Acting Secretary of State John Sullivan will be in Lima, #Peru April 11-14 to accompany Vice President Mike Pence at the Eighth Summit of the Americas. During the Summit, the United States will promote economic prosperity in the #WesternHemisphere, and address the political and humanitarian crisis in #Venezuela.
Today, the State Department honored 10 Emerging Young Leaders, ages 16-25 from across the globe. These international youth have shown the tenacity and courage to create positive and social change in their communities. The awardees will participate in a three-week intensive exchange program specially tailored to strengthen their knowledge, abilities, and networks. During the program, they will connect with each other and Americans in their areas of expertise to share best practices and create opportunities to multiply the impact of their work. Congratulations to these Emerging Young Leaders! #EYLeaders #EmergingYoungLeaders #Malta #SriLanka #Afghanistan #Pakistan #Vietnam #Algeria #Tajikistan #Belgium #Peru #Jerusalem
Exchange Alumni Sow Environmental Awareness in Northern Peru
In recent years, deforestation, trash build-up, and contamination of beaches has risen in the Tumbes region of Peru, negatively impacting both marine life and the tourism industry. A concerned team of Peruvian alumni decided to reverse this trend.
As part of their “Sowing Awareness” project, a winner in the 2014 Alumni Engagement Innovation Fund (AEIF) competition, the 11-member alumni team facilitated a series of workshops for a group of 30 students, ages 9 to 16, on the importance of ecological diversity. The experience-based workshops allowed the youth participants to explore various environmental protection activities in their local community through photography of nature, city landscape management, a beach clean-up campaign, and identification of local flora and fauna.
The alumni team partnered with the local National University of Tumbes, local government, and NGO Eco-Fundo La Caprichosa in Piura to plan ongoing reforestation efforts in the region past the completion of the AEIF project. The “Sowing Awareness” project provides an answer to reversing the tide of environmental degradation by promoting public awareness and empowering youth as environmental activists.
Climate change is a monumental test of global leadership. It transcends borders and economic status. Every nation has a responsibility to step up and respond to this threat because every nation is at risk. Thirteen of the 14 warmest years on record have occurred since 2000, and 2014 is on track to be the warmest of all.
Read more from Secretary Kerry’s op-ed on climate change on DipNote.
(Source: blogs.state.gov)
Today at the Peru Pavilion at the COP, ministers gathered for the announcement of the National Adaptation Plan Global Network.
The U.S. Special Envoy for Climate Change, Todd Stern, the Minister of Environment of Peru, Manuel Pulgar-Vidal, and the Minister of Economic Cooperation and Development of Germany, Gerd Muller, and ministers from Jamaica, Togo, Japan and The Philippines were all in attendance.
We’re back in action today at the U.S. Center at COP-20! Join us today at 4PM ET for a NOAA presentation on Blue Carbon and Green Infrastructure at www.youtube.com/TheUSCenter. You can ask questions of our presenters on Twitter using #AskUSCenter. You can also watch our events from last week here.
On Friday, December 5, we also hosted a Reddit AMA with Dr. David Reidmiller and Dr. Farhan Akhtar, two Climate Science Advisors at the U.S. Department of State. Our scientists answered questions CO2 emissions, what other countries are doing to mitigate climate change, and what everyday people can do to help solve climate change. While the official event is over, the conversation on climate change is still going on so take a look!
For more information on COP-20 and the U.S. Center, please follow @StateDeptOES and @US_Center on Twitter and the uscenter on Tumblr.
(Source: blogs.state.gov)
‘State in 60 Seconds’ Video — #COP20 and Climate Change
This week marks the start of the 20th Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Lima, Peru. This conference brings together climate negotiators from around the world to tackle some of our planet’s most pressing climate change issues. In this “State in 60 Seconds” video, Clare Sierawski, Chief of Staff to Todd Stern, Special Envoy for Climate Change, explains what the COP is and why this conference matters to everyone.
This week and next, climate change negotiators from all over the world will gather for the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Conference of the Parties (COP-20) in Lima, Peru.
These two weeks of UN climate talks are a prime opportunity to spotlight the urgency and seriousness of climate change. Running parallel to the negotiations is the U.S. Center, which hosts climate specialists and scientists from U.S. government agencies, non-profits, academia, and private sector groups to engage with conference participants and virtual audiences.
Not in Lima? Not a problem. Participate in events online by visiting the U.S. Center’s YouTube Channel. You can submit questions to presenters through the live-stream, chat box on the Youtube Live Event page, through the YouTube comment section, or through Twitter using the hashtag #AskUSCenter.
Read more about COP-20 and the U.S. Center on DipNote!
Announcing the U.S. Center COP 20 Schedule!
Nine days. 34 events. All climate.
Want to participate? Events in blue will be streamed live on Youtube. Just visit our site at to join in: youtube.com/TheUSCenter
![English-language students present at the Instituto Cultural Peruano Norteamericano in Chepen, Peru, December 2012. [State Department photo/ Public Domain]](http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2012_1212_access_chepen_wha_m.jpg)
About the Author: Kay Webb Mayfield is the Director of the Office of Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs in the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs.
As the school year draws to a close in South America, hundreds of students are celebrating completion of their two-year English Access program, and recognizing how much Access has done for them beyond developing proficiency in a new language. During a visit last week, I had the chance to visit some of these students in Peru and Paraguay. They expressed themselves with confidence when we spoke English together, and reflected thoughtfully on their experience in essays on “What English Access Means to Me.”
At the Instituto Cultural Peruano Norteamericano in the northwest Peruvian city of Chepen, the Access graduates-to-be talk knowledgeably about important figures in U.S. history such as Benjamin Franklin (for whom the Institute’s school is named), celebrate U.S. holidays, develop an awareness of civic responsibility, and dream about their future. The Centro Cultural Paraguayo… more »
(Source: blogs.state.gov)
![U.S. Department of State [archived]](https://static.tumblr.com/a08df147633bb80863453ca24f6bda45/3kqwpbo/NoEokal0e/tumblr_static_51ttzl3adw4cw4cgggww04kgo.jpg)
