The Foreign Service Journal, May 2019

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | MAY 2019 55 AFSA NEWS Continued on p. 66 May 2 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Foreign Service Day Programming at AFSA: • Open House • Complimentary Professional Head Shots • Advocacy Update • Next Stage: Foreign Service Writers • Seminar: Best Practices for Local Outreach Efforts May 3 Foreign Service Day • AFSA Memorial Ceremony • Foreign Service Day Reception at USDC May 16 11:15 a.m.-12:45 p.m. Luncheon: 152nd Specialist Class May 22 12:15-1:45 p.m. Luncheon: 198th A-100 Class May 23 12-1:30 p.m. AFSA Governing Board Meeting May 24 Deadline: AFSA Awards Nominations June 12 AFSA Governing Board Election Ballots Due/ Ballots Counted June 19 12-1:30 p.m. AFSA Governing Board Meeting July 4 Independence Day – AFSA Offices Closed July 15 2019-2021 AFSA Governing Board Takes Office CALENDAR rings true,” she stated.“The magazine features discus- sion and lively debate about diplomacy and the role of the United States in the world. A record of diplomacy at work, the Journal is also a record of the evolution of an institution.” “You may be surprised to learn that it all started with economic diplomacy,” said Stephenson. “The original officers of the U.S. Foreign Service were all about help- ing American businesses.” Today, with the rise of great power competition and the shift to a multipolar world where U.S. predominance is no longer a given, she argued, the Journal helps make the case for having a robust For- eign Service on the job and at the table playing a convening role as a global leader. Stephenson pointed to the first item on the Front- line Diplomacy panel—a graphic from the March 1919 American Consular Bulletin that shows the commer- cial assistance role of early consuls—and then to the final item, an excerpt from the January-February 2019 edi- tion focused on the primacy of economic diplomacy today. Shawn Dorman, editor- in-chief of the Journal and a former FSO, explained that today’s magazine has both editorial independence and strong support fromAFSA. The Journal , she said,“is a mirror for the Foreign Service, reflecting 100 years of diplo- matic history. And it is also a window for those outside our community to gain under- standing of what diplomats do and why it matters.” Explaining that everything on view was pulled from the newly upgraded and opti- mized FSJ digital archive, Dorman introduced what she called the Bold New FSJ Digi- tal Archive Initiative (which, in a nod to her acronym-loving audience, she called “BNFS- JDAI”)—the effort to get the archive “out into the world.” She asked the gathering who among them had served on the Editorial Board: quite a few hands went up. Then she asked those who had writ- ten for the FSJ to raise their hands: even more hands went Exhibit designer and FSJ Art Director Caryn Suko Smith with a section of the topical panels. AFSA/SUSANMAITRA DS agent and FSJ author Kala Bokelman poses with “her” cover. Her article, “DS Diplomacy Works: Breaking Up a Child Pornography Trafficking Ring, ” was the June 2018 cover story. AFSA/JOAQUINSOSA