The Foreign Service Journal, March 2021

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | MARCH 2021 27 functional bureaus within the State Department and relevant interagency representatives. Engage the American public. The American people, and especially our youth, are the president’s finest diplomats. Devise programs on compelling topics (e.g., climate, race, public health, the arts) that involve both travel and an ongoing virtual com- ponent. Long-term U.S. interests will be served by encouraging more young Americans to engage with the world. Restore broadcasting. Restore protections for U.S.-funded international broadcasting against politicization, enabling it to perform its true function: to inform, engage and connect people around the world in support of freedom and democracy. Expand counter-disinformation efforts. Attacked by propa- ganda on steroids, America has fought back with aspirin. There is a pressing need to: coordinate the Global Engagement Center and public diplomacy’s social media work with the intelligence community and Department of Defense information operations; fully document hostile disinformation efforts mounted by foreign governments; and assist nongovernmental organizations and Reinvigorate and update public diplomacy staff training. the private sector to inoculate susceptible groups and individuals against the appeals of national adversaries and violent extremists. Enhance professional culture. Reinvigorate and update public diplomacy staff training, including opportunities to pur- sue advanced degrees and “excursion tours” in the private sector. More PD training should be provided to all department officers. These expanded opportunities will attract talented officers. Augment resources. To fuel this process of more effectively engaging with the world, reenergizing the public diplomacy function and attracting top talent, substantially increase resources for all elements of PD, and reinforce the “firewall” that protects exchange funding. Part of this effort should be a review of PD staffing abroad that assesses the potential need for expanded presence. n