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Alumni Panel New College America's Role
This document discusses how the State Department is adapting diplomacy and development efforts to address challenges in the 21st century global landscape. It notes the diffusion of power to new state and non-state actors, growing costs of conflict, and blurred lines between domestic and international issues. The State Department is leading global civilian operations, engaging beyond states, and reforming personnel and planning capabilities. It is also leveraging new tools like mobile phones and social media, and connecting innovators to civil society through programs like the Virtual Student Foreign Service.
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Alumni Panel New College America's Role
- 1. Reinventing America’s Placein the WorldPanel DiscussionNew College 50th AnniversaryFebruary 12, 2011The Revolution Will Not Be Televisedtweeted
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- 5. To lead inthis new century, we must often lead in new ways. To advance American interests and values and to lead other nations in solving shared problems in the21st century, we must rely on our diplomats and development experts as the first face of American power. We must lead through civilian power.Secretary of State Hillary Rodham ClintonSeptember 8, 2010
- 6. Diplomatic Challenges andOpportunitiesA New Geopolitical and Geoeconomic Landscape• Emergence of new centers of influence • Diffusion of economic powerDiffusion of Power to Non-State Actors• As new partners• As new threatsGrowing Costs of Conflict , Crisis, and State Weakness• 36 active conflicts, 55 fragile states• Acute natural disasters and humanitarian emergencies• Military and civilian missions increasingly overlapThe Pace of Global Events Has Accelerated• Technological innovation• New connectivityThe Line Between Domestic and International Politics has Blurred• Evolving role of public opinion • States’ domestic agencies are increasingly working abroad to fulfill mandate
- 8. Diplomacy and DevelopmentDiplomacyfor the 21st CenturyLeading the Implementation of Global Civilian OperationsAdapting Diplomacy to Meeting New ChallengesEngaging beyond the StateSupporting our diplomats as they take on new missionsTransforming Development to Deliver ResultsFocusing our investmentsPracticing high-impact developmentPreventing and Responding to Crisis and ConflictWorking Smarter: Reforming Our Personnel, Procurement and Planning Capabilities
- 9. 21st CenturyStatecraftWe’re working to leverage the power and potential of what I call 21st Century statecraft. Part of our approach is to embrace new tools, like using cell phones for mobile banking or to monitor elections. But we’re also reaching to the people behind these tools, the innovators and entrepreneurs themselves.– Secretary Clinton, Oct. 15, 2010, San Francisco
- 10. Five Key Freedomsof the Internet AgeFreedom of Speech: Blogs, emails, text messages have opened up new forums for the exchange of ideas.Freedom of Worship: The Internet enhances people’s ability to worship as they see fit.Freedom from Want: Online connections expand people’s knowledge and economic opportunities including locating new markets.Freedom from Fear: Those who disrupt the free flow of information threaten individual liberties and the world’s economy and civil society.Freedom to Connect: Connecting with others near and far offers unprecedented opportunities for human cooperation.
- 11. Mobile Word Processing EquipmentIssued to Foreign Service Orientation Class November 1980
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- 14. Social Mediaat StateBeyondthe FirewallProfessional NetworkingBehind the Firewall
- 16. The Virtual StudentForeign Service, launched by Secretary Clinton in 2009, partners American students with our diplomatic missions to conduct outreach online and to harness the power of people in the U.S. For example, following the Haiti earthquake in January 2009, students at Tufts University helped translate Creole text messages so that relief workers could better target their work. The State Department’s Virtual Presence Post (VPP) program helps a U.S. Embassy or Consulate mobilize available diplomatic outreach tools, including travel, programs, media, and technology to focus and improve our engagement with specific communities where the U.S. has no physical diplomatic facilities. There are currently 43 active VPPs around the world, targeted toward communities such as Zhengzhou, China; Chittagong, Bangladesh; the Seychelles; San Marino; Somalia; Gaza; and even to reach out to indigenous people in Guatemala.
- 17. 21st Century StatecraftState’sCivil Society 2.0 initiative is connecting the information and communications technology community with civil society organizations around the world to provide civil society organizations with access to the latest technologies. Tech@Stateis an ongoing conference series at the State Department that connects innovators, U.S. diplomats, and other government officials to share lessons and develop new tools for diplomacy and development.
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- 21. Thank You!About yourspeaker:Bob Watts, NC ‘73Foreign Affairs Officer, eDiplomacy, Department of StateTel: 202-634-3757 (w) 703-503-2894 (h)Email: bob@wattses.orgTwitter and Facebook: rmwattsQuick bio: Senior Consultant, retired 2010 from 30 years as Foreign Service Economic Officer. Served in Uzbekistan, Canada, Brazil, Peru and Portugal. Worked on intellectual property, ICT, trade, finance, investment, and environment, science and technology. 3 Superior Honor Awards, Secretary’s Career Achievement Award Ed: MA (Economics), Stanford , 1990; MIA, Columbia, 1980; BA (International Relations), New College, 1978
Editor's Notes
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- #12 I picked my entering class into the Foreign Service as a transition point, when tech for the user had changed little in decades, but electronic word processing and communications were being introduced. Still, a correcting IBM typewriter was considered sophisticated.
- #13 By the mid-1990s, WANGs had become a pain point, e-mail was cumbersome and limited with the outside, and officers struggled with the Foreign Affairs Information System built on it. Web access was available only via DIN connections, usually one per office.
- #14 IRM and eDiplomacy are working against this image. eDiplomacy was created under Secretary Powell to bring users into IT decision-making, improve communication and collaboration both internally and interagency, and create a knowledge management strategy.
- #15 Given this responsibility, as an office we are moving toward a post Cold War “Need to Share” environment. State is engaging the public on outside social media, while inside the firewall we build internal collaborative tools to reinforce the sharing of information.
- #16 No one tool in the Web 2.0 world fits all needs. Enterprise installations can make everything a nail when you only have a hammer, but a continuum of transparent and accessible platforms can suit varied collaboration and knowledge management needs.
- #18 As part of Secretary Clinton's 21st Century Statecraft, Tech@State connects leaders, innovators, government personnel, and others working on 21st century technology solutions to improve the education, health, and welfare of the world's population.
- #19 The new platform, Corridor will provide a lightweight, easy-to-use OpenNet tool to network securely and effectively for professional purposes with other users. Hopefully it will further help users to contribute to and draw on the crowd’s expertise and experience.
- #20 Key well-known tools of eDiplomacy, the Diplopedia and Communities@State, allow officers to connect with peers and share information to get work done. These are familiar to digital native new officers, easily learnable for most digital immigrants.
- #21 This is a rosy picture, but here’s the challenge.We still work in a stovepiped hierarchical organization. We can talk about management but have to tread lightly about policy on social media. Will new media lead to new collaboration, or serve as windowdressing while tradition prevails?