The Foreign Service Journal, July-August 2010

A F S A N E W S A lec Ross, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton’s senior adviser for innovation, was the featured speaker at the second AFSA- LockheedMartinSpeaker Series event on May 12. Ruth White- side, director of the Foreign Service Institute, acted as mod- erator. Ross provided a thorough picture of the increasingly vital role technology holds in today’s diplomatic andadvocacy efforts. He noted the borderless quality of global communications and pointed to the potential of technological innovation to improvediplomacy, augment international security and advanceU.S. interests abroad in a mutually beneficial relationship with other countries. Contrary to what he’d heard prior to signingonas Sec.Clinton’s adviser for inno- vation, Ross found the State Departmemt to be a tech-friendly place, with a lively demand for creative IT solutions and dynamic centers of innovation. TheOfficeof eDiplomacy, for instance, whichwasestablishedin2003,haspioneered programs to improve internal communi- cationsandknowledge-sharingamongState Department employees overseas and at home. Ross saluted the developers of the new State Messaging and Archive Retrieval Toolset (knownby itsnickname, SMART), begun in2001 andnowup and running at 155 overseas posts to provide a simple, secure anduser-driven systemformodern messaging, dynamic archiving and infor- mation sharing. He also pointed to the program to tap college students’ knowledge of technology through specially vetted StateDepartment internships. As of last fall, students were assisting 37 posts abroad with IT issues in the “virtual student Foreign Service.” Ross emphasized his particular goal as senior adviser for innovation, namely to bringtechnologytobeartosolveforeignpol- icyproblems andadvancepriorities. As an example, he cited the introduction of text messaging tocombat narco-fueledviolence in Mexico. This program, the product of immersing prominent American innova- tors in the problems ofMexico, allows cit- izens to use their mobile phones to alert policeof criminal activity yet retainanony- mity, as personally identifiable information is wiped out. This restores a certainamount of trans- parency in the fight against Mexico’s drug cartels, Ross pointed out, and at the same time raises the number of reported crimes because citizens’ fears of the consequences of reporting are reduced. Ross also pointed to a new program using radios tobattle ethnic violence in the DemocraticRepublicof theCongo, noting that traditionalmethods of tech- nology can also be employed in social crises. Though enthusiastic about the growing technological effi- ciency within the State Depart- ment, Ross acknowledged that modernization of technology comes with significant security issues, such as frequent hacks, especially ina target as significant as the State Department. He stressed the difficulty of main- taining the tenuous balance between attending to security concerns while simultaneously providing 21st-cen- tury technology. Other areas Ross touchedupon includ- edSecretaryClinton’s emphasisonInternet freedomand the technological implications of President BarackObama’s June 4, 2009, speech in Cairo. Ross’s lecture was both informative and hopeful, as it emphasized another avenue throughwhichdiplomacy can develop both internally and abroad. Ross finished by taking questions from both audience members and online par- ticipants. This new speaker series continued on June 15 with Rep. Nita Lowey, D-N.Y., andNBCCorrespondent AndreaMitchell as moderator. Please check the AFSA Web site (www.afsa.org/events.cfm ) for upcoming programs of interest to the for- eign affairs community. ❏ J U L Y - A UGU S T 2 0 1 0 / F OR E I GN S E R V I C E J OU R N A L 69 THE AFSA-LOCKHEED MARTIN SPEAKER SERIES Alec Ross Discusses Technology and Diplomacy BY JENNIFER THOMPSON, EDITORIAL INTERN Alec Ross, right, and Ruth Whiteside at AFSA HQ on May 12. AFSA NEWS BRIEFS Coming in October: AAFSWAnnual Art and Book Fair In 2010, the Associates of the American Foreign Service Worldwide is celebrating its 50th anniversary. For a half-century, AAFSW has worked to safeguard and improve the quality of life of Foreign Service employees and families. Its annual Art and Book Fair scholarship fundraiser has always been part of the AAFSW effort. It will take place Oct. 15-24 in the Diplomatic Exhibit Hall on the first floor of Main State. The event will feature secondhand books, an extensive display of art and collectible objects from all over the world, a Collectors’ Corner of rare books and an assortment of stamps and coins. MICHAEL LAIACONA