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June 2007.Qxd:June 2007 U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE MAGAZINE Make You r Move Introducing the Mid-Level Civil Service Rotation Program JUNE 2007 CONTENTS STATE MAGAZINE + JUNE 2007 + NUMBER 513 Virtual Connections 07 Technology creates a unique public diplomacy tool. * Department Inner-View Director General George Staples goes on the record 14 with State Magazine. * Walk on the Wild Side 40 Rescued cheetah becomes environmental ambassador. * ON THE COVER Pilot program encourages Civil Service employees to explore other professional fields. Photograph by Corbis POST OF THE MONTH: Ulaanbaatar Modern Nomads and Vast Horizons Mark U.S. ‘Neighbor.’ 18 10 First Response Unconventional missions support transforma- 32 Special Report: tional diplomacy in Darfur. Rotating CS Assignments Pilot program gives a taste of career diversity. 26 By Any Other Name 34 Outside the Comfort Zone Residence’s new name honors the ‘flowery flag.’ 35 Connecting the Dots 28 Of Human Dignity Secretary Rice confers the first International 36 Office of the Month: A/EX Women of Courage awards. Shared services lead to better diplomacy. COLUMNS 2 FROM THE UNDER SECRETARY 44 SAFETY SCENE 3 READERS’ FEEDBACK 46 OBITUARIES 4 IN THE NEWS 46 RETIREMENTS 43 STATE OF THE ARTS 48 THE LAST WORD UNDER SECRETARY HENRIETTA FORE IRM Begins Deployment of SMART with Instant Messaging In November 1866, Secretary of State • Several people can join in a single con- piece will be SMART messaging, designed William Seward sent an encrypted versation; you can efficiently clear a to integrate cables, e-mails and memos on a message through Atlantic Cable to U.S. cable or memo. common user-friendly platform. minister to France, John Bigelow. The • You can decide with whom you will While IM is making its way around the cost: $19,540.50. communicate; you can avoid being globe (deployed to 38,000 desktops and On March 21, 2007, Under Secretary soon to be everywhere), the SMART team Henrietta H. Fore conducted an instant has been hard at work on the next elements message exchange with the ambassadors of SMART. Gartner Consulting recognized to Athens and Belgrade. The cost: the internal progress by giving high marks a few cents. to the team’s completion of its Critical Resistance to the introduction of the Design Review, the blueprint that will be telegram was fierce in the 19th century, used to build the messaging portion. And ambassadors saw as a loss of autonomy. the Office of Management and Budget also When e-mail was introduced to the expressed support for Information Resource Department 120 years later, passive resist- Management’s management of SMART. ance initially relegated its use to a small The next application to be offered will be coterie of adventurous and restless a collaboration tool called SharePoint, employees. But after a few years, e-mail scheduled to be piloted from June to August. surpassed cables as the preferred mode of In September, SMART messaging will be communication. Its volume in the State piloted in Belgrade, Stockholm and Muscat. Department now exceeds cables by a ratio At the same time, SMART will be piloting of more than sixty to one. additional collaboration applications as well Three months ago, the Department as a search and interest profiling service. By introduced instant messaging as the first January 2008, nine more overseas posts will application of SMART—State Messaging be added for the second pilot iteration of and Archive Retrieval Toolset. I am SMART messaging. Worldwide deployment pleased that it has been greeted with such pestered by a flood of incoming is scheduled to begin in September 2008. enthusiasm as well as a healthy skepti- messages. I have urged the SMART office to cism. It is not a substitute for cables, • It is a real-time medium; you can be advance the piloting of SMART messaging, e-mails or phone calls—but is an addi- assured that you will not find a queue but integrating cables, e-mail and memos on tional tool to ensure rapid worldwide of unread messages when you sign on a common platform tied to a search capabil- communication. in the morning because they arrive ity, with connectivity between ClassNet and What will instant messaging give our only when you are signed on. OpenNet, is not easy. I am assured, however, workplace? My staff thought that my first IM experi- that it can and will be done—and deployed • IM allows real-time communication; ence—with Ambassadors Charles Ries and worldwide after we have thoroughly tested it unlike e-mail or cables, you can have Michael Polt—might require a rehearsal or for usability, security and stability. These a quick question answered immedi- hands-on training. I took the plunge with tools will transform how we do our work. ately by a colleague. neither, while my staff held their breath in Transformational diplomacy requires • IM is secure on ClassNet; you can front of the 20 members of the SMART state-of-the-art messaging systems that are have a classified conversation steering committee. It worked exactly as simple, secure and user-friendly. When fully between continents without a secure promised. So, if it takes you more than a few deployed by 2009, SMART will set a new telephone. minutes to adopt IM, call home for help. standard for the digital support of America’s • It is quiet; you can have a privileged I am delighted that we have introduced diplomacy. It remains the Department’s conversation with someone in the this technology to the Department—and highest IT priority. next office without being overheard look forward to other collaboration tools Stay tuned, as overseas piloting of SMART by colleagues. being introduced by SMART. The center- messaging begins in a few months. ■ 2 | STATE MAGAZINE | JUNE 2007 READERS’ FEEDBACK Belize’s Boston Whaler I enjoyed reading about the wooden Belize consulate general/embassy building (March issue). In 1972, our concern there was not hurricanes, but the real danger of fire. Several rope ladders were installed to allow escape. They might even still be there. Also, we bought ConGen Belize a Boston whaler for possi- ble evacuation needs. As with the motor launch “Hiawatha” in Istanbul, which you also featured in March, it was carried as part of the motor pool. Either there was a regulation at the time against boat ownership by the State Department or we thought Congress might object—or both. Post was told not to requisition pro- pellers, and the staff was encouraged to take the boat out to the cays on week-ends “to make sure everything worked.” Stuart Lippe Retired FSO Haiku Contests Good Work Reading the cartoon on the inside back During my 27 years of active duty in the cover of the April issue—The Poetic Diplo- Foreign Service, I always enjoyed the fine macy Initiative—inspired me to share with writing, reporting and organizational out- you something with which any site officer reach State Magazine provided to all Let Us Hear from You for a VIP visit can relate. employees, no matter On a previous assignment their status, rank or post in Tokyo, I often served as of assignment. There was Mailing Address control officer for VIP visits. always something for State Magazine To keep spirits bright among everyone. 2401 E Street, NW all involved, I would hold These excellent quali- HR/ER/SMG, SA-1, Room H-236 haiku contests through which ties continue. Moreover, Washington, DC 20522-0108 site officers and others could the magazine has even vent frustrations and share improved, showcasing funny anecdotes related to stronger reporting, more E-mail the visit. I would collect them stylistic formats [email protected] as we went along, and we and richer articles about would hold a live reading at the people and organiza- the wheels-up party. One tions making up the State Phone memorable haiku from such a contest: Department and the many challenges (202) 663-1700 The map says turn left American diplomacy faces in the future. But the driver just turned right Superb job! Letters should not exceed 250 Again we'll be late Living in rural Thailand, with perhaps words and should include the I would not be surprised if other posts only one other American in the general writer’s name, address and daytime are in cultures that have some form of area and possibly two or three English- phone number. All letters become expression suitable for this sort of diver- speaking individuals residing within a sion. Keep your eyes out. 20-mile radius, I expect that State Magazine the property of State Magazine. will become one of my closest friends. Letters will be edited for length, Aaron Held accuracy and clarity. Only signed American Consulate General Tim Lawson letters will be considered. Monterrey, Mexico Senior Foreign Service (Retired) JUNE 2007 | STATE MAGAZINE | 3 (NEWS) FSOs Donate Equipment to Haitian Volleyball Team As a community service project in Port-au-Prince, 15 Foreign Service offi- cers in the Consular Section of the U.S. Embassy donated equipment valued at more than $300 to a local girls’ volley- ball team. Sports are a preferred pastime for the disadvantaged children of Haiti, yet there are few public teams with suffi- cient funding and equipment. The team’s assistant trainer, who works as a security guard at the Consular Section, alerted Consul General Jay Smith to the need for equipment, and the American officers responded. “The spirit of competition the girls enjoy during the matches will serve them well for the rest of their lives,” said Consul General Smith during the presentation of the equipment on Feb- ruary 7. “Learning to apply yourself fully and work cooperatively in a sports setting will also help you excel in all The volleyball team aspects of life, whether as a student or and its trainers pose as an involved citizen,” he told the girls.
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