civilizations remain static. The economist Robert Solow was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1987 for showing that technological innovation was responsible for over 80 percent of economic growth in the United… more »

About the Author: Alec Ross serves as the Secretary of State’s Senior Advisor for Innovation.

Technology and new innovations are changing the world in which we live. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is responding to these challenges by adapting our foreign policy agenda to leverage new innovations in service of our diplomatic and development goals. This is 21st Century Statecraft — complementing traditional foreign policy tools with newly innovated and adapted instruments of statecraft that fully leverage the networks, technologies, and demographics of our interconnected world.

Today marks the end of “21st Century Statecraft Month” at that State Department — an entire month dedicated to using new tools and engaging new networks in pursuit of addressing today’s challenges. During the month, I had the privilege to speak with a group of journalists and bloggers… more »

The U.S. Department of State has designated January 2012 as 21^st Century Statecraft month. Twenty-first Century Statecraft complements traditional foreign policy by harnessing and adapting the digital networks and technologies of today’s interconnected world. The U.S. Department of State and U.S. Missions abroad have developed a range of initiatives to showcase U.S. diplomatic leadership in leveraging digital networks and technologies in service of their foreign policy goals.

Dawn L. McCall serves as Coordinator of the Bureau of International Information Programs.

Last night, Americans gathered around their television sets — or computer monitors — to watch President Barack Obama deliver the State of the Union Address. For the first time, international audiences were able to watch the State of the Union Address live on U.S. embassy and consulate websites. The U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of International Information Programs (IIP) streamed the speech with a new video player, placed directly on almost 300 English-language embassy and consulate websites andFacebook pages worldwide.

Our missions in Cambodia, Japan, Nepal, Thailand, and Turkey had among the highest views of the webcast, and more than 60 posts amplified the speech on social media platforms, where they engaged their online communities via Facebook and Twitter. The U.S. Mission in Melbourne noted that the hashtag #SOTU was trending on Twitter in Australia — which demonstrates to me the interest the State of the Union Address generated overseas.

Some of our posts continued the online engagement offline by hosting viewing parties. For example, the U.S. Mission in Lahore hosted a group of Pakistani students to watch the President’s remarks, and the U.S. Embassy in Accra held an event with local journalists and exchange program alumni to view and discuss the program.

The feedback we received from participants was encouraging. A group of students watching in India shared how inspired they were by the President, and a viewer in Russia said that she believed in the power of people to create change. One viewer in Iraq noted that he woke up extra early in the morning to make sure he didn’t miss the President’s address.

Fortunately, not everyone had to set their alarm clocks early to watch the speech! To reach the part of the world that was asleep during the live event, we are rebroadcasting the State of the Union Address today in a 24-hour loop. International audiences across all time zones will be able to see the President’s remarks. This pilot is part of our ongoing efforts to find new and innovative ways to create global conversations and connect publics around the world, a hallmark of 21st Century Statecraft.