The Foreign Service Journal, July-August 2014

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | JULY-AUGUST 2014 11 and high-level civil rights and election experts. On her own time, Ms. White also started an “English Speaking Roundtable” that meets twice weekly with students to strengthen their language skills and under- standing of U.S. society and values. Despite a highly restricted social and political environ- ment, female activists in Saudi Arabia are mobilizing to run in the country’s first municipal elections open to female candidates and vot- ers. Cultural Affairs Specialist Naimeh Hadidi responded to this opportunity by building a nationwide network to foster partnerships between the mission and these courageous women’s work to battle gender apartheid. “She has almost singlehandedly led U.S. government outreach in hard-to- reach, remote and ultra-conservative areas—places embassy staff would ordinarily never be able to access,” Deputy Cultural Attaché Marlo Cross-Durant said in nominating Hadidi. Thanks in no small part to her efforts, 41 percent of Mission Saudi Arabia’s nominees to the Fiscal Year 2014 International Visitors Leadership Programwere female. And later this year a group of nine Saudi activists who are mobilizing women to run in next year’s municipal council elections will visit the United States to meet with American women who are running for office, man- aging election campaigns, raising money and managing media. In Swaziland, more than 92,000 visu- ally impaired citizens now have access to new information technology, thanks to MorrisonMkhonta , director of Embassy Mbabane’s Information Resource Center. Concerned that few organizations exist in Swaziland to advocate for their funda- mental rights, Mr. Mkhonta helped obtain resources to purchase technology for translat- ing print materials into Braille or audio. He also set up a training center to assist people trying out these new tools, thereby playing a key role in opening up a world that had never before been accessible to people in Swaziland with dis- abilities. The Public Diplo- Honoring Public Diplomacy’s Best E ffective public diplomacy requires strategic thinking, creativity, commit- ment and sound judgment in the use of resources. Each year the Public Diplomacy Alumni Association recognizes the achievements of those PD practitioners, whether overseas or in Washington, D.C., who best exemplify these qualities. PDAA’s 17th annual awards dinner, held on May 4 in Washington, D.C., spotlighted the achievements of this year’s six winners. The first three recipients worked together to create and implement an exceptional multidimensional exchange program: “Pakistani Voices: A Conversa- tion withThe Migration Series.” International Information Programs Bureau officer Attia Nasar , Islamabad Public Affairs officer Ajani Husbands and Rachel Goldberg from the Phillips Collection collaborated to set up speaker programs and hands-on workshops involving more than 375 artists, students, educators and museum professionals across Pakistan. This multiyear project uses the arts to generate positive discussions on U.S.-Pak- istani relations, and establish a conduit for communication on challenging social issues. In Equatorial Guinea political oppo- nents are routinely arrested and held without charge, media outlets are severely restricted, and websites deemed critical of the government are blocked. Undaunted, first-tour PAO Ashley White found cre- ative ways to put together high-impact public diplomacy programs on human rights and democracy. She organized a series of roundtables with students, government officials, legal experts and civil society representatives, featuring U.S. Ambassador Mark Asquino TALKING POINTS Naimeh Hadidi (on right) visits in the Aljouf region with a member of the King Abdulaziz Society for Women, whose goal is to strengthen the position of women in Saudi society. Emerging Artists Workshop organized by the Phillips Collection and the U.S. Department of State at the Alhamra Arts Center in Lahore, Pakistan. Morrison Mkhonta conducts a session for trainers for visually impaired computer users. Courtesy of Morrison Mkhonta Courtesy of Naimeh Hadidi Courtesy of Attia Nasar