Highlighting Cultural Diplomacy
Last week, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton met with former NBA super-star and newly designated Cultural Ambassador Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to bring attention to the highly impactful work distinguished Americans are doing in the field of cultural, public, and citizen diplomacy. Cultural Ambassadors play a significant role in our foreign policy because they illuminate the many cultural (and athletic) contributions the U.S has made to the global society.
When thinking about the role celebrities in the arts and athletics play in helping shape foreign relations, you can't help but recall images of the renowned Jazz Ambassadors during the Cold War, playing purely American jazz in countries across the globe. The great Louis Armstrong, Dizzy Gillespie, or Duke Ellington played to audiences abroad served as a goodwill agent, bringing a message that America was a place of diversity and freedom. It united many people from across cultures under the banner of jazz music and the arts.
This is the standard by which today's Cultural Ambassadors are measured. We are excited to see how influential they will be in helping to shape foreign relations and acting as citizen diplomats through their travels and good work.
Posted Monday, January 23, 2012