The Foreign Service Journal, November 2005

16 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / N O V E M B E R 2 0 0 5 State Makes the Top Ten On Sept. 14, the Partnership for Public Service ( http://www.our publicservice.org /) r eleased its third annual list, “Best Places to Work in the Federal Government 2005.” The four main foreign affairs agencies all ranked fairly high: State was 10th of the 30 agencies surveyed; Commerce, 12th; Agriculture, 16th; and USAID tied with the Labor Department for 18th. The top five were, in descending order: the Office of Management and Budget, National Science Founda- tion, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Government Accountability Office and the Securities and Exchange Com- mission. The bottom five: National Archives and Record Administration, Office of Personnel Management, Department of Education, Depart- ment of Homeland Security and, last, the Small Business Administration. PPS put together the list with the help of American University’s Insti- tute for the Study of Public Policy Implementation and Sirota Survey Intelligence. To compile the rankings, the partnership analyzed the answers of nearly 150,000 federal employees to questions about their overall job satisfaction. Respondents were asked whether they agreed with statements such as “My job makes good use of my skills and abilities” and “I hold my organization’s leaders in high regard.” The report observes that “the key drivers behind workplace satisfaction and engagement remain the same: effective leadership and a good match between employee skills and the mis- sion of the organization.” It also describes the top-rated federal agen- cies as representing the future of the federal civil service: “highly-engaged and highly-skilled workers performing critical tasks with professionalism and efficiency,” rivaling their private sec- tor counterparts. — Steve Honley, Editor Lifting Spirits While Making Friends A Sept. 28 concert evening in the Library of Congress’ Coolidge Audi- torium explored “The Power of Great Music in the Revival of U.S. Public Diplomacy.” The well-attended event featured pianist John Robilette, who back in 1982 created the Artistic Ambassador Program for the U.S. Information Agency. He was preceded by several prominent speakers involv- ed in public and cultural diplomacy. Robert Schadler, who long direct- ed the USIA International Visitor Program, acted as master of cere- monies. He cited the “International Music Initiative” in advocating the revival of an expanded classic music exchange program. Senator Norman Coleman, R-Minn., a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and co-chair of the Senate Arts Caucus, strongly endorsed cultural diplomacy as a part of public diploma- cy. Other speakers included Letitia Baldrige, chief of staff in the White House to Jacqueline Kennedy; Marta Casals Istomin, president of the Manhattan School of Music in New York from 1992 to 2005 and former wife of Pablo Casals and Eugene Istomin; and former Artistic Amb- assador Philip Hosford, who made an eloquent case for the effectiveness of music programs as a means of reach- ing audiences abroad. The theme of the night was that cultural diplomacy is our nation's heart and soul, and we need the arts in troubled times. As one speaker put it: “Arts are not urgent but fundamental- ly important.” The evening ended with Robilette playing a Paderewski nocturne and several Chopin selec- tions to an enthusiastic response. The event was a good case of effec- tive outreach to the Hill on behalf of a stronger cultural diplomacy effort. — Harry C. Blaney III President, Coalition for Effective Leadership Abroad (COLEAD) Katrina Draws Foreign Aid to the U.S. The wave of worldwide assistance to the Katrina recovery effort marks a significant reversal in which the United States, a pre-eminent donor of foreign aid, has become a recipient. The State Department released a list of over 120 foreign countries that have donated money or supplies ( http://www.state.gov/katrina/ 53264.htm ). A number of multilat- eral organizations have also played a critical role in the recovery effort. The initial delays in aid approval reflected America’s lack of experience with being on the receiving end of assistance. As the confusion subsided, the federal government welcomed all foreign donations with few exceptions, and began to channel the aid to its proper destination. The outpouring of sympathy from foreign citizens and gov- ernments has, at least in the short term, caused some noteworthy changes in America’s international relations. C YBERNOTES