The Foreign Service Journal, July-August 2015

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | JULY-AUGUST 2015 13 professional and government officials operating in China.” Misinformation about what trade agreements can and cannot do is wide- spread, whether in the United States or abroad. But Trade Officer Angela Palazzolo spearheaded the development and implementation of Mission Poland’s Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership public outreach strategy so effectively that it was cited as a best practice by the department and incorpo- rated into a pilot program for three other European posts. In Washington to accept the award, Palazzolo said that to counter “anti-glo- balization forces” she held press confer- ences, conducted roundtables and gave speeches. She also created an advocacy group, “Friends of T-TIP,” consisting of Pol- ish contacts who ran coordinated social media campaigns to distribute informa- tion and counter negative messaging during the negotiations. PDAA (www.publicdiplomacy.org ) is a volunteer, nonprofit organization of cur- rent and former State Department, broad- cast, academic and private-sector public diplomacy professionals. Its mission is to foster understanding, recognition of and support for public diplomacy through educational and social activities. —Susan Brady Maitra, Managing Editor Public Diplomacy Awardees Cited for Creativity, Courage W inners of the 18th annual Public Diplomacy Alumni Association awards for innovative and effective PD strategies were honored on May 3 in Washington, D.C. The eight awardees, chosen from nominations from State Department posts in every region of the world, demon- strated creativity, courage and tenacity in addressing critical issues ranging from Ebola in Africa and women’s rights issues in Afghanistan to electronic messaging in China and trade agreements in Europe. Award winner Said has managed the first American Corner in Afghanistan since 2004. Despite physical attacks and threats on his life and his family, he expanded women’s participation at the Corner from almost non-existent to more than 28,000 in 2014. He organized roundtables where female experts led discussions on issues ranging from education and computer skills to stopping violence against women, countering violent extremism and pro- moting democratic values. “He is the heart of what we do around the world,” said Jean Manes, principal TALKING POINTS deputy coordinator in the Bureau of International Information Programs, in accepting the award for Said. Outstanding work on Ebola garnered five awards. Kimberly Phelan-Royston and Emily Green from Embassy Conakry, Sally Hodgson and Molly Westrate from Embassy Monrovia and Hollyn Green from Embassy Freetown were hailed for developing and implementing public health messaging campaigns that helped mitigate the transmission of Ebola. Their work included utilizing local radio stations, creating survivor videos and comic books, sending out public health voicemails and partnering with both local religious leaders and traditional healers to help inform both rural and urban populations. In Guangzhou, Consul General Jen- nifer Zimdahl Galt was recognized for her exceptional work in overcoming the Chi- nese government’s ironclad restrictions and expanding the U.S. government’s presence on such major Chinese social media websites as Weibo, WeChat and Youku (“YouTube”), primarily through her hashtag #CG Galt. Galt’s frequent posts, written in fluent Chinese, reached an esti- mated 1.2 million Chinese followers. FSOThao Anh Tran, who nominated Galt and accepted the award on her behalf, noted that Galt’s posts “carved out a space for Chi- nese to debate con- troversial issues in an environment of otherwise perva- sive censorship… and established a foundation for effective outreach for future gen- erations of public U.S. CONSULATE GENERAL GUANGZHOU U.S. EMBASSY MONROVIA Jennifer Galt takes part in social media Web chat. Sally Hodgson (center) discusses projects for public outreach on Ebola with recently returned 2014 Mandela Washington Fellows.