INSPIRE!Diplomacy

Changing the world can be as simple as supporting what you believe is the right action for yourself.! I am reminded of phrases from our founding fathers, such as, “of the people, by the people, for the people”, and “liberty and justice for all”.!

James G. Rolfe, DDS

Dr. James G. Rolfe of Santa Barbara, California, has steadfastly worked to improve the lives of the Afghan people through his organization, the Afghanistan Dental Relief Project. His journey began in 2003 when he volunteered at an orphanage in a remote Afghan mountain province, and motivated by the plight of children with no access to dental care, he provided much-needed dental treatment. He transported to Afghanistan containers filled with donated dental equipment and supplies that doubled as a mobile dentist office, and he tirelessly worked with local Afghan officials and private citizens to open in November 2008 The Kabul Clinic and Training Center. Dr. Rolfe continues to train Afghan orphans and widows to become dental assistants, and because of his determination, dental treatment facilities are in underserved areas of Afghanistan with volunteers, who teach dentistry and dental technology, offer dental treatment at no cost to the needy, and explain methods of preventative dental care.

1 December 31, 2010

ABOVE Honoree James G. Rolfe, DDS accepts the 2010 National Award for Citizen Diplomacy. He is the founder of Afghanistan Dental Relief Project, Inc., which provides dental treatment facilities in underserved areas of Afghanistan.

Recognition and engagement

of citizen diplomats are

overarching goals of the U.S.

Center for Citizen Diplomacy.

The U.S. Center for Citizen Diplomacy donated a $5,000 cash award in honor of Dr. Rolfe to the Afghanistan Dental Relief Project.

INSPIRE!Diplomacy

Report by M. Jessica Rowe, December 2010

CITIZEN DIPLOMAT HONOREES

Scott Beale | founder & CEO of Atlas Service Corps, Inc., an international organization that administers an overseas exchange of skilled nonprofit professionals.

Jenny M. Buccos | director, producer and founder of ProjectExplorer.org, a non-profit that produces free education-based, online global travel series designed for families and classrooms.

Judith Jamison | world-renowned dancer & choreographer | Artistic Director of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, a New York-based organization that brings the spirit of dance to people worldwide.

Robert Redford | Oscar-winning actor | environmental activist | film director | founder of Sundance Institute

James G. Rolfe, DDS | founder of Afghanistan Dental Relief Project, Inc., which provides dental treatment facilities in underserved areas of Afghanistan.

Sahar Taman | author | consultant | former director, Religion and Society Program of the National Peace Foundation that hosts experiential tours for individuals focusing on the place religion has in American and Muslim societies.

Richard A. Webb | Founder of ProWorld Service Corps, a social enterprise that matches individual volunteers and university groups with community projects in developing countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

On November 18, 2010, seven honorees of the 2010 National Awards for Citizen Diplomacy were recognized by the U.S. Center for Citizen Diplomacy. They were acknowledged for their extraordinary work to increase American citizen engagement in international affairs and their outstanding contributions in fostering cross-cultural understanding.

PURPOSE

The National Awards for Citizen

Diplomacy accomplished three

important objectives: It (1) defined the

general public’s perception of a citizen

diplomat, and (2) served as a national

opportunity to engage and inspire others,

as well as to (3) recognize, honor, and

benchmark exemplary work in the field.

In 2010, a non-partisan and non-political program was held

7:30 PM, Wednesday, 17 November in the Independence

Ballroom of the Grand Hyatt Washington, D.C.

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A young student in Jordan with Jenny M. Buccos (right), director, producer and founder of ProjectExplorer.org -- a non-profit that produces free education-based, online global travel series designed for families and classrooms.

Photo courtesy of ProjectExplorer,org

Featured Performances were Salman Ahmad and Junoon and Liz Lerman Dance Exchange.

Salman Ahmad, the UN Goodwill Ambassador, is the founder of Junoon, South Asia’s biggest rock band.

Four musicians included: Ahmad who played the lead guitar & vocals; John Alec on bass & backing vocals; Samir Chatterjee on tablas; and Sunny Jain on drums.

Liz Lerman Dance Exchange is a multi-generational dance company. Liz Lerman founded Liz Lerman Dance Exchange. Through explosive dancing, personal stories, humor, and a company of performers whose ages span six decades, Liz Lerman Dance Exchange stretches the expressive range of contemporary dance. Excerpts from The Matter of Origins and How To Lose a Mountain will be performed.

Ten dancers performed: Ami Dowden-Fant, Thomas Dwyer, Ted Johnson, Sarah Levitt, Cassie Meador, Paloma McGregor, Shula Strassfeld, Keith Thompson, Benjamin Wegman, and Martha Wittman.

INSPIRE!Diplomacy celebrated cultural engagement. One of the featured performers was

Salman Ahmad, the Pakistani rock star whose band Junoon has sold over 25 million albums.

Since Junoon’s formation in the early 1990s, it has become a phenomenon in the South Asian

music scene and beyond, performing live at BBC's Mega Mela, the MTV music awards in India,

and at the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

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Salman Ahmad, UN Goodwill Ambassador and founder of Junoon, South Asiaʼs biggest rock

band, performs at INSPIRE!Diplomacy.

Through explosive dancing, personal stories, humor, Liz Lerman Dance Exchange stretches the expressive range of contemporary dance.

“an  energizing  force!”

“both beautiful and thought provoking”

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2008 Honoree Jillian Poole speaks to audience

during INSPIRE!Diplomacy program

BELOW RIGHT

USCCD Board Member Mark Poole

introduces 2010 Honoree Sahar Taman

A national Call for Nominations was launched in July 2010. Forty nominations in areas of business, development assistance, education, faith-based, community based, sports and visual and performing arts were received from across the nation.

“I believe that citizen diplomacy must be instilled as a core value at

an early age to lay the foundation for generations to come. This honor,

and the recognition and support that come with it, will help bring my

message of understanding to thousands more young learners.”

Jenny M. Buccos

Jenny M. Buccos co-founded in 2003 ProjectExplorer.org as a way to provide students with access to people and places they may never have seen or knew existed. It is a positive voice in our time when media and global misunderstanding occupy the airwaves, moreover by 2008, nearly 2.5 million visitors globally had accessed its award-winning programs.

She directed and produced South Africa to engage school-aged children about diverse cultural history while educating about difficult subjects like HIV/AIDS and the legacy of apartheid. And for other compelling subjects, she has successfully collaborated with world leaders, celebrated actors and playwrights, Pulitzer Prize Winning photographers, as well as world-renowned organizations.

Jenny Buccos has filmed on locations around the globe such as Jordan, England, and Mexico to provided a rich landscape of learning, and has directed and produced more than 200 short films for students and families to encourage thoughtful conversation in the classroom and foster appreciation and respect for diverse cultures.

Jenny Buccos researches new film

on location in Malaysia.

Jenny M. Buccos receives 2010 National Award for

Citizen Diplomacy from John Hishmeh.

The U.S. Center for Citizen Diplomacy donated a $5,000 cash award in honor of Jenny Buccos to the ProjectExplorer.org.

YOU TUBE Video by ProjectExplorer

The 2010 USCCD Citizen Diplomat Awards

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lc4q1Pu0YTE

Jenny M. Buccos and her fellow six honorees receive a National Award for Citizen Diplomacy from the US Center for Citizen Diplomacy. The event honored individuals who are fostering cross-cultural understanding and increasing American citizen engagement in international affairs.

This award honors and celebrates international volunteerism as a powerful

vehicle for grassroots international relations, and will not only help to raise

awareness among U.S. volunteers but will also increase the number of communities

we [ProWorld] are able to help worldwide.

Richard A. Webb

Richard A. Webb is dedicated to promoting global understanding through hands-on projects that bring together people from different corners of the world to work towards a common goal. He is co-founder of The ProWorld Fund, a non-profit organization developed to work in conjunction with the existing ProWorld enterprise.

Mr. Webb has sought to push the bounds of what is possible through private and civil sector collaboration, and his efforts engage university students in volunteer service—experiences that have transformed young persons lives, and encouraged them on a path of lifelong international volunteerism.

Led by Mr. Webb, ProWorld participants have logged almost 700,000 hours of volunteer service and have injected more than $6 million of capital into local economies, and since 2000, ProWorld’s volunteers have installed more than 5,400 clean burning stoves in rural Peruvian villages; treated more than 17,000 patients during a three-year clinical outreach program; constructed 22 elementary schools; planted more than 24,000 native plants and trees threatened by extinction.

USCCD Board Member Connie Wimer introduces Richard A. Webb .

Richard Webb (right) is founder of ProWorld Service Corps, a social enterprise that matches individual volunteers and university groups with community projects in developing countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

The U.S. Center for Citizen Diplomacy donated a $5,000 cash award in honor of Richard A. Webb to the ProWorld.

Honoree Richard Webb with his parents and sister.

“I am proud to be honored as a Citizen

Diplomat and hope this award will put a spotlight on the Atlas Corps Fellowship that

I am honored to run and highlight how important it is that we serve side by side with

people from around the world to address critical social issues. Everyone, in the U.S. and around

the world, has the capacity and the opportunity to make the world a better place by building bridges

across cultures and countries and pursuing our common aspiration to create a world with a cleaner

environment, more social justice, less hunger and poverty, and free from disease and war.”

Scott Beale is the founder of Atlas Service Corps in 2006

and an experienced social entrepreneur who has started three

citizen sector organizations, helped thousands of people in his

generation become agents for social change, and pioneered an

innovative and sustainable way for revolutionizing international

volunteerism.

Mr. Beale was the youngest Core Supervisor from any country for

the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, an

intergovernmental organization responsible for supervising

elections in war-recovering Bosnia. His management of a 45-

person international team resulted in the successful

registration of over 30,000 Bosnian voters, and returned

overseas in 2004 to coordinate the U.S. Government's efforts

to fight human trafficking in India. He helped coordinate

$9 million of resources to citizen and international

organizations in India who were fighting modern day

slavery. In 2006, he left India to start Atlas Service

Corps.

The acknowledged leader of the Millennial

Generation, he is the author of "Millennial

Manifesto: A Youth Activist Handbook" and the

founder of Millennial Politics.com. He has

published many articles and delivered over 300

speeches on his "10 Steps To Change the

World."

2010 Honoree Scott Beale is the founder & CEO of Atlas

Service Corps, Inc., an international organization

that administers an overseas exchange of skilled nonprofit

professionals.

2010 Honoree Scott Beale (far right) with group of Atlas Service Corps fellows.

Alvin Ailey believed that dance was about more than steps or shapes – that

it could be a mirror to the soul and a universal expression of the human

experience. Since Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater’s first international tour

in 1962, we’ve been inspiring and

uniting audiences around the globe through dance.!It is so gratifying to receive the

2010 National Award for Citizen Diplomacy, as it is with great pride that I’ve

continued Ailey’s legacy of representing this

country as an ambassador of the American spirit. Judith Jamison

Judith Jamison, a star and a legend on the world’s modern dance stage, defied expectations, excited audiences and brought the spirit of dance to people throughout the globe with her artistry and performances.

Ms. Jamison is the acclaimed artistic director of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, a New York-based organization, has established an extended cultural community using the beauty and humanity of African-American heritage and other cultures to unite people of all races, ages and backgrounds. Through Ailey Dance Theater, she has built cultural bridges and strengthened relationships with inspiring performances, innovative community outreach and arts education.

In 1970, Ms. Jamison led the first modern dance company tour to the then Soviet Union in 40 years, and in 1985, accomplished the first modern dance company tour to the People’s Republic of China after normalization of relations.

Ms. Jamison raised Ailey Dance Theatre to an extraordinarily high artistic standard and brought its astonishing cultural ambassadors to Denmark, France, China, Hong Kong, Turkey, Romania, Russia, Israel, Greece, Italy and the United Kingdom, and other countries, and thereby

LEFT TO RIGHT

2008 Honoree Jillian Poole introduces Judith Jamison.

The U.S. Center for Citizen Diplomacy donated a $5,000 cash award in honor of Judith Jamison

to the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater.

Judith Jamison performing “Cry”

Photo by R. Faligan

Sahar Taman developed a model program to foster dialogue among religious communities as project director for the Religion and Society Program for the National Peace Foundation, an organization committed to solving problems and preventing conflict through community peace building and citizen empowerment.

Beginning in 2006, she brought together more than 70 religious leaders from seven Arab countries, as well as hundreds of hosts from throughout the United States.

She nurtured relationships between the United States and Muslim majority countries and has consulted in cultural communications and transformative conflict, and worked with American and international groups, as well as the U.S. foreign policy community, and

She has co-founded Journeys to Understanding™ which is a citizen diplomacy NGO that focuses on U.S.-Muslim relations through international interfaith dialogue, and by designing and implementing “Immersion Journeys” it connects citizen diplomats from the United States with citizen diplomats in Muslim-majority countries.

Faith matters, religion matters deeply. And, in order to build the trust and understanding among the peoples of different nations to develop the bonds to manage,

and perhaps prevent conflicts, we have to talk about what is important to them.

Sahar Taman

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LEFT TO RIGHT

2010 Honoree Sahar Taman with Harriet Major Fulbright.

The U.S. Center for Citizen Diplomacy donated a $5,000 cash award in honor of Sahar Taman to Journeys to Understanding.

Robert Redford is one of America’s illustrious artists: Oscar winner as a director of Ordinary People and for Lifetime Achievement; British Academy of Film and Television Arts award winner for Best Actor in a Leading Role for Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Tell Them Willie Boy is Here, and Downhill Racer; Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Director of Quiz Show – his achievement as a film artist is at the highest level.

The Sundance Film Festival international programs include the Screenplay Development Lab in association with the Royal Film Commission of Jordan; the Sundance Documentary Fund – the preeminent global funder of cinematic feature films from around the world committed to human rights, justice, civil liberties and related contemporary social issues; an East African Theatre Lab supporting artists from Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda; labs for film composers in Mexico and Poland; Native American and indigenous artist development in Australia, Canada, and New Zealand; a partnership with The Arab Fund for Arts and Culture, dedicated to supporting contemporary nonfiction films targeting the audience in the Arab world; and the International Filmmakers Award provided to filmmakers from Europe, Latin America, the U.S. and Japan.

Robert Redford’s vision and creation of the Sundance Institute—

and more than 30-year commitment to nurturing and support of

storytellers from all over the world—has no equal.

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Keri Putnam, Sundance Instituteʼs Executive Director and former

President of Miramax Films accepts the award on

behalf of 2010 Honoree Robert Redford .

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INSPIRE!Diplomacy celebrated life while it remembered the

tragedy of August 5, 2010. Ten international aid workers were shot and killed by militants as they returned from a two-week mission that provided eye

treatment and other health care in remote villages of northern Afghanistan.

MC Laurie Heintz commented: The sadness of this tragedy is great; so too is our gratitude for their work.

Salman Ahmad performes “Imagine” by John Lennon as a tribute to those ten aid workers lost.

Redford honored for “Citizen Diplomacy”The Salt Lake City Tribune, November 5, 2010, By Sean P. Means Ambassador Schneider introduces Salman Ahmad

People develop loving, genuine, caring relationships when they meet one another,

and they learn that the differences among us as human beings on a shared planet

are superficial and not all that important when the real fundamentals get

understood. Ted Townsend

More than 600 people from 39 states and 42 countries attended INSPIRE!Diplomacy, organized in conjunction with the U.S. Summit for Global Citizen Diplomacy, seeking to create a “culture of global citizen responsibility” and coordinate citizen diplomacy efforts.

"The heroes of the world should be at least as well-networked as the villains," said Scott Beale, founder of Atlas Service Corps, as he accepted an award for work as a citizen diplomat. “The idea of citizen diplomacy is separate of public diplomacy, related to the state department. The goal is to use people to people exchanges, eye to eye contact. The phrase that many people use is ‘one handshake at a time’”, Townsend says. Townsend says this type of interaction is lost in the current electronic age.

“We can accomplish a great deal more in personal interactions than we ever could through all of the social media or electronic means that are available today,” Townsend says, “People develop loving, genuine, caring relationships when they meet one another, and they learn that the differences among us as human beings on a shared planet are superficial and not all that important when the real fundamentals get understood.”

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LEFT TO RIGHT MC and USCCD Board

member Ted Townsend with Honoree Dr.

James Rolfe and Kathryn C. Brown, Sr. VP

of Public Policy, Verizon.

LEFT TO RIGHT Artistic Director Designate of

Ailey Theatre Robert Battle, 2010 Honoree Judith

Jamison, Harriet Mayor Fulbright, and Barbara

Lawton, Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin.

LEFT TO RIGHT Honorees Sahar Taman, Jenny Buccos,

James G. Rolfe, DDS, Scott Beale, Richard A. Webb,

Judith Jamison, and MC Laurie Heintz, USCCD Board

of Directors.

SELECTION CRITERIA was based on the goals to increase mutual understanding, strengthen ties, promote international cooperation, and develop peaceful relations between people of the US and other countries.

AWARDS SELECTION COMMITTEE

Laurie Heintz | USCCD Board Secretary, Patron, Ft. Myers, FL – Committee Chair

Anjali Bhatia | 2008 Awards Honoree; Founder, Discover Worlds; Student, Duke University *

Harriet Major Fulbright | President, J. William & Harriet Fulbright Center, VA

John Hishmeh |Executive Director, Council on Standards for International Educational Travel

Frank Hodsoll | former Chairman, National Endowment for the Arts!

Charles T. Manatt | U. S. Ambassador, ret.; Founder, Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP

Jillian Poole | 2008 Awards Honoree; Founder, The Fund for Arts and Culture *

Mark Poole | Managing Director and Marketing Leader, Marsh U.S. Consumer

Ted Townsend | President, Townsend Vision, Inc.

Commitment to promoting mutual understanding

Representing excellence,diversity and vitality of citizen diplomacy

Ability to attract, support and motivate people in the field of citizen diplomacy

Dedication, originality and capacity for leadership

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Courtesy of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater

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MASTERS OF CEREMONY

Laurie Heintz | President & Owner of Protective Barriers, Fort Myers, Florida | Chair, 2010 National Awards for Citizen Diplomacy Selection Committee

Ted Townsend | President of Townsend Vision, Inc.

EIGHT PRESENTERS

Anjali Bhatia | 2008 National Awards Honoree; Founder of Discover Worlds

Harriet Major Fulbright | President of The J. William and Harriet Fulbright Center

John O. Hishmeh | Executive Director of Council on Standards for International Educational Travel

Frank Hodsoll | Principal of Hodsoll and Associates | Former Chair of National Endowment for the Arts

Jillian H. Poole | 2008 Awards Honoree and Founder and CEO of The Fund for Arts and Culture

Mark M. Poole | Managing Director and Chief Marketing Officer of Marsh U.S. Consumer

The Honorable Cynthia Schneider | US Ambassador of the Netherlands (ret.) | Distinguished Professor in the Practice of Diplomacy, Georgetown University

Connie Wimer | Publisher, Business Publications Corporation

INSPIRE!Diplomacy was organized by USCCD with M. Jessica Rowe as project director.

Individuals who collaborated on this program include Charise Flynn, Tamara Leopold and Natalie Shear of Natalie Shear Associates, Connie Wilson, and Renee Shull-Harmon . Shelton Jones of StoryPartners assisted with marketing and public relations. Photography by Image Studio, unless noted otherwise.

USCCD staff members Manoj Aryal, Chia Wen Chuah, and Joel Maidens assisted during the November 17, 2010 production.

www.uscenterforcitizendiplomacy.org

U.S. Center for Citizen Diplomacy thanks Verizon for its generous support!of the 2010 National Awards for Citizen Diplomacy.

American Express Foundation has supported the work of the Cultural Engagement Task Force, which was responsible for enlisting the Liz Lermann Dance Exchange and Salman Ahmad & Junoon.

Excerpts from The Matter of Origins as well as How To Lose a Mountain were performed by the Liz Lerman Dance Exchange throughout the evening program.