The United States Department of State (DOS), or simply the State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other nations, its primary duties are advising the U.S. president on international relations, administering diplomatic missions, negotiating international treaties and agreements, and representing the U.S. at the United Nations. The department is headquartered in the Harry S Truman Building, a few blocks from the White House, in the Foggy Bottom neighborhood of Washington, D.C.; "Foggy Bottom" is thus sometimes used as a metonym.
The United States Information Agency (USIA) was a United States government agency devoted to the practice of public diplomacy which operated from 1953 to 1999.
The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States Cultural Exchange Programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people of the United States and other countries through the exchange of persons, knowledge, and skills. Via the program, competitively-selected American citizens including students, scholars, teachers, professionals, scientists, and artists may receive scholarships or grants to study, conduct research, teach, or exercise their talents abroad; and citizens of other countries may qualify to do the same in the United States.
Goli Ameri is an Iranian-American businesswoman and former U.S. diplomat. She is the co-founder of StartItUp, a mobile technology platform that provides resources to aspiring entrepreneurs. She formerly served as Under Secretary General for Humanitarian Values and Diplomacy for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs. Ameri ran for the U.S. House of Representatives as a Republican in 2004, and is a former U.S. Representative to the United Nations. She serves on the board of trustees of Freedom House, as well as on the Center for Middle East Public Policy advisory board of the RAND Corporation, a group of public and private sector leaders that provide guidance and support for RAND's Middle East research.
The U.S. Information and Educational Exchange Act of 1948, popularly called the Smith–Mundt Act, was first introduced by Congressman Karl E. Mundt (R-SD) in January 1945 in the 79th Congress. It was subsequently passed by the 80th Congress and signed into law by President Harry S. Truman on January 27, 1948.
Sister Cities International (SCI) is a nonprofit citizen diplomacy network that creates and strengthens partnerships between communities in the United States and in other countries, particularly through the establishment of "sister cities"—broad and long-term agreements formally recognized by civic leaders. Its mission is to "build global cooperation at the municipal level, promote cultural understanding and stimulate economic development". A total of 1,800 cities, states, and counties are partnered in 138 countries worldwide.
The U.S. Department of State's Bureau of International Information Programs (IIP) supported the department's public diplomacy efforts by providing and supporting the places, content, and infrastructure needed for sustained conversations with foreign audiences. It was headed by the Coordinator for International Information Programs. IIP was one of three bureaus that reported to the Undersecretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs. The Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and the Bureau of Public Affairs were its sister bureaus. On May 28, 2019, IIP merged with the Bureau of Public Affairs into the Bureau of Global Public Affairs, and the duties of IIP Coordinator merged into the duties of the Assistant Secretary of State for Global Public Affairs.
The World Affairs Council of Seattle is a non-profit, non-partisan international affairs organization based in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1951, it is one of four World Affairs Councils in Washington State and a member of the World Affairs Councils of America.
EducationUSA is a U.S. Department of State network of international student advising centers in more than 170 countries. EducationUSA is officially a branch in the Office of Global Educational Programs in the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA). ECA fosters mutual understanding between the United States and other countries by promoting personal, professional, and institutional ties between private citizens and organizations in the United States and abroad, as well as by presenting U.S. history, society, art and culture to overseas audiences.
The US-UK Fulbright Commission was created by a treaty signed by the United Kingdom and the United States on 22 September, 1948. It is a non-profit organisation based in London, UK. Its aim is to foster mutual cultural understanding through educational exchange between both nations. To do this, Fulbright helps students, scholars and professionals interested in studying abroad in the US or UK through its scholarship programme and its EducationUSA advice service.
The Fulbright–Hays Act of 1961 is officially known as the Mutual Educational and Cultural Exchange Act of 1961. It was marshalled by United States Senator J. William Fulbright (D-AR) and passed by the 87th United States Congress on September 16, 1961, the same month the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 and Peace Corps Act of 1961 were enacted.
The International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) is a professional exchange program funded by the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. The mission of IVLP is to offer current and emerging international leaders the opportunity to experience the richness and diversity of American political, economic, social and cultural life through carefully designed exchanges that reflect participants’ professional interests and the public diplomacy objectives of the United States government.
The National Security Language Initiative (NSLI) is a program introduced by United States President George W. Bush on January 5, 2006 at the U.S. University President's Summit to develop the foreign language skills of American students, especially in "critical-need" foreign languages such as Arabic, Chinese, Russian, Hindi, and Persian. The initiative was given $114 million in fiscal year 2007 and $26.6 million in 2008 to expand programs from kindergarten level to universities. Schools were additionally awarded $750 million for critical language education.
The J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board was established by the United States Congress for the purpose of supervising the Fulbright Program and certain programs authorized by the Fulbright-Hays Act and for the purpose of selecting students, scholars, teachers, trainees, and other persons to participate in the educational exchange programs.
Public diplomacy is that "form of international political advocacy in which the civilians of one country use legitimate means to reach out to the civilians of another country in order to gain popular support for negotiations occurring through diplomatic channels."
United States cultural exchange programs, particularly those programs with ties to the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) of the United States Department of State, seek to develop cultural understanding between United States citizens and citizens of other countries. Exchange programs do not necessarily exchange one individual for another individual of another country; rather, "exchange" refers to the exchange of cultural understanding created when an individual goes to another country. These programs can be regarded as a form of cultural diplomacy within the spectrum of public diplomacy.
The Meridian International Center is a non-partisan, non-profit, public diplomacy organization founded in 1960 and located in Washington, D.C. It works closely with the U.S. Department of State and other U.S. government agencies, NGOs, international governments, and the private sector to create programs and partnership.
Formerly known as SportsUnited, Sports Diplomacy is the U.S. Department of State's sports diplomacy division. Sports Diplomacy uses sport to help youth around the world develop important off-the-court skills, including leadership, mutual understanding and academic achievement. The four pillars of the program include Sports Envoys, Sports Visitors, Sports Grants, and the Empowering Women and Girls through Sport Initiative. The program began in 2002 and has since reached thousands of participants in more than 140 countries. An overarching theme in most of Sports Diplomacy’s programming is disability sport access and inclusion.
Marie Royce, born Marie Therese Porter, is an American businesswoman, diplomat, and educator. She was the Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs from 2018-2021. She was nominated by President Donald Trump and was unanimously confirmed by the US Senate. Royce was succeeded by Lee Satterfield on November 23, 2021.
Lee Satterfield is an American diplomat who has served as Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs in the Biden administration since November 2021.
