lundi 27 août 2012

*China's New Resource Diplomacy...*


"Driven by its huge appetite for energy and other resources, China has dramatically expanded its economic relations with resource-rich economies in Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East. This expansion of trade and investment has brought with it cries of a new Chinese imperialism in some circles even as it has won praise as a new model for development, in others. Whether a boom or a bane for economic development, China's expanding economic presence in Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East has created new challenges for American foreign policy.

Please join Joshua Eisenman, author of a forthcoming American Strategy Program paper on China's trade and investment with Africa, as well as Ambassador David Shinn and Flynt Leverett for a stimulating discussion.
Participants

Featured Speakers
Joshua Eisenman
Senior Fellow for China Studies, American Foreign Policy Council
Former Assistant Director of China studies, The Nixon Center

Ambassador David Shinn
Adjunct Professor, Elliott School of International Affairs, George Washington University
Former Ambassador to Burkina Faso and Ethiopia

Flynt Leverett
Senior Research Fellow, American Strategy Program, New America Foundation
Co-author, Race For Iran

Moderator
Samuel Sherraden
Policy Analyst, Economic Growth Program, New America Foundation"



Best regards,

*Diplomacy for the Facebook Era...*


Practitioners and scholars whose knowledge and interests focus on how diplomacy may --or may not -- need to change to be effective in the 21st century agree that while technology is changing the environment in which diplomacy happens, there will always be a need for traditional, face-to-face diplomatic meetings and negotiations. The featured speakers were Amb. Paul Heinbecker, Cathryn Cluver, and Dr. Bruce Jones and the seminar was moderated by Amb. Paul Webster Hare.

Hosted by Frederick S. Pardee Center for the Study of the Longer-Range Future on April 20, 2011.



Best regards,

mercredi 22 août 2012

*Janice Stein "On The Changing Nature Of Diplomacy"*


"Janice Stein explains how technology has changed the nature of skills of diplomacy and how Canada has tried to expand its economic interests in the Europe, Korea and Asia... "

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*The Role of the Ambassador in International Relations...in 2009*


Ambassador Donald Blinken discussed his new co-authored book, `Vera and the Ambassador: Escape and Return`

(Apr 6, 2009 at Columbia University, School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA)...

*In 2012 : What do you think...?
 A SUIVRE...!


Best regards,

*Janice Stein on "Diplomacy In The Digital Age"*


Global affairs expert Janice Stein is the editor of "Diplomacy in the Digital Age", a collaboration of essays inspired by former Ambassador to the United States, Allan Gotlieb, who believed the art of diplomacy had to change to adapt to the digital age. In this conversation, Stein addresses WikiLeaks, which she believes could not have happened before 9/11; Stephen Harper's more muscular foreign policy, trade with the U.S. and Canada's poor reputation for safeguarding the environment...

*Digital Diplomacy: Reinventing foreign policy?*


"Ever since the protests of the "Green Movement" in Iran (2009) and the "Arab Uprising" (2011), Western foreign policy makers realized that a new phenomenon might have the impact of changing their well-known world of diplomacy and international relations: information and communication technology or just ICT. And while the U.S. Department of State launched their respond to this global development already in 2009 -- called 'The 21st century statecraft' -- both, European governments and the European institutions still seem to wonder what we are talking about.

But as a matter of fact, Europe's diplomatic services are already facing a new challenge: what is digital diplomacy or digital foreign policy and how should Europe respond to the new digital hemisphere? What are the main issues? What can be new benefits and what are new threats for modern diplomacy? Who is Europe's new digital constituency and to what extent is Europe responsible for the digital world and its users outside Europe?"
With:
1. Marietje Schaake, D66, European Parliament,
2. Olaf Boehnke, ECFR
3. Dan Meredith, Radio Free Asia
4. Ehsan Norouzi, Deutsche Welle

lundi 20 août 2012

*Ben Rowswell : Open Source Democracy Promotion*


Ben Rowswell is a Canadian diplomat with a specialization in statebuilding and stabilization. As Representative of Canada in Kandahar from 2009 to 2010 he directed the Kandahar Provincial Reconstruction Team, leading a team of more than 100 American and Canadian diplomats, aid workers, civilian police and other experts in strengthening the provincial government at the heart of the Afghan conflict. Having served before that as Deputy Head of Mission in Kabul, Rowswell brings a practitioner's knowledge of Afghanistan and of statebuilding in general to the CDDRL.

His previous conflict experience includes two years as Canada's Chargé d'Affaires in Iraq between 2003 and 2005, and with the UN in Somalia in 1993. He has also served at the Canadian embassy in Egypt and the Permanent Mission to the UN, and as a foreign policy advisor to the federal Cabinet in Ottawa. An alumnus of the National Democratic Institute, he founded the Democracy Unit of the Canadian foreign ministry.

Rowswell is a Senior Associate of the Center for Strategic and International Studies and the co-editor of "Iraq: Preventing a New Generation of Conflict" (2007). He studied international relations at Oxford and at Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service.

About TEDx

In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.* (*Subject to certain rules and 
regulations). 


mardi 14 août 2012

*The U.S. : Roadmap for a Digital Government Strategy...*



When the Internet revolution arrived in the 1990s, the U.S. Government embraced this new medium to interact with the American people.  Today, what started as basic information pages has evolved into sophisticated transactional systems that allow us to pay taxes online, download medical records, and so much more.
Like the 1990s, we are now in the midst of another important shift in how people consume and deliver information and services. In 2011, global smartphone shipments exceeded personal computer shipments for the first time in history, and more Americans will soon access the Internet via mobile devices than desktop PCs. The rise of mobile further compounds the challenge of providing high-quality digital services in a cost-effective and efficient manner.
That’s why President Obama issued a directive today to make important services accessible from your phone and charged me with developing a comprehensive strategy to build a 21st Century Digital Government that delivers better digital services to the American people.
Today marks the launch of that Digital Government Strategy (PDF / HTML5).
At its core, the strategy takes a coordinated, information- and customer-centric approach to changing how the government works and delivers services to the American people. Designing for openness from the start – making open data the default for government IT systems and embracing the use of web APIs – enables us to more easily deliver information and services through multiple channels, including mobile, and engage the public and America’s entrepreneurs as partners in building a better government.
Treating the government as an open platform in this way encourages innovation. Just look at how the government’s release of GPS and weather data fueled billion dollar industries. It also makes government more efficient and able to adapt to inevitable changes in technology.
Over the next 12 months, you will start to see an important shift across the Federal Government. Agencies will increasingly open up their valuable data to the public and set up Developer pages to give external developers tools to build new services. To make sure there’s no wrong door for accessing government data, we will transformData.gov into a data and API catalog that in real time pulls directly from agency websites. Agencies will mobilize two of their priority customer-facing services, moving us closer to serving the American people anytime, anywhere, on the device of their choice. We will do all of this while reworking the Federal government’s own use of mobile – saving taxpayer dollars and providing better service by bringing consistency to the way we buy and build for an increasingly mobile workforce.
As President Obama has said, “I want us to ask ourselves every day, how are we using technology to make a real difference in people’s lives?” Through the Digital Government Strategy, we look forward to partnering with America’s innovators – government, industry, and citizen leaders – to implement the President’s vision.
Steven VanRoekel is the Federal Chief Information Officer – for more information visit www.cio.gov.   

lundi 6 août 2012

*Portrait d'un diplomate français à l’ONU...*


Frederic Jung, premier secrétaire, Pôle "Afrique", expert au Conseil de sécurité,
explique le processus de l'adoption d'une déclaration sur la Somalie au Conseil de sécurité...



*Behind-the-Scenes Video: Twitter Q&A with President Obama*


Go behind the scenes with President Obama as he answers your questions on Twitter after delivering remarks in Newton, Iowa. Follow @whitehouse on Twitter...


Best regards,
@MorganeBravo

*Royaume-Uni : Open Data White Paper and Departmental Open Data Strategies...*

« La stratégie de gouvernement ouvert au Royaume-Uni »

Departmental strategies:
Perhaps once the concern only of a small number of technology minded ‘activists’, Open Data is now fast becoming an everyday concern for entrepreneurs, civil society organisations, industry and the wider public.  Whether you’re finding your next bus on your Smartphone or comparing local schools via links from a property finder website, you’re using Open Data.  Across the country, we’re seeing social innovators and entrepreneurs thriving on the back of open public data.  The importance of Open Data is also rising up international political and economic agendas.   
The push for Open Data has gained increasing momentum over the last few years and government has responded.  Today we publish our Open Data command paper, which sets out how we’re putting data and transparency at the heart of government and public services.  We’re making it easier to access public data; easier for data publishers to release data in standardised, open formats; and engraining a ‘presumption to publish’ unless specific reasons (such as privacy or national security) can be clearly articulated.  From the Prime Minister down, central Government is committed to making Open Data an effective engine of economic growth, social wellbeing, political accountability and public service improvement.  It’s an ambitious agenda, backed up by departmental Open Data Strategies also published today.
Over the last six months, we’ve also asked departments lead the way in thinking through what Transparency and Open Data means for their particular policy agendas, stakeholders and business activity.  Their Open Data Strategies put the agenda deep in the delivery of frontline government services, such as health, education, criminal justice, and transport.  They also start to challenge the way government traditionally operates, bringing openness to areas where transparency might not – at first glance – seem to be a relevant or suitable instrument, such as the Foreign and Commonwealth Office or Ministry of Defence.  Focussed around three types of data, ‘big data’, ‘mydata’ (secure individual access to personal data) and customer feedback data, high profile data releases include:
  • The UKBA and the Border Force plan to increase the range of information about their activities and performance which is available to the public;
  • Cabinet Office will increase transparency on grant funding by publishing data on which organisations receive public money from civil society programmes; and,
  • DWP will release statistics on job outcomes and sustainment payments of the Work Programme from autumn 2012.
As we open up public data, we also want to give you the opportunity to engage in the process – working with us to identify what data should be prioritised and how it should be released, and letting us know of the array of useful applications, products and services you’re making with it.  As such, each department describes how it plans to work with data users to nurture a dynamic marketplace for data and information, as well as how they will address important data quality issues head on.
The publication of these Open Data Strategies, and a single spreadsheet of their forthcoming data publications (2012-14), represents a visible benchmark against which you – citizens, data users – can hold the Government to account.  We’re being transparent about Transparency, and urge you get involved through data.gov.uk forumsthe Open Data User Groupor just by talking to us! There’s much more to be done, but technological innovations and the increasing ease with which data can be collected, analysed and published create a strong imperative to continue apace.  Data really is a 21st Century fuel for social and economic growth. 

Best regards,
@MorganeBravo