“Public Diplomacy is Central to Public Policy” - DAS Colleen Graffy brings a message to Tbilisi

During her April 5-11 visit to Georgia, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Public Diplomacy in Europe and Eurasia, Colleen Graffy, interacted with a wide variety of contacts from, and participated in a number of programs with, the Embassy’s Public Affairs Section.  (more)

DAS Colleen Graffy Discusses Role of Public Diplomacy with government spokespersons and media

“Public diplomacy should be there on the take-off, not just the crash landing,” said DAS Colleen Graffy at a lunch hosted by DCM Mark Perry with Georgian government spokespersons and media representatives.    (more)

The Youth Palace Wows DAS Graffy.

On April 7, DAS Colleen Graffy was the guest of honor at the Tbilisi Youth Palace American Corner, where she had an opportunity to meet young users of the American Corner and highlight the remarkable traditions of the Youth Palace in educating children in various disciplines.   (more)

DAS Graffy Discusses Public Diplomacy with Young Leaders

In a lively discussion with 40 students of the Georgian Institute of Public Affairs (GIPA) DAS Colleen Graffy covered a spectrum of key U.S. foreign policy issues. “MAP is a means to get to NATO, but the Communiqué indicated quite clearly that the international community wants Ukraine and Georgia to be members of NATO,” DAS Graffy commented in answer to a GIPA student’s question about the implication of the NATO Bucharest summit for Georgia.   (more)

DAS Colleen Graffy Meets with Georgian Diplomats at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs

DAS Colleen Graffy led an hour-long roundtable with Georgian diplomats at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia on April 8, 2008.  The roundtable, co-chaired by Deputy Foreign Minister Grigol Vashadze, focused on the role of public diplomacy in the Foreign Service and how to promote a country’s image abroad. (more)

DAS Colleen Graffy Meets with Prominent Georgian Alumni

U.S. Ambassador John Tefft hosted a working lunch for DAS Graffy with eleven prominent Georgian alumni of U.S. government educational and exchange programs. The alumni discussed ongoing reforms, upcoming parliamentary elections, and expressed their opinions on what impact U.S. State Department funded programs can have on the development of education, political culture, and free media in Georgia.(more)

DAS Graffy Meets with Georgian Education Officials

DAS Graffy met with the Minister of Education and Science of Georgia, Dr. Gia Nodia, and eight education officials and decision-makers over dinner on April 8 to discuss ongoing educational reforms in Georgia, best practices in education, priority directions for both higher and secondary education, and possible areas of future cooperation between Georgian and U.S. universities.  (more)

DAS Graffy Commemorates April 9th and Highlights America’s Connection to Georgia’s Democracy and Cultural Heritage

To commemorate the events of April 9, 1989, when Soviet soldiers suppressed a peaceful rally in downtown Tbilisi, killing 20 and injuring 100s with shovels, tanks and poison gas, DAS Colleen Graffy visited the Ateni Sioni Church near Gori and the Museum of the Soviet Occupation in Tbilisi.  (more)

Remembering Soviet repression on April 9

To better understand the experience of Georgia and the tragedy of April 9, DAS Graffy visited the Museum of the Soviet Occupation at the Georgian National Museum. (more)

Commemorating the past and looking to the future: DAS Graffy talks with government officials and experts at GFSIS

At a challenging panel discussion held at the Georgian Foundation for Strategic and International Studies, a prominent think-tank, (GFSIS) on April 9 DAS Graffy and Mr. Temuri Yakobashvili, State Minister on Reintegration Issues, paid tribute to the victims of the anti-Soviet demonstration of April 9, 1989. (more)

DAS Colleen Graffy Highlights the Role of Local Media in Georgia

“The importance of the role of regional media is exactly what you are doing in this studio: you bring news, awareness and education to people living in small villages for whom Radio Hereti  is the only source of information,”  DAS Colleen Graffy said in a half  hour live radio interview in Kakheti.  DAS Graffy commended Radio Hereti for broadcasting in the Azerbaijani language to the ethnic Azeri population in Kakheti and West Azerbaijan.  (more)

USG Exchanges Promote Development of Georgian Small Business

DAS Graffy attended a wine reception with thirteen USG program alumni hosted by the Georgian wine company, Vinoterra, in Kakheti, East Georgia, the main winemaking region of Georgia.   (more)

American Corners Reach all Corners of Georgia

During her visit to Kakheti, DAS Colleen Graffy dropped in on the Telavi American Corner, the first American Corner in Georgia, which was opened in June, 2003 at the  Telavi Central Library. (more)

Preparing Georgian Institutions for Sustainability – Building Relationships and Institutions

DAS Graffy attended the third in a series of Digital Video Conferences (DVCs) on Endowments as an Approach to Financial Sustainability, Fund-Raising and Philanthropy, organized by the Public Affairs Section of the U.S. Embassy in Tbilisi on April 10, 2008.   (more)

Public Diplomacy Helps Promote Democracy at Radio Free Europe

“We find that public diplomacy is something that is absolutely vital in any democracy, because governments have to realize that they have to communicate what their policies are to the people”, DAS Colleen Graffy said in an interview with Radio Tavisupleba, the Tbilisi branch of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. (more)