The Foreign Service Journal, December 2016

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | DECEMBER 2016 69 AFSA NEWS S I NCLA I RE LANGUAGE AWARDS AFSA is accepting nominations for the 2016 Matilda W. Sinclaire Language Awards, which recog- nize outstanding accomplish- ment in the study of a Category III or IV language and their associ- ated cultures. The nomination deadline is Jan. 15, 2017 . Candidates may be nominated by their language training supervi- sors at the Foreign Service Insti- tute, by instructors in field schools or by post language officers. Awardees will receive a monetary prize and certificate of recognition. For further informa- tion, please contact AFSAAwards Coordinator Perri Green at green@ afsa.org or (202) 719-9700. Read more about the Sinclaire Awards at www.afsa.org/sinclaire. n ANNOUNCEMENT AFSA Staff Engage with UTAustin Students UTAUSTIN/ROCHEGEORGE Caption: On Nov. 9, AFSA President Ambassador Barbara Stephenson (center) and AFSA Director of Professional Policy Issues Maria Livingston (fourth from left) participated in a collaborative session with graduate student researchers and their faculty advisors at the University of Texas at Austin. The group is working with AFSA to conduct a diplomatic service benchmarking exercise. The team presented their preliminary findings and discussed goals for their upcoming trip to Washington, D.C. Their time in D.C. will be spent meeting with and interviewing various stakeholders, the input from which will feed into their overall analysis. The visit will mark the mid-point of the yearlong exercise. Coverage of their visit will feature in a future issue of AFSA News. DOES YOUR POST HAVE AN AFSA REP? The role of the Post Rep is crucial due to the wide variety of issues now confronting the Foreign Service. All posts without an AFSA Rep, or one moving on, should hold elections as soon as possible to ensure continu- ity. A list of Post Reps is available from the AFSA website: www.afsa.org/ postreps, so check to see if there is a vacancy at your post or a Rep that will be leaving soon. There are four important areas of responsibility involved: • Representing collective and individual interests of Foreign Service Personnel at post; • Transmitting to colleagues AFSA’s advisories on all developments affecting their career opportunities and conditions of employment; • Forwarding to AFSA any proposals, complaints or criticisms originat- ing with the AFSAmembers at post. • Expanding AFSA’s membership and encouraging others at post to seek the AFSA Post Rep position when you move on. The only employees excluded from serving as official AFSA Reps are management officials and/or confidential employees including chiefs of mission, deputy chiefs of mission, management officers, human resources officers, regional security officers, and office management specialists for COM/DCM. Posts preparing to hold elections may visit the AFSA website to review the guidelines for holding elections. Be sure to advise AFSA when a Post Rep is elected so that they can be properly certified. For further informa- tion contact the Member Services Department at member@afsa.org n NEWS BRIEF