The Foreign Service Journal, March 2004

10 AFSA NEWS • MARCH 2004 A FSA greatly augmented its national outreach efforts in 2003 aimed at broadening and deepening public supportforfundingfordiplomaticreadiness. Oneofourmosteffectiveoutreachelements is our Speakers Program , which deployed 405ForeignService speakers in2003 (com- paredto110speakersin2000)toexplainthe importanceofU.S.diplomacyforAmerican nationalintereststoanaudienceofmorethan 20,000 in 41 states andWashington, D.C. The venues ranged from world affairs councils and universities to local commu- nity-service organizations, “town meet- ings,” churches and high schools. Former Assistant Secretary for Middle East Affairs Richard Murphy enthralled attendees at a regional Great Decisions seminar in New Jerseywithhiskeenanalysisofregionalissues. Other outstanding speakers were Amb. Grant Smith, Stephen Buck and Stephen Dachi, who elicited glowing reviews from attendees at John Hopkin’s prestigious “Evergreen” adult educationseries for their presentationsonU.S. policies inSouthAsia andtheMiddleEast. Theyalso impressively described the attractions and challenges of careers in the Foreign Service, including insightful consideration of family issues. AFSA speakers addressed other topics including: counterterrorism, democratiza- tion in the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe; U.S. initiatives in Latin America, Africa, and Asia; United Nations peacekeeping; international environmen- tal concerns; population and migration issues; and human rights. We provided speakers with talking points and issue updates, aswell as promo- tionmaterialforAFSA’sexcellentnewbook, InsideaU.S. Embassy. Speakers stressed the critical role of diplomacy in advancing America’s vital security and economic interestsaroundtheglobe. Theyalsoencour- agedaudiencememberstocontacttheircon- gressionalrepresentativestorequestincreased funding for U.S. diplomatic readiness. Moreover, speakers reached out to talent- ed youth — especially minority-group members—to encourage themto consid- er Foreign Service careers. AFSAalsoeffectivelydeployed videocon- ferencing to several regions of the country that lack retiree speakers. A high point of the initiativewasAsia expertRobertWarne explainingU.S. policy onNorthKorea to a town meeting in upstate New York that reached some 30,000 households via a regional cablenetwork.Videoconferencing is an inexpensive, convenient outreach tool,whichweplanto increasinglyutilize to reach wider audiences nationwide. AFSA’s mediaoutreach effortswerealso intensivein2003. Weplaced—eitherdirect- ly or through AFSA retirees — 49 op-eds, letters-to-the-editor,articlesandpressreleas- es advocating increased public and con- gressionalsupportforU.S.diplomacyinlead- ingmediaentities including the Washington Post , TheNewYorkTimes , WallStreetJournal , Los Angeles Times , Houston Chronicle , Government Executive , Federal Times , Associated Press, NPR, and CNN. Among our better efforts was the heav- iest media coverage ever arranged for AFSA’s annual awards ceremony held in JuneattheStateDepartment,whichinclud- ed six network TV cameras and some 30 journalistsfrommajormedia. Theresultwas in-depthtreatmentofthiseventviasome43 media outlets nationwide, including NBC, CNN, ABC, CBS, Associated Press, and NPR. AFSAalsoorchestratedanintensemedia campaign to counter the tendentious charges against U.S. diplomacy leveled last year byNewt Gingrich, Pat Robertson and other critics. We arranged for highly effec- tive rebuttals by Ambassadors Thomas Boyatt, RichardHolbrooke, Bruce Laingen and others to be placed in leading national mediaincludingNPR,NBC,FoxNews,and Foreign Policy magazine. AFSA outreach efforts have placed heavyemphasisoncounterterrorismefforts intheaftermathof 9/11. Wehavedeployed more than 250 AFSA retiree experts on MiddleEastandSouthAsiaissuesforspeak- er and media programs nationwide, all of whomwere able toemphasize the vital role played by U.S. diplomacy in the ongoing struggle against terrorism. The director of the State Department's Office of Public LiaisonthankedAFSAfortheseefforts,since many U.S. government officials were con- strained by policy sensitivities from speak- ing publicly. We alsoheld frequent discus- sionsconcerningAFSAissueswiththemore than35diplomaticcorrespondentsattached totheStateDepartment’spressoffice,aswell as with senior editors and bureau chiefs of national media based inWashington. Theseoutreachprogramshavepromoted threeimportantAFSAgoals: broadeningthe ForeignServiceconstituency,enhancingpub- licawarenessofglobalaffairsandthekeyrole of the Foreign Service and diplomacy, and activating theAFSAretiree constituency by involvingitinsignificantprogramsthatdraw ontheirbackgroundsandskillsintellingour story to audiences nationwide. If you want to be involved with AFSA outreach, contactmeat Switzer@afsa.orgor call toll-free (800) 704-2372, ext. 501. ▫ GAINING PUBLIC SUPPORT FOR DIPLOMATIC READINESS FUNDING AFSA Augments Outreach Efforts in 2003 BY TOM SWITZER, DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS “AFSA speakers explained the importance of U.S. diplomacy to an audience of more than 20,000 in 41 states and Washington, D.C.”