Advocacy

Showing 11–20 of 30 results

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    Mechanical Sewing Machine

    In 2007, the U.S. Embassy in Cambodia distributed 1,200 sewing machines, like this one, to Muslim communities across the country. The sewing machines were part of the State Department’s “Shared Futures” initiative. They were used to establish micro-enterprise centers to help individuals and families become more financially self-sufficient.

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    Decorative Spherical Glass Container

    Prime Minister Recep Erdoğan of Turkey presented this decorative container to Secretary of State Hilary Rodham Clinton on July 15, 2011, on the occasion of Secretary Clinton's visit to Istanbul for the fourth meeting of the Libya Contact Group to discuss the ongoing conflict in Libya.

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    NCIV 50th Anniversary Artwork

    This original artwork features a collage of images, logos, and quotes that celebrate 50 years of the National Council of International Visitors (NCIV), a private organization that promotes citizen diplomacy in the U.S. The NCIV is now known as Global Ties U.S. Then as now, it is a network of individual members,…

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    Handkerchief Letter

    Cuban medical professional and human rights activist Óscar Elías Biscet wrote this letter to U.S. President Barack Obama in 2009 while serving a 25 year prison sentence for his public support of human rights in Cuba. It is written on a cloth handkerchief. Biscet was released in 2011 after appeals from the…

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    Peace Corps Suriname T-Shirt

    While serving as U.S. Ambassador to Suriname from 1993-1996, Ambassador Roger Gamble successfully advocated for creating and funding a Peace Corps program in the country. The first Peace Corps volunteers arrived in 1995 and made these t-shirts to commemorate their status as "First in Suriname".

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    Black Lives Matter Protest Sign

    This sign is from a Black Lives Matter protest in Kingston, Jamaica in the summer of 2020 which took place outside the U.S. embassy building. It represents the spirit of protest that reached around the world at that time, and also serves as a tangible example of U.S. embassies’ role as sites…

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    Edward Dudley's Diplomatic Passport

    In 1948, President Harry S. Truman sent Edward R. Dudley to Liberia as U.S. Envoy and Minister. Upon elevation of the Mission in Liberia to a full U.S. Embassy in 1949, Dudley was promoted to the rank of Ambassador. With that, Ambassador Dudley became the first black Ambassador in U.S. history. Issued…

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    Patti Morton's Practice Target

    Patti Morton was a trailblazer for women’s rights at the U.S. Department of State. In 1972, Morton became the first woman Diplomatic Security Special Agent. One of her other trailblazing roles was as a regional security officer in Saigon, South Vietnam in 1974 where she managed the Marines who guarded the embassy.…

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    Records Book from U.S. Embassy Colombo

    “Miscellaneous Records Book” kept by the U.S. Embassy in Colombo, Ceylon (now Sri Lanka). A May 1961 entry records the arrival of incoming Ambassador Frances E. Willis, who was the first woman Foreign Service Officer to rise through the ranks to become an ambassador.