Tara Sonenshine on Citizen Diplomacy

America's greatest and most effective asset is its citizens. Citizen diplomacy is gaining more noteworthy attention as a key component of the larger national security strategy by the US government and Department of State within the context of public diplomacy.

"I see myself as a cheerleader for citizen diplomacy," exclaims Undersecretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs, Tara Sonenshine in a recent Q&A conducted by the American Security Project this summer.

Citizen diplomacy helps reinforce public diplomacy strategy because while public diplomacy programs are carried out by various US government agencies, citizen diplomacy is championed by individuals through NGOs. This provides an excellent arena for public-private partnerships and mutual reinforcement of public and citizen diplomacy acitivities. When citizens engage in citizen diplomacy overseas it complements the already important work of public diplomacy.

At 4:21 of the video clip, Undersecretary Sonenshine talks about citizen diplomacy. You are also encouraged to watch the remainder of the Q&A as it also highlights the future public diplomacy strategies and programs of the State Department.

Undersecretary Sonenshine will be coming to Des Moines to be a featured speaker at the J-Conference, a citizen diplomacy conference being held by the J-Center and the U.S. Center for Citizen Diplomacy. The objectives of the conference are mainly to discuss and develop greater programs for improving citizen diplomacy activity between the United States and Japan in the realms of cultural exchange, business, and education.

Visit the J-Center page to learn more about the J-Conference as well as US-Japan citizen diplomacy opportunities.

Posted Thursday, August 16, 2012