Last week, representatives from 39 states and 42 countries attended the U.S. Summit for Global Citizen Diplomacy. The event marked the first time in 50 years that public and private leaders gathered to discuss “citizen diplomacy”– the efforts of everyday citizens to engage with the world through people-to-people exchanges.
More than 500 people attended the summit, which was sponsored by the U.S. Center for Citizen Diplomacy in partnership with the U.S. State Department. Leaders from more than 100 citizen diplomacy organizations joined forces to offer innovative ideas to encourage engagement of Americans in global citizen diplomacy. In the coming decade, the Initiative and its supporters aspire to double the number of Americans involved in international activities, from an estimated 60 million today to 120 million by 2020.
Citizen diplomats come from every sector of society. Whether you are a student, artist, athlete, philanthropist, or entrepreneur, you have the power to create meaningful change through dialogue and engagement with the citizens of the world.
The Open Hands Initiative believes strongly in the power of the private sector to complement traditional diplomacy. This summer, we brought together youth disability advocates from the U.S. and Syria to create the world’s first cross-cultural, disabled superhero. The Ability Summit was the first of its kind, allowing the youths to share their experiences, ideas, and culture, while creating strategies to promote the rights of youth with disabilities.
In conjunction with the Ability Summit, Open Hands hosted a music exchange program. Local artists worked with American recording expert Brian Unger, training in new techniques and sharing expertise on recording and distribution. The resulting music from the program will be distributed digitally and freely in the United States to help expose American audiences to the rich musical culture of Syria. Exchanges like these can help tackle global challenges and make a real difference in improving understanding between people.
The Open Hands Initiative lauds the efforts of the U.S. Center for Citizen Diplomacy and all of those who participated in this year’s Summit for Global Citizen Diplomacy. Likewise, we encourage all of our readers to take action, to engage, and to extend an open hand.