“Go to the people, live with them, learn from them, love them. Start with what they know, build on what they have, but of the leaders, when their task is accomplished, their work is done, the people all remark: ‘We have done it ourselves.’”
— Lao Tzu
Citizen diplomacy is based on the concept that, in a democracy , individuals have the right even the responsibility, to help shape foreign relations.As traditionally defined, citizen diplomats are unofficial ambassadors who either participate in exchange programs overseas or host and interact with international exchange program participants in the United States. To the extent that these exchange programs are funded by the U.S. government, citizen diplomacy is a fundamental part of U.S. public diplomacy.
While citizen diplomacy can be defined as a subset of public diplomacy, it also extends well beyond a government’s efforts to communicate with foreign audiences. Some citizen diplomats work with privately funded programs such as those of People to People International, Friendship Force, Rotary International, or others. While not part of official U.S. public diplomacy, they certainly supplement it and engage in critically important efforts to build constructive relationships on behalf of Americans with people around the globe.
Some individuals engaged in citizen diplomacy are paid for what they do. However, most citizen diplomats are volunteers. With unheralded generosity, they give time, leadership skills, professional expertise, and their own money to sustain the local nonprofit organizations that comprise the infrastructure of U.S. citizen diplomacy.
They do this for a variety of reasons ranging from enhancing the education of their children and promoting the economic development of their communities to countering the anti-Americanism so prevalent around the world. The overarching reason they volunteer is to make a positive difference in the world. These citizen diplomats want to get beyond the headlines and the sensational sound bites and communicate on a person-to-person basis. They are extraordinarily accomplished at what they do. However, too few opportunities for citizen diplomacy are available.
Most people around the globe distinguish between the policies of a government and the people of a country. Whatever administration is in power, it is in the long-term best interest of the United States to maximize the firsthand exposure foreigners have with everyday U.S. citizens. It is critical that we strengthen the infrastructures already in place to make this possible. These organizations distill the lessons learned, provide essential training, uphold excellence, and measure impact.
To win hearts and minds, we must make differences understandable while underscoring common human aspirations. America’s citizen diplomats excel at this.
Reliance on private sector partners and citizen diplomats as the foundation of official U.S. Government sponsored exchanges gives these programs credibility. It distances participants from the U.S. Government and enables a broader range of foreigners to accept invitations to participate. It also demonstrates who we are and what we value, and the primacy of the private sector in the United States. Exchange program participants learn much more from the way we treat them (the extent to which they shape their own U.S. experiences) and the way we organize their programs than they do from what any expert might offer in a lecture or briefing. To the extent that free access to the diversity of the United States is an inherent part of the program, foreign visitors will perceive how much we truly value freedom, openness, and our democratic institutions.
Goals for Citizen Diplomacy
1. Expand exponentially the number of Americans engaged in citizen diplomacy either participating in a structured program abroad or hosting exchange program participants in the United States to 7 million by 2007;
2. Support efforts of the Coalition on Citizen Diplomacy to orchestrate a White House Conference on Citizen Diplomacy in 2006 with 100 smaller summits held in communities across the country in 2005 during International Education Week to bring together leaders in the field to share best practices and garner increased recognition and resources;
3. Work to persuade Congress to appropriate $700 million for U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs programs by 2007 in order to expand the International Visitor Program, the Fulbright Program, and related programs and to strengthen the private sector infrastructure that supports them with both volunteer time and millions of dollars raised in local communities;
4. Increase to fifty percent the number of all U.S. college students who study abroad or participate in a structured short term educational exchange experience overseas before graduating;
5. Encourage Congress to reaffirm the Charter mandating that U.S. Government sponsored exchanges operate in the long-term best interests of the United States and remain separate from the short-term foreign policy objectives of a particular administration;
6. Expand the U.S. Department of State Speakers Program and Citizen Ambassador Program to enable many more accomplished American to travel abroad to interact with their professional counterparts and learn about their cultures, political situations, and perspectives on the United States – 2700 by 2007;
7. Match each international student in the United States with a U.S. counterpart who participates in International Education Week activities with him or her.
(Adapted from “What is Citizen Diplomacy?” by Sherry L. Mueller, in the Coalition for Citizen Diplomacy January 2005 Leadership Report: International Leadership Forum New York City, available at http://www.coalitionforcitizendiplomacy.org/publications.html.)
