September 20, 2010, Washington, DC: CNFA is pleased to announce their citizen diplomacy program proposal featuring the USAID-funded Farmer-to-Farmer Program has been selected as a Top Program by the Development Assistance Task Force and the U.S. Center for Citizen Diplomacy (USCCD) and as such will be highlighted as a key component of the upcoming U.S. Summit for Global Citizen Diplomacy, to be held November 16-19, 2010 in Washington, DC.
The Development Assistance Task Force, chaired by Henrietta Fore, Chairman of Board & CEO of Holsman International, Charles MacCormack, President & CEO of Save the Children, and Samuel Worthington, President & CEO of InterAction, will present creative and new ways to leverage the vast technical expertise in our civilian population to collaborate effectively with U.S. government agencies, such as USAID, and international institutions and governments.
In preparation for the Summit, Task Forces in nine sectors – business, community-based organizations, development assistance, global health, higher education, international cultural engagement, international voluntary service, K-12 education, and youth service - were created to highlight ways in which organizations within each sector can expand existing initiatives and offer new and innovative programs to encourage more engagement of Americans in global citizen diplomacy. The Task Forces are co-chaired by experts in their respective fields and represent broad networks of U.S. non-profit, non-partisan organizations. Summit Task Force groups compiled and vetted hundreds of program submittals as part of the selection process, and will make presentations on the role of their sector in increasing U.S. citizen engagement in international affairs at the Summit in November.
As part of the criteria, the creative use of new technologies and the identification of international partnerships were highly encouraged. Each selected proposal focuses on one or a combination of major global challenges that Americans as citizen diplomats working collaboratively with fellow American and international partners can address. They are:
- Preserving the Environment
- Reducing Poverty & Disease
- Increasing Respect for Human Rights
- Creating a Globally Competent Society
- Encouraging Cultural Engagement
- Achieving Food Security
- Securing U.S. & Global Financial Security
Portfolio summaries of ten selected Top Programs from each of the nine sectors will be available at the Summit for all participants, including potential funders.
The U.S. Summit for Global Citizen Diplomacy is a national meeting presented by the USCCD in partnership with the U.S. Department of State, Office of Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs. The Summit is designed to broaden the momentum generated from the work of the USCCD as a national resource base and network for Americans to be engaged as citizen diplomats, and two major leadership forums focused on the revival of citizen diplomacy as a critical component of U.S. public diplomacy and foreign policy strategy.
The Summit will be the first such meeting since President Eisenhower’s People-to-People conference on the same subject 54 years ago, and will serve as the launch for a “Decade of Citizen Diplomacy” with a goal to double the number of American citizen diplomats by 2020.
A complete listing of the selected Top Program organizations, and detailed information about the U.S. Summit for Global Citizen Diplomacy may be found at: www.usc4cd.org/summit/taskforce
CNFA and the U.S. Center for Citizen Diplomacy stand together in their commitment to the expansion and promotion of citizen diplomacy initiatives and urge their fellow Americans to join the effort.
The U.S. Center for Citizen Diplomacy (USCCD) is a non-profit, non-partisan organization established in 2006 to promote and expand opportunity for all Americans to be citizen diplomats, and affirm the indispensible value of citizen involvement in foreign relations. Registration and additional information about the USCCD and the U.S. Summit for Global Citizen Diplomacy may be found at: www.usc4cd.org
