December 1, 2008, 3:00 p.m.
National Press Club

Good afternoon, everyone.  Thank you, to the National Press Club and especially to Peter Hickman for hosting this Newsmaker.  To the members of the press, thank you for joining us. 

Some very special guests also join us today for the launch of our cross-cultural online public diplomacy initiative.  They are exchange students from Egypt, Georgia, Germany, Pakistan, Russia, Serbia, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and the West Bank.  This diverse group of young people is participating in Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ youth exchange programs.   Four of these students have traveled from North Carolina to be with us.

Each of these exchange students represents the power and the impact of exchanges. They live with an American host family and attend an American high school. They learn about our way of life and they teach their American families and schools about their cultures and their countries. The overall effect of this experience is tremendous. These young people impact the communities in which they live.  But in the process they are transformed themselves and become agents of change for their own societies.

Would all of the exchange students present please stand?  Welcome.

Now, would the host family members, local exchange coordinators and other associates with these students please stand to be acknowledged?  Thank you for your vital role in supporting youth exchange programs.  You are true Citizen Diplomats. 

As you can see, at the Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, our first priority is people-to-people exchanges.  We agree in large part with a famous quote from the well-known journalist Edward Murrow. He said that the real art in communication is “not so much moving information five or even 10,000 miles… The real art is to move it the last three feet in a face to face conversation."

I’d say that we at the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs have mastered the art of the last three feet. Each year the Bureau moves 40,000 people back and forth across the oceans, putting Americans and people from over 165 countries around the world face to face with each other. We know that the conversation that ensues is life-changing and a true catalyst for deeper insight and cross-cultural understanding. And of course the positive multiplier effect of these exchange programs around the world is enormous. 

As important as face-to-face conversation is, we know that the advent of the Internet has dramatically changed communications in the past decade. Studies have shown that young people in the United States spend just as much time interacting with their peers in social networking sites as they do watching television and probably equal to or more than they do in face-to face-contact. A Danish study has shown that 60% of youth between the ages of 12-18 spend over an hour each day in social networking sites. This trend is bound to grow around the world.

Our challenge today at the Department of State is how to attract this new generation of “Digital Natives”.   We also recognize that young people are no longer interested in a one-way conversation or even a dialogue. They are interested in action. They want to be engaged and make a difference in their neighborhoods, in their communities, in their countries and around the world.  We have come to understand that in order to amplify the power of our exchanges and reach even larger audiences, we must exploit new technology to become the master Networker, building global communities, connecting like-minded people through the Web to form communities that promote mutual international understanding. 

For us at the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, social networking and a branded Internet presence are an important digital complement to our traditional people-to-people exchanges —and logical next steps in amplifying our exchanges to enhance America’s public diplomacy.  

Our new ExchangesConnect social network, hosted on the Ning platform, is designed to be the digital foundation for the alumni of our exchange programs, youth audiences, and other groups around the world interested in international dialogue. Our goal is to give them the ability to connect to one another online, to share their experiences, learn about each other, post user generated content, build new communities and ultimately engage in meaningful action.  This strategy will no doubt assist us in reaching greater audiences.

As you may know, the State Department has been actively engaged in a broad effort to use technology and its applications, like blogs, Facebook and briefing 2.0 to better communicate with the world.  But I believe this ECA site, ExchangesConnect, is THE U.S. government's first social networking site.  We are proud to be blazing new trails as we move forward in cyberspace.

Our global Video Contest asks international audiences to share their story in response to the question “My Culture + Your Culture = ?  We seek to draw young people and adults from around the world to our ExchangesConnect social networking community.  Community members can upload videos and share their personal perspectives on their culture and other cultures through creative forms of expression, including song, dance, spoken word, skits, short stories, poetry and others.  We encourage people to be creative. Our social networking community will vote on their favorite top 40 video entries. A prestigious panel of six judges, all alumni of Department of State exchange programs will rank the top four winners.  The judges are: 

• Toni Blackman - Musician, Performer and Writer – a U.S. Cultural Envoy and alumna of the Department’s Rhythm Road: American Music Abroad program;

• Fran Drescher – Actress and Founder of the Cancer Schmancer Movement – a current American Public Diplomacy Envoy;

• Milton Glaser - Graphic Artist – a Fulbright Program alumnus;

• Raafat Khalid – President of the Cultural Civic Education Organization, in Egypt – an International Visitor Leadership Program alumnus;

• Bob Shaye - President and Co-Founder, New Line Cinema – a Fulbright Program alumnus; and

• Bob Simon - CBS News Correspondent – also a Fulbright Program alumnus.

The Department of State is grateful to our judges’ for their time and thoughtful consideration of our Video Contest.  Just like many other alumni of our exchange programs, they will be sharing their expertise, experience and international understanding both professionally and personally, to help broaden people’s worldview.  The engagement of these committed individuals - and other exchange alumni worldwide - is absolutely vital to a robust public diplomacy.

Throughout its over 50 year history, the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs has collaborated with non-governmental entities to implement the myriad of our programs.  Building on these relationships, this past spring, we launched a brand new initiative to engage the private sector to further amplify the impact of our programs while providing opportunities to the private sector to further leverage their corporate social responsibility objectives. Such partnerships not only strengthen bilateral relations, but they also increase the investment in human potential and local capacity and foster civil society. 

The Department of State is delighted to collaborate with the Adobe Foundation in our latest public-private partnership.  In giving voice to the young, Adobe’s Youth Voices program is a perfect co-sponsor of our online video contest.

Joining us from San Jose, California, is Ann Lewnes, Senior Vice President of Corporate Marketing for Adobe Systems Incorporated, and Secretary of the Adobe Foundation Board of Directors.

[Ann Lewnes speaks]

Thank you, Ann.

Ladies and gentleman, before we officially launch the Video Contest with a short Promo Video, let me mention the contest grand prizes.  In addition to receiving global recognition of their videos—on the ExchangesConnect network and through other promotional venues—four Grand Prize winners will be eligible to participate in all-expenses-paid international exchange trips to get a taste of different cultures and interact with their peers in another country.    

Exchanges, whether face-to-face or online, will continue to work their transformational power to open minds and societies, to foster mutual understanding and to establish a firm foundation of trust upon which to keep our world safe, peaceful, prosperous and free. 

Again, ladies and gentlemen, thanks for joining us - and let’s launch this Video Contest.