Travelers As Diplomats?
Filed Under: On Thursday night I attended the launch of the U.S. Center for Citizen Diplomacy’s National Initiative* at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. The crowd was typically Washington, D.C. (if you’ve ever lived there, you’ll understand). PhDs, former diplomats, the NGO community, and graduate students were all represented.
So how did I end up there?
I was trying to answer the question: “Do travelers like us offer any value to America’s public diplomacy efforts?”
A Life of Diplomacy
I’ve spent much of my life with one foot in the world of public diplomacy – from growing up as a child of a State Department diplomat and a USIA diplomat to serving as a Peace Corps volunteer in Estonia (two of the three goals of Peace Corps’ misson actually have something to do with public diplomacy) and later working at Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), a private, yet U.S. government-funded, international broadcasting organization. My path wasn’t the result of a strategic career plan, but a reflection of the kind of organizations to which I am attracted.
Come to think of it, this current journey is one of the few times in my life where I haven’t been part of a government-sponsored or formal program of public diplomacy. There is no office to which we can retreat or organizational credentials upon which we can depend. It’s just us out there. But the link between our journey and public diplomacy becomes more pronounced with every step we take.
Sharing Our Country, As We Travel
The reactions of ordinary people – on the bus, in the market, on the street – to us as Americans has been genuinely positive during this journey, despite the anti-American sentiment that stewed worldwide over the last few years. Many people we’ve spoken to have explicitly differentiated between us and our government and even suggested that meeting us has changed their outlook on America.
As we wrote last year in a piece entitled Living at the Intersection of Travel and Citizen Diplomacy, published in the Fall/Winter 2008 edition of Kosmos Journal:
… Perhaps the interconnectedness of today’s international travelers can help close the gap between formal programs and the hearts and minds of ordinary people.
Does this mean we carry an American flag, an encyclopedia of American statistics, and an American foreign policy manual? Well, no. But it does mean that when we engage with local people – which for us happens to be a simple pleasure of travel – we are open to answering substantive questions about our home country. For most people living outside of America, their image of America is shaped by news broadcasts and Hollywood movies. But a curiosity regarding the lives of ordinary Americans remains.
So our interactions are two-way exchanges: we learn about the people and culture of the country we’re visiting, and in return, they learn a little about us.
No rocket science here. This is something most travelers do naturally. Some people call this acting as an ambassador for your country (read this article by Julie Schwietert Collazo on how learning the local language helps you become a better ambassador). Others call it being a citizen diplomat.
Hard to Quantify
While we believe each traveler plays a role in representing his country, it’s difficult to quantify the collective impact. Keeping track of travelers and their exchanges is not quite as easy as tracking students and professors in exchange programs.
But failing to recognize and capitalize on the role that travelers play in public diplomacy strikes us as a missed opportunity. Traditional diplomats and traditional public diplomacy are critical, but maybe it’s time to augment the set of tools in our country’s diplomatic toolbox.
In other words, it’s not either/or, it’s and.
Travelers as Citizen Diplomats
At the U.S. Center for Citizen Diplomacy event, my Uncornered Market name tag was an attention-grabber. Several people approached me, curious to find out what it meant. Although what we’re doing through our journey and website stand in contrast to more formal and established exchanges and diplomacy efforts, most people I met responded positively as I shared my feelings regarding traveler-led organic diplomacy.
When I encountered bewilderment, I re-grounded the discussion with mentions of my work with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and Peace Corps – known quantities that most people in this audience could relate to professionally. I was thus transformed from an aimless traveling hobo into someone with relevant professional experience, knowledge and context.
I’m not certain everyone grasped it, but a few did.
What Role for Travelers?
Perhaps there is an opportunity here to leverage the people-to-people interactions and collective knowledge of travelers and incorporate them into America’s public diplomacy framework. However, I also wonder whether doing so would draw a restrictive box around it, and thereby diminish the beauty of what travelers just do naturally while on the road.
Your Thoughts?
I’d enjoy hearing your thoughts on this topic. Please leave a comment below or send me an email.
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*The initiative, entitled Call to Action, aims to quadruple the connections between American citizens and their counterparts overseas by 2016. The U.S. Center for Citizen Diplomacy has appealed to President Obama for his support (read the letter here; the petition begins February 9).
February 8th, 2009 at 4:05 am
The impact that travelers can have is incredible. I’ve been told, when stopping to help an old man in a small northern town, that he had never expected anyone from “the city” to take time out to help. When you go to other countries, the impact can become even greater.
I’ve been asked about towns thousands of kilometers from where I live – but since it’s the same country, people just assume I’d know. And for the most part, I’ve been able to answer a lot of their questions.
These are some of the reasons I think it’s so important to see your own country before you ever go overseas.
February 8th, 2009 at 11:34 am
Travelers like you do offer value to America’s public diplomacy efforts. You put a face to America, which is a diverse and often misunderstood (if not just stereotyped). You humanize a country that is often an object of desire, hate, envy and criticism. As people meet you—and especially as you develop a relationship—it creates some healthy cognitive dissonance for them the next time they make a categorical statement about the US.
For me Australians are a great example of citizen diplomats. Who hasn’t met an Australian while travelling and probably had a positive experience.
p.s. Audrey you are certainly not an aimless traveling hobo. I have always considered you an ‘aimful’ traveling hobo
February 8th, 2009 at 1:28 pm
Regarding your article: Travelers as Citizen Diplomats:
In 2006 I returned to Viet Nam on a successful M.I.A. Mission with a friend of mine who is a decorated combat veteran of the Viet Nam war. He had buried a PAVN (NVA/North Vietnamese commando) in an unmarked grave in the jungle after a fierce battle near Dak To, Central Highlands during the TET offensive of 1968.
After locating the soldier’s remains we notified the Vietnamese government. To say that they were very grateful would be an understatement. They are reciprocating by helping to locate our M.I.A.s.
Before returning to New York we decided to visit Viet Duc University hospital in Hanoi, where we met with the staff and offered to provide critically needed donated medical equipment to their hospital.
In addition, we arranged through our local Rotary Club in Lindenhurst, Long Island, NY to sponsor two surgeons from the hospital to come to Good Samaritan hospital in West Islip, Long Island for two months in June 2008 to observe its’ state-of-the-art EMS (Emergency Medical Service) Ambulance response system so that they can set up a similar system in Viet Nam.
During their visit the doctors had the opportunity to learn about our history and culture and what Americans are really like. They returned to their families and friends in Hanoi with this knowledge and with positive memories about Americans that will last a lifetime.
This project didn’t cost our government one dime. It just required a little effort on our part, as Citizen Diplomats, to reach out to our former foe.
Semper Fi
Dermot McGrath and Colonel Robert Etherson
Lindenhurst, Long Island, NY
February 9th, 2009 at 10:31 am
Travelers like you most definitely foster diplomacy as you mention on a grassroots one-on-one level. It goes both ways. When Americans travel, we see other countries, learn other cultures and begin to see the world in a less US-centric way. That alone leads to better understanding.
But my best travel moments have been when I forget who is from where, who speaks what language, and I’m able to just sit in that moment with another person or family. I’ve found having a child bridges the “culture gap” in ways almost nothing else can.
xo from one aimless hobo to another
February 9th, 2009 at 11:20 pm
@previously bitten: You make a very good point about taking the time to explore your own country. I had barely traveled in my home country until I traveled across the States after University. I learned so much about the diversity and sheer size of America from that journey – this helps me today when answering questions about different parts of the country.
@Steven: We always try to explain how different America can be from one place to another – New York City is not representative of all of America. I completely agree about how meeting a person from a place humanizes that place and provides a different perspective. We see that with ourselves – our connections with countries has changed because of the relationships we have made with local people. Glad you consider me an aimful traveling hobo!
@Dermot: The efforts that you described are exactly the type of connections and people-to-people relationships that make all the difference and what citizen diplomacy is all about. It does make a real difference. Thank you so much for sharing your story and your work.
@Leigh: I’ve found that sometimes to get there we have to go through the sharing bit first until everyone realizes, “Hey, we’re all just people here!” I do agree that some of the best travel moments and interactions are when nationalities don’t matter.
I was just telling a friend today about how traveling with children can open up all sorts of wonderful experiences with local people. We’ve observed this repeatedly in our travels, whether it was the line of Uzbek women waiting to take care of a French infant or Cambodian and American kids playing together. I’ve told this story a lot, trying to convince my friends that traveling with children can open new doors.
February 10th, 2009 at 12:19 pm
I enjoyed reading your post. I fully agree that travelers serve as some of the best ambassadors for their countries. As you mention, it is difficult to quantify the impact travelers have as citizen diplomats. The Institute of International Education has been tracking student and scholar mobility since 1948 but there continues to be important methodological concerns as we know we are not capturing all of the students and scholars in our data collection efforts. Consulting the data and reports found on the U.S. Travel Association website and the passport statistics found on the U.S. Department of State website can also be helpful in quantifying the number of U.S. citizens traveling internationally. These methods, however, only give us an idea of the number of travelers and does not address the question of impact that these international travelers have as citizen diplomats. Much more research needs to be done in this area to develop a methodology to measure the impact that international travel, study and research has as a diplomatic tool.
February 11th, 2009 at 7:58 pm
Great topic! Couldn’t agree more.
Travelers can be useful diplomats simply by not acting like jerks. Another way is by shopping in supermarkets rather than in tourist shops, as Daisann McLane explains here: http://traveler.nationalgeographic.com/2009/01/real-travel-text/1
February 12th, 2009 at 12:18 am
Thanks so much for your wonderful and timely article. Hillary are you listening?
It is interesting to note, sometimes with a bit of humor, the results of a health care study that confirms what we have known intuitively and applied for a long period of time. Perhaps somewhere down the road a study will be commissioned to exam the impact of the citizen diplomat, but lets hope in the interim that we trust that inner voice when it tells us that simple things like less expectation, humility and mutual respect have a profound impact as we engage others throughout the world. Just the smiles alone that greet your camera lens speak volumes about some of the mutual joy that must be part of your daily interactions with very diverse peoples
throughout the world. You have taken some difficult steps presenting
dimensions of our culture that many may have thought were non existent
because of some of our controversial government policies. We now seem
almost giddy and rightfully so over renewed emphasis on formal government diplomacy with other nations. If we have renewed confidence in the value of diplomat to diplomat, is it not time to vastly expand the diplomacy process to include citizen to citizen.
So Audrey and Dan, keep the message front and center about how
citizen diplomacy, one small step at a time, can change the world. One
door held open for another to enter; some greetings and thanks and
interest in the other language; some respect for local custom; and again
some humility. Simple but important things.
You have lived it and have seen it work. So tiring as it may be, keep
spreading the word about the worderful contributions that the citizen
diplomat can make. Who knows; perhaps in time we will even have
a study that says so.
February 15th, 2009 at 6:23 pm
@David: Everyone seems to agree that travelers, exchanges and other citizen diplomacy efforts help diplomatic efforts by fostering relationships, but we just don’t know much they contribute. You’re right, research is needed to develop a methodology to measure the impact from these people and programs. Do you know of any PD-related organizations or academia looking into this?
@Marilyn: I had a friend visit us in Prague, Czech Republic about five years ago who really wanted to go to a supermarket with us. He explained that this was one of ways he learns about a place and culture. As we travel, visiting local shops and markets is one of our favorite activities, too. It really does tell a lot, not only by what’s offered but by how it’s organized and what takes top priority.
@Don: Thanks so much for your thoughtful comment. Don’t worry, we’ll keep at our efforts to develop relationships and people-to-people interactions on the road! You mentioned humility, which I also agree is very important in order to engage with local people through openness and genuine curiosity. The experiences we have and the stories I heard the other day at the Center for Citizen Diplomacy launch convince me that people-to-people interactions, although they sound small, really can make a difference.
February 27th, 2009 at 12:49 am
Audrey ~ I don’t know of any organizations or academics currently researching how best to measure the success of international travel and international acaemic exchanges. I’ve been considering this for my dissertation but not sure if this is the direction I will go in the end.
March 4th, 2009 at 7:01 pm
Travelers have the ability to do exactly what you have mentioned in your entry. I saw this when my boyfriend and I spent a year traveling. We enjoyed getting to know others along the way and answering their questions as best as we could. The US elections were not that far away so you can imagine how many people wanted to know who we were voting for and how out election process works. The world was watching. Many we spoke to were just as excited about this election year those here in the US. I hope I was able to leave a positive impression on just some of the people we met along the way. In some cases, we were the first US citizen they had ever met.(a lot of pressure)
March 5th, 2009 at 12:41 pm
@David: In the last few weeks I’ve seen more attention given to citizen diplomacy and the role of travelers and exchanges in creating better ties across nations. Rick Steves is about to release a new book called “Travel as a Political Act,” which I think will push this topic more into the mainstream. I heard that Nicholas Kristof of the NY Times recently gave a speech to students at SMU about the importance of travel and studying abroad. So, maybe now is the right time to pursue this topic. I’d be curious to hear what you eventually decide.
@Cori: The recent US elections did seem to mesmerize the world – everyone seemed to want to talk about it, in a good way. We had German and Canadian friends pouring over US news for hours each morning. Being yourselves – open to and interested in new cultures and happy to engage with local people – is the best way to represent America, both at home and abroad.
March 29th, 2009 at 11:01 am
Audrey-
Speaking of Rick Steves, check out his interview on traveling in Iran on Salon.com: http://www.salon.com/mwt/feature/2009/03/20/rick_steves/
Also, if you haven’t connected with your former PC community, please so do at….http://community.peacecorpsconnect.org/ Would love to see you contribute!
March 29th, 2009 at 12:50 pm
@Allegra: It’s really funny you mentioned the Rick Steves article in Salon – I literally read it this morning about an hour before your comment came in. It’s great to see him so passionate about his trip to Iran and speak out about the educational and personal growth aspects of travel.
I’ve been connecting more with the Peace Corps community since participating in the Inaugural Parade, which has brought forth some interesting discussions. Peace Corps Connect was kind enough to let us guest blog about our journey. I’ve also asked for NGO contacts in Central and South America on PC Connect and have gotten some great replies. I’ll try and find you now to connect : )
January 9th, 2010 at 10:36 pm
Thanks for the travel inspiration! You two make me want to follow in your footsteps & not sell short the travel experience for more mainstream pursuits. Thanks!
It’s great to hear the perspective of fellow American travelers that value the impression 1 person can make in their travels. I’ve been grilled by people, although generally other travelers, about politics, international policies, our health care system, and generally the ideology of Americans, and I love the sharing of ideas. There are so many images around the world that often distort our country’s priorities. In my opinion, there’s a lot of good that can be done, one open traveler at a time.
January 10th, 2010 at 9:40 pm
@Bessie: Glad we helped serve as an inspiration to take a non-traditional approach to life and travel! The more we see of the world, the more we see our own country misunderstood on so many levels. There’s a whole slew of reasons for these perceptions (e.g., media, Hollywood movies, etc.), but I still believe that making connections on a one-to-one basis and sharing personal knowledge about your country can make a difference. Not only may this change the person’s perception of your country, but the exchange of ideas and experiences is fulfilling for both parties.