The Foreign Service Journal, July-August 2016

12 JULY-AUGUST 2016 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL PDAA Award Winners Demonstrate Creativity in Challenging Environments O n May 15, the Public Diplomacy Alumni Association held its 19th annual presentation of Awards for Excel- lence in Public Diplomacy. PDAA is a volunteer, nonprofit organi- zation of current and former State Depart- ment, broadcast, academic and private- sector public diplomacy professionals. Nominations were received from U.S. embassies in every region of the world and from Washington. Each was unique but remarkably consistent in the excel- lent work that is done every day by dedi- cated public diplomacy practitioners. Winner Tanya Brothen, an AFSA member and assistant information officer in Kabul, showed, as her nomi- nation put it, “extraordinary creativity, diplomacy and tenacity in bringing the documentary film ‘Frame by Frame’ to premiere in Afghanistan at U.S. Embassy Kabul—an initiative that influenced efforts to legislate protections for media practitioners and foster a free press in Afghanistan.” Joining Tanya as winners of the 2016 PDAA awards are Public Affairs Officers Stephen Ibelli and Brenda Soya, both AFSA members, as well as Coordinator Milica Raskovic and Program Coordina- tor Marko Bumbic from the American Corner in Novi Sad, Serbia. Ibelli received his award for promot- ing the U.S. presence in conflict-ravaged Libya while working from Tunisia. The citation reads: “For exceptional analysis, innovation and single-handed hard work in creating robust social media outreach that engaged Libyans on U.S. policy and culture, established contact with a new generation and re-established exchange programs, all while working under the extreme chal- lenges of a post in exile outside the host country.” Soya knew that the U.S. ambassador to Burkina Faso wanted to get outside the embassy fortress in Ouagadougou to connect with the Burkinabe, exchange alumni, government officials and others and to build “the image of an ambassa- dor as someone who knows Burkina well enough that I could deliver difficult mes- sages without offending people.” Soya’s efforts to get “out of the bubble” greatly helped U.S. relations in the country. Finally, Milica Raskovic and Marko Bumbic received a PDAA award for their extensive programming initiatives in an environment where only 20 percent of the population has a favorable attitude toward the United States. Their efforts have become a model for American Corners throughout the region, says nominator William Hen- derson, public affairs officer at U.S. Embassy Belgrade. For full coverage of the PDAA awards and a complete list of PDAA’s award winners since 1993, visit www.pdaa. publicdiplomacy.org . —Gemma Dvorak, Associate Editor Diplomats Dissent on Syria Policy I n mid-June (as we were about to go to press), 51 State Department diplomats signed a Dissent Channel message that is sharply critical of the Obama administra- tion’s policies in Syria, according to Mark Landler, writing in The New York Times . The story has since been picked up by numerous other media outlets, including the New Yorker , NPR’s On Point and The Washington Post . Remarkable for the number of signato- ries, the memo urging “a more muscular military posture under U.S. leadership” was submitted via the State Department’s confidential Dissent Channel a week after Syrian Prime Minister Bashar al-Assad vowed to retake “every inch” of his coun- try from its enemies, defying the United States and the United Nations. A draft of the cable was leaked to the press, a move which has frustrated the TALKING POINTS Public Affairs Officer Brenda Soya, left, dances with a student at a school for the deaf in Burkina Faso during the Arts Envoy program. U.S.EMBASSYOUAGADOUGOU