The Foreign Service Journal, June 2023

20 JUNE 2023 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL State Department to oversee American strategic communications and engage- ment has not had a Senate-confirmed occupant 40 percent of the time. The position has been vacant for the past five years, with its functions overseen by a series of acting under secretaries. Efforts are instead fragmented among 14 agencies and 48 commissions, and the State Department lacks the necessary resources and authority to coordinate. The solution, says Gates, is not to re- create USIA; rather, the White House and State Department should develop a global engagement plan for strategic communi- cations to advance U.S. national secu- rity interests, including a road map for engaging with foreign publics and leaders focused especially on sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America. Underpinning this plan, he writes, “should be a significant expansion of people-to-people exchange programs that send American musicians, sports figures, and artists abroad and bring foreign college students to the U.S., with government support for private efforts in these areas.” supervisory leadership, con- gressional relations, negotia- tion, presentation skills, and working in the interagency. Implementation of the Core Curriculum is the first step in the State Depart- ment’s broader efforts to foster a culture of career-long learning and enhance training and professional development for its workforce. While the Core Curriculum was specifically created to address identified gaps at the mid-career level, all employ- ees are encouraged to take appropriate training and avail themselves of profes- sional development opportunities. New Island Mission T he U.S. plans to open an embassy in the Republic of Vanuatu, the State Department announced in a March 31 press release , as part of an effort to boost its presence in the Pacific and counter China’s growing influence. “Establishing U.S. Embassy Port Vila would facilitate areas of potential bilateral cooperation and development assistance, including efforts to tackle the climate crisis,” the statement read. While the U.S. already has diplo- matic relations with the country, which is made up of roughly 80 islands in the South Pacific Ocean, currently the chargé d’affaires ad interim in Port Moresby is accredited to Vanuatu. Other U.S. embassies are planned in the Pacific island nations of Kiribati and Tonga, according to Reuters. February 2023 saw the opening of an embassy in the Solomon Islands, less than one year after the plan was announced. n This edition of Talking Points was compiled by Julia Wohlers and Donna Scaramastra Gorman. Fighting disinformation is another area the U.S. should focus on. Gates writes: “We should allocate additional resources to the State Depart- ment’s Global Engagement Center, the organization responsible for unmasking and discredit- ing foreign disinformation. These mea- sures, among others, would give focus to our strategic communications efforts.” FSI Launches New Curriculum A s part of Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s Modernization Agenda, on April 10 the Foreign Service Institute and the Bureau of Global Talent Management rolled out the new Core Curriculum, a series of highly recommended courses and mandatory leadership and manage- ment training. The curriculum is designed to bolster core diplomatic tradecraft skills among mid-career Civil Service and Foreign Service professionals. The courses cover a variety of essential skills, including critical thinking and Podcast of the Month: Into Africa (https://www.csis.org/podcasts/africa ) I n this podcast from the Center for Strategic and International Studies, host and CSIS Africa Pro- gram Director Mvemba Phezo Dizolele talks with policymakers, journalists, and academics in African affairs. Using current events on the continent as a springboard, the 30-minute episodes dive into the cultural, political, and economic forces driving change across Africa. One recent interview on the podcast traces the long-term sources of ten- sion that led to the current crisis in Sudan, while a March episode analyzes the Nigerian presidential election. In February, the podcast covered ways African investors can support the region’s creative future. The appearance of a particular site or podcast is for information only and does not constitute an endorsement.