The Foreign Service Journal, October 2014

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | OCTOBER 2014 37 and, in my opinion, add to our abilities to achieve U.S. foreign policy goals and objectives. I’ve served as both as a regional consultant and a manager of American Spaces. My work has become more complex over the years as we introduce new information technologies, applications and services—especially Web-based technologies and applica- tions—to how we provide accurate and authoritative information about the United States to local audiences, who often lack access to such information or the skills to access it. Security concerns have alsomade public diplomacy work more complicated. e introduction and dramatic expansion of the American Corners program after 9/11 has tripledmy workload, but it’s also allowedme to travel tomany locations outside the capital cities where our embassies are located. While initially responsible for working with and training locally employed sta in our embassy Information Resources Centers, I now have inmy portfolio numer- ous American Corners sta ed by non–U.S. government sta , often poorly educated and trained, and located in remote cities that can be di cult to reach. Needless to say, this is challenging. Nonetheless, I believe Information Resource O cers and our American Spaces ll a critical role in promoting U.S. foreign policy, society and values, and in many parts of the world they o er positive alternatives to youth at risk of falling under the in u- ence of actors hostile to the United States. Although I initially underestimated the challenges and sac- ri ces involved in living and working overseas—my family has been through three evacuations, we’ve survived terrorist attacks, and we’ve had friends killed in attacks—I also know I’ve touched lives, changed some attitudes about the U.S. for the better and, by doing so, helped make the world a little safer for American citizens. Henry Mendelsohn is the Regional Information Resource O cer at Embassy Nairobi, where his responsibilities include direct super- vision of the embassy’s American Reference Center and he serves as a regional consultant for U.S. Embassy and Consulate Informa- tion Resource Centers and American Corner libraries in Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Madagascar, Somalia, Tanzania, and North Sudan. Mr. Mendelsohn’s previous postings include Cairo, Abuja, Abu Dhabi, Islamabad and New Delhi. n