From Eisenhower to Obama: Citizen Diplomacy Marches On (Part 1)

The week before the holiday, I had the honor of representing Sister Cities International as part of the U.S. Summit on Global Citizen Diplomacy. This was the second convening of citizen diplomacy leaders since President Eisenhower's initial call to action in 1956.


More than 600 citizen diplomats from around the U.S. attended - including sister cities and international visitor council volunteers (as well as other community-based networks), business leaders, health workers, elected officials, educators (from elementary through university), young professionals, artists and culture purveyors. There were more than 40 countries represented. I have to say (to take a page from the Sopranos), I was very impressed by the presence of the heads of the families at this event (i.e. all the heads of all the exchange networks - large and small and all types pof exchanges).

During the event, some of the sessions provoked questions about citizen diplomacy and the formal diplomacy work of the State Department while others explored the local approaches to citizen engagement and cultural understanding. There were presentations on new programs and well-established programs. Attendees heard from a range of folks from the Department of State and Department of Defense. It was one big tent and many people joined in.

Tune-in for Part 2 on this blog when I outline the session discussion, which I co-moderated, on the top 10 programs from the Community-based Task Force.

E-Conversations on Public Diplomacy & Wading into the Defense Conversation

A couple of notable items on public diplomacy, the war of ideas (see my previous entry on this phrase), the media, and the military’s intersection with sister cities…

I’ve become a quick fan of the blog Mountain Runner, a blog by Matt Armstrong on public diplomacy and strategic communication in the 21st century. It’s a very smart perspective on the discussion and I encourage you to follow the conversation. I’ve seen some very direct and thought-provoking comments to some of the posts. It’s available via RSS.

Armstrong has organized the Smith-Mundt Symposium. “Smith-Mundt” refers to the original 1948 legislation that formalized America’s promotion of international engagement through information, cultural and educational exchanges. It’s had a few amendments over the years and numerous interpretations, but the gathering hopes to spur some common ground on how best to proceed in the current global environment with a new resident at 1600 PA Ave. It has far-reaching implications for the sister cities network. I’ll be attending and write my thoughts afterward.

Another bit of news is a presentation I’ll be making at the 2009 NDIA SO/LIC Symposium in February. A paper I co-authored with Christopher Dufour from Irregular Warfare Support under the office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Ops, Low-Intensity Conflict & Interdependent Capabilities titled "The Road to Peace, One Person at a Time: Sister Cities International and Its Role in Persistent Conflict" will be a highlight of our presentation. (But, it’ll really be about the power and impact of the sister cities network globally.) It’s a topnotch line-up of keynote speakers with a network of people and perspectives on global engagement that we need to become more fluent in to improve our sister cities work abroad.