Office of Foreign Missions hosts gingerbread contest in Washington
By Dan Pattarini
The Office of Foreign Missions (OFM) held their first ever Gingerbread Diplomacy Contest in December 2021. With pandemic concerns making traditional holiday gatherings and outreach events inadvisable, OFM sought a safe, enjoyable...
Embassy Niamey recognized for future-forward design
By Evan Lewis
In recognition of the Department of State’s commitment to environmental leadership and sustainable design, the new U.S. embassy in Niger recently achieved Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Platinum from the...
Department publishes its first Geospatial Data Strategy
By Erin Dudley
The Geospatial Data Act (GDA) was signed into law, Oct. 5, 2018, and recognizes geospatial data as a critical component of the national infrastructure and economy. GDA identifies the Department of State...
OSAC Annual Briefing forges meaningful security connections
By Elizabeth Winter
The Overseas Security Advisory Council (OSAC), a unit within the Bureau of Diplomatic Security (DS), partners directly with security professionals at U.S. organizations operating abroad to build threat awareness and trusted networks...
New EAG represents Jewish American employees and friends
By Jesse Victor
In July 2021, a swastika was found carved in an elevator near the Harry S Truman Office of the Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism. This event prompted messages reminding the...
Rewards for Justice incentivizes critical infrastructure protection
By Rachel Schindel Gombis
The Department of State’s Rewards for Justice (RFJ) program—which advertises an up-to-$10 million reward for information on foreign government-linked malicious cyber activities against U.S. critical infrastructure—raised a few eyebrows due to its innovative...
First-tour FSO conducts musical diplomacy
By Farrell Harwood
While serving as a first-tour consular officer in Guangzhou, China, Bradley Geer found himself quite literally conducting person-to-person diplomacy, employing a skill he had not used for 10 years: choral conducting. A...
Using ADR and mediation to resolve conflicts
By Krish Das and Paul Foisy
At the Department of State, managing conflict is among the 10 leadership and management principles that are outlined in 3 FAM 1214—within the Foreign Affairs Manual—as important for all employees...
New embassy building dedicated in Maputo
By Vanessa Rozier Toscano
Embassy Maputo formally dedicated its new, state-of-the-art embassy campus with representatives from the Mozambican government, political parties, civil society, the private sector, academia, and the media, Sept. 30. The event signaled...
HECFAA highlights role of Hispanics in diplomacy
By Moises Mendoza
The Department of State has been challenged to ensure that its workforce accurately reflects the U.S. population. Despite the fact that 18.5 percent of people in the United States claim Hispanic heritage,...