United States cyber-diplomacy
Cyber-diplomacy has as its underpinnings that, “it recognizes that new communication technologies offer new opportunities to interact with a wider public by adopting a network approach and making the most of an increasingly multicentric global, interdependent system.” [2] U.S. cyber-diplomacy is led by the United States Department of State and is a new tool in fulfilling the U.S. public diplomacy mission.
The development of cyber-diplomacy by the United States is a response to the shifts in international relations by extending the reach of U.S. diplomacy beyond government-to-government communications.
[6] The U.S. Department of State's official explanation of it is, “The complementing of traditional foreign policy tools with newly innovated and adapted instruments of statecraft that fully leverages the networks, technologies, and demographics of our interconnected world.”[4] “The First Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review of 2010”, explains 21st century diplomacy as the United States’ adaptation to an increasingly varied set of actors who influence national debates, such as an increasing number of states capable of acting on their own diplomatic agendas, corporations, transnational networks, foundations, NGOs, religious groups and citizens themselves.
[7] Secretary of State Hillary Clinton explained the concept as "We're working to leverage the power and potential in what I call 21st century statecraft.
Part of the philosophy of DipNote is to accept negative and positive feedback from participants and in doing so assess the temperature of foreign publics.
[6][10] One of the undertakings by the Digital Outreach Team occurred on June 4, 2009, when President Barack Obama gave a speech addressing the Muslim world, from Cairo, Egypt.
Between June and December in 2009, the DOT opened thirty discussion threads on nineteen Arab and Russian centered websites, where the primary conversation was Obama's Cairo speech.
The technologists will specifically educate the people on:Virtual Presence Post is a tool which helps a U.S. Embassy's Principal Officer utilize available diplomatic outreach instruments.
VPPs are usually composed of one or two officers that manage an internet site explaining U.S. policy, providing updates and news on U.S. relations with the host country and are accessible for dialogue.
The communication of the VPP includes topics such as, travel, programs, media, and technology, in an effort to improve U.S. engagement with specific communities where the U.S. has no physical diplomatic facilities.
Currently, there are 43 active VPPs around the world, some of them are in Zhengzhou, China, Chittagong, Bangladesh, the Seychelles, San Marino, Somalia, and Gaza.
The Games were developed by MetroStar Systems along with Neal Hallford, J.R. Register, and Ghafur Remtulla and funded by the U.S. Department of State.
Cultural bridging embodied in a video game reaches across all generations, especially the current one being raised in an ever sophisticated and technological world.
Ali Reza Manouchehri, Chief Executive Officer of MetroStar Systems, discussing this video-game, stated the “Middle East and the Persian Gulf youth will have the opportunity to experience the dynamism and vitality of American life.
