The Foreign Service Journal, October 2014

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | OCTOBER 2014 11 TALKING POINTS Breaking Ground for Diplomacy O n Sept. 3, ve former Secretaries of State assembled in the George Marshall Conference Center at the State Department to take part in the o cial groundbreaking ceremony for the United States Diplomacy Center. Secretary of State John F. Kerry and former Secretaries of State Henry Kissinger, James A. Baker III, Madeleine K. Albright, Colin L. Powell and Hill- ary Rodham Clinton each made brief remarks at the indoor ceremony. ey then broke ground at the construction site at the 21st St. N.W. entrance to the Department of State’s Harry S Truman building. Under Secretary for Management Pat- rick Kennedy was master of ceremonies for the event. He was joined by Ambas- sador Elizabeth Frawley Bagley, senior advisor in the O ce of the Secretary, who was instrumental in garnering support for the project, and Ambassador William C. Harrop, chairman of the Diplomacy Center Foundation. Calling diplomacy a “force for good in the world,” Secretary Kerry brie y saluted the “ rst-ever museum to tell the really remarkable story of American diplomats.” He also used his time at the podium to focus on the “next generation” of diplomats and the current foreign policy debate. e 40,000-square-foot USDC has been designed as a museum and AFSA/Debra Blome From left: Secretaries of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, Madeleine K. Albright, Henry A. Kissinger, John F. Kerry, James A. Baker III and Colin L. Powell break ground for the United States Diplomacy Center at the Department of State on Sept. 3. educational center featuring interactive exhibits and diplomatic simulations that will explore the history, practice and challenges of U.S. diplomacy. e $25 million construction project is expected to take 18 months. Construction of the museum and fabrication of exhib- its will be nanced through a private- sector capital campaign. e Department of State will contribute space, sta and security for the center in a public-private partnership with the Diplomacy Center Foundation. A video of the ceremony can been viewed a t http://bit.ly/usdcremarks. — Debra Blome, Associate Editor Specialist Blogs, In Particular A boon to American diplomats, blog- ging o ers a fun and easy way for members of the Foreign Service to keep in touch with extended family, and with each other, as they move around the world representing the United States. e blogs are also a kind of public ser- vice, helping to spread awareness of the work FS members do and the lives they lead more broadly, in and outside the Service (see this month’s focus, p. 21). No less diligent as bloggers than the generalists, Foreign Service specialists also gure in the ever-popular FS blogs list on the AFSA website (www.afsa.org/ blogs). ■ 110 to 220 is by a Foreign Service Specialist who is currently on domestic assignment in Washington, D.C. e writer works on communications and computer systems in U.S. embassies and consulates around the world. According to the blog, “the website’s name is an Calling diplomacy a “force for good in the world,” Secretary Kerry briefly saluted the “first-ever museum to tell the really remarkable story of American diplomats.” He also used his time at the podium to focus on the “next generation” of diplomats and the current foreign policy debate.