The Foreign Service Journal, June 2015

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | JUNE 2015 59 AFSA NEWS Road Scholars Visit Washington, D.C. In mid-April, 41 Road Scholars visitedWashington, D.C., to learn about the work of the Foreign Service. Hailing from all parts of the United States, Road Scholar participants are typically retired professionals who are active in their com- munities. This trip’s theme was “The Geopolitics of Nation States and Sovereignty.” Participants spent five days attending lectures delivered by active and retired members of the Foreign Service at the Savoy Suites Hotel. These lectures covered a variety of issues in international relations, includ- ing the role and structure of the Foreign Service; the Israeli-Palestinian conflict; Cuba; the rise of China; the future of Afghanistan; and the battle for Crimea. They also visited the Italian Embassy inWashington, D.C., where they heard a lecture on U.S.-Italian relations and the future of the Transat- lantic Trade and Investment Partnership negotiations. In addition, they visited DACOR Bacon House and the Foreign Service Institute, where they were briefed on consular and language issues. AFSA has been in part- nership with Road Scholar, a nonprofit travel company that facilitates educational trips around the world, since 1996. Participants choose AFSA programs from among a number of other offerings in the broader Road Scholar catalog, which reaches nearly a million recipients. The Road Scholar program is a vital part of AFSA’s outreach efforts, with more than 11,000 people having participated over the last 20 years. There will be additional programs in May, June, September, October and November inWashington, D.C., and Chautauqua, New York. Trip themes include the United States, China and Asia; U.S. Foreign Policy for the 21st Century; and the Middle East, Southeast Asia and Global Terrorism. AFSA encourages retired Foreign Service members who would like to share their knowledge and experience to volunteer as speakers for the Road Scholar program. Volun- teers or those with ques- tions should contact AFSA’s Communications and Press Specialist Allan Saunders at saunders@afsa.org. n —Shannon Mizzi, Editorial Intern AFSA Road Scholars visit the Embassy of Italy to the United States. COURTESYOF IOLANDAFERRARO,EMBASSYOF ITALY The U.S. Foreign Service and the American Foreign Service Association were born together in 1924. In this first-ever book about the association’s more than 90-year history, author Harry Kopp chronicles the evolution of the Foreign Service and the events that shaped AFSA into what it is today—the professional association and labor union of the United States Foreign Service. Published by AFSA’s imprint, Foreign Service Books, The Voice of the Foreign Ser- vice takes readers through the early history of diplomacy, from Benjamin Franklin to the Rogers Act of 1924 and the Foreign Service Acts of 1946 and 1980, following the evolution of the Foreign Service and the association through the 20th century and into the 21st. The book will be available in July through AFSA and all major book retailers. n NEWS BRIEF THE VO I CE OF THE FORE I GN SERV I CE : A H I STORY OF THE AMER I CAN FORE I GN SERV I CE ASSOC I AT I ON COMI NG I N JULY