As I discussed in a post last December, we created a new prize for the Royal Society of New Zealand’s Realise the Dream program. Known as the American Ambassador Outstanding Award, the prize will send each year a budding Kiwi secondary school scientist to the Intel International Science & Engineering Fair (Intel ISEF), the largest pre-university science competition in the world.

The 2012 Intel ISEF drew more than 1,500 high school students from 80 countries and territories. The 2013 Intel ISEF is underway this week in Phoenix, Arizona. Among the many hundreds of participants convening in our great Grand Canyon State is our inaugural Outstanding Award winner, Sohail Abdulla of Auckland’s Mount Roskill Grammar School. Sohail is writing a blog while on his trip, and he agreed to allow me to reprint some of his notes. Below are his first two posts:

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Intel ISEF   [posted May 9th]

All set and pumped for the Intel Science and Engineering Fair 2013!

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First day at Phoenix, Arizona   [posted May 11th]

So I have finally arrived at Phoenix, Arizona and have settled into my hotel. The flight was tiring and long and the in-flight entertainment wasn’t very entertaining. Oh well. I made it to the USA!

Looking down on the city of Phoenix from the plane was really something special. The city looked much larger than I expected and definitely a lot bigger than our “big little city” Auckland. Nearly every house that I could see from the aircraft had a swimming pool in it’s backyard. It looked as if someone had carefully placed little light blue pebbles in an extremely big sand pit. Except this sand pit has high-ways and tall buildings and houses of course.

After checking in at the hotel my father and I roamed around downtown Phoenix to try and find a store that sells SIM cards. It was a good way to get a little familiar with the city, and what a beautiful city it is! I expected it to be crowded and louder than Auckland but it turned out to be the complete opposite. It was even quieter and even less crowded than Auckland when we were roaming about. We then learned that downtown Phoenix isn’t exactly the center of attraction around here.

Tomorrow we head north to the Grand Canyon! No photos today but I will definitely take lots of photos for tomorrow’s blog entry. Stay tuned!

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Over the next couple of days I’ll run a few more of Sohail’s posts to give you a flavor of his experience exploring the great American Southwest and networking with other budding scientists from the United States and around the world. I know he’ll have a great time. I’ve also got a feeling that he won’t be coming back from the competition empty handed.

In a previous post about the Global Partnerships Initiative, I highlighted the excellent work of the International Diaspora Engagement Alliance. Earlier this week the third annual Global Diaspora Forum (GDF) went truly global with live-streamed events in several cities around the world.

During the Forum, leaders in business, technology, investment, trade, and government worked on developing new ways of intergenerational and cross-border collaboration. With the theme of “Where Ideas Meet Action,” prominent diaspora figures in the United States discussed best practices for bridge-building that encourages next-generation diasporans to connect with their countries of heritage.

I have spent a good bit of time in diaspora communities in the United States, and I know how significantly they can contribute to welfare and development overseas. For example, there are more than 1.2 million folks of Pacific Island heritage living in the U.S., just over 200,000 of whom are Samoan. Remittances from the U.S. constitute a meaningful percentage of Samoa’s GDP, and the steady flow of family members contributes to the richness and strength of both nations.

Today, on his 100^th day in office, Secretary Kerry spoke and wrote about the nature, importance, and influence of diaspora communities:

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Posted on DipNote
by Secretary of State John Kerry
May 14, 2013

Celebrating America’s Diaspora Communities

On Saturday, I celebrated my 100-day anniversary with the Department of State. To say that I am inspired and humbled to be part of America’s team charged with advancing our ideals and strengthening our security, is an understatement.  Every day I’m in awe of our Foreign Service officers and civil servants around the globe.  I’m also particularly invested in recognizing one of the less visible, but highly effective, groups of Americans aiding our diplomatic efforts: our diaspora communities.

In the main lobby of the Department of State in Washington.

Just think about this: More than 60 million Americans are first or second generation. They are members of strong and vibrant diaspora communities – communities who have strong linkages to other nations but for whom America is now home.  I have said time and again that foreign policy begins at home with private businesses, religious and community organizations, and private citizens.  It should be no surprise that our diaspora communities are one of our most important resources. They’re our people-to-people ambassadors to far-away places and uniquely help bridge both geographic and cultural divides.  They are changing the way governments and non-governmental organizations approach international development.

For diaspora communities, diplomacy and development are intrinsic and personal matters, not high-level policy — it is about their friends and families, and the homes of their forebears.

I learned something firsthand about the power of these communities when I represented Massachusetts for twenty nine years in the Senate — and saw the vitality and contributions of Haitian Americans and Pakistani Americans after earthquakes shattered their home countries and communities in Massachusetts rallied to their aid, cementing ties and demonstrating the ideals of the United States.  I saw it in Massachusetts’ Irish-American community during years of intense negotiations over peace back home, and in the vitality of Portuguese and Cape Verdean communities along southeastern Massachusetts.

There is even more that all these communities can contribute to America’s foreign policy — helping us reorient our ties to diverse corners of the globe, helping us fuel economic growth and prosperity.  Whether through an Iraqi-American delegation of medical volunteers, a Turkish-American women’s empowerment network, or an Ethiopian-American entrepreneur, these individuals and communities are change agents whose efforts to advance science and technology, promote philanthropy and volunteerism, and build economies by creating sustainable businesses and jobs should be recognized, celebrated, and scaled.

Today, the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Agency for International Development host the 2013 Global Diaspora Forum, which is the largest global gathering of diaspora communities in the world and will include satellite gatherings in Los Angeles, Silicon Valley, Miami, Toronto and Dublin, Ireland.  Under the theme, “Where Ideas Meet Action” – the 2013 Global Diaspora Forum highlights inspiring stories from prominent diasporans such as the CEO of Chobani Hamdi Ulukaya, supermodel and maternal health advocate Liya Kebede, U.S. marathoner Meb Keflezighi, Baltimore Raven James Ihedigbo, and U.S. skater and diplomat Michelle Kwan. The event also showcases exemplary diaspora-driven initiatives and encourages the next generation of diasporas to get involved in building up their countries of heritage.

With a strong focus on next generation diaspora engagement and leadership, our goal is simple: to make clear that diaspora communities are making waves cross-generationally, cross-culturally, and across borders in new and inspiring ways that the international diplomatic and development communities, NGOs and governments worldwide can learn from and leverage.

We invite you to join us for the Global Diaspora Forum by going to www.diasporaalliance.org and joining the discussion on Twitter using #2013GDF.

- JK

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Here at the Embassy we have built two diaspora programs — one focused on supporting linkages among overseas Pacific Islander communities and their nations of origin, and one focused on engaging the American diaspora in New Zealand. If would like further information or would like to get involved, please email my colleagues Jessica or Tuvae.

This 15th installment in my series of articles about great American universities features Walla Walla Community College, an excellent institution in the State of Washington which earned the 2013 Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence.

In a previous post I talked about why a student might wish consider a community college. I thought it might be useful to continue that discussion by highlighting one of the hidden gems of American higher education. I’ve chosen to talk about Walla Walla because I’ve been on campus.

Community colleges are also known by several other names in the United States, including junior colleges, technical colleges, and city colleges. No matter the name used, though, they all perform essentially the same function – providing two-year associate degrees (and sometimes full four-year bachelor’s degrees as well) at low cost and on flexible schedules.

For international students, these institutions provide a useful alternate pathway into higher education in America. If a student faces English language challenges, a community college is an excellent place to work on those skills. Moreover, attending a community college can be a cost-effective way to earn your degree, or to build the kind of strong academic record that will support a move to a university of your choice, since most community colleges maintain “two plus two“ programs (also called direct transfer agreements) with larger universities.

The Dietrich Activity Center is used for sporting events, concerts, and conferences.

Walla Walla enrolls approximately 13,000 students at its two campuses. Although a majority of students are from Washington State, international students are well represented. The school’s graduation and transfer rates are well above the national average, a primary reason that the school won the Aspen prize. Tuition is less than US $10,000 per year, and financial aid of various sorts is available.

The community college maintains relationships with the flagship universities of Washington, Oregon, and Idaho, as well as dozens of other universities. These two-plus-two relationships allow Walla Walla students to complete the first two years of study at significantly reduced cost and then transfer to a more “elite” university to complete their degree.

Walla Walla offers associate degree programs in dozens of disciplines, including agri-business, bioenergy, automotive repair technology, culinary arts, energy systems technology, english as a second language, early childhood education, nursing, physical education and recreation, foreign languages, resource management, an array of technical fields, professional golf management, and much more. The school offers courses in most academic areas, which facilitates transfer to a four-year university if a student so wishes.

One of Walla Walla’s enology and viticulture students in the campus vineyard.

One of the most acclaimed programs at Walla Walla is the Center for Enology and Viticulture, which houses the College of Cellars. The 15,000 square-foot College houses wine curriculum classrooms, a wine analysis laboratory, and a fully operational commercial winery. Students are involved in every step of the process of crafting the wines including vineyard production, chemical lab analysis, and sales and marketing of the vineyard’s labels.

The Center benefits from its location in Washington State’s large and acclaimed wine industry. Second in the United States only to California, Washington’s more than 740 wineries produce large amounts of premium reds and whites for export to 50 countries around the world. The school prepares students to step directly into desirable jobs in the industry locally, nationally, or internationally.

Another excellent option at Walla Walla is the Wine Country Culinary Institute, which educates students in complementary culinary, food service, hospitality fields. The curriculum is flexible and allows students great latitude to explore their particular passions and experiment in the state-of-the-art kitchens. Students have significant interaction with Institute’s director, Chef Dan Thiessen, who gained international fame for his culinary pursuits in Seattle.

The Grant Water and Environmental Center.

The William A. Grant Water and Environmental Center contains state-of-the-art laboratories for students studying watershed management, water conservation, and other agricultural and environmental subjects. The Center partners with other institutions in the region such as the Agricultural Center of Excellence for collaborative fieldwork, giving students significant amounts of practical experience working on teams with specialized scientists.

For students with career interests in agricultural equipment, Walla Walla offers the John Deere Technology Program. The Program includes courses on technology enhancement, new product innovation, sale and repair of existing John Deere products, and dealership management. The curriculum includes paid internships with a regional John Deere Dealership. In the same track, students can also study toward a degree in turf management, a broad program involving multiple facets of landscape design and maintenance.

A student and instructor in the field.

Like other American tertiary education institutions, Walla Walla has an array of clubs and organizations for students, as well as competitive sports teams (including basketball, baseball, softball, soccer, volleyball, golf, and rodeo). The Walla Walla Warriors have captured more than 20 championships, including last year’s men’s National College Rodeo Championship. Walla Walla’s Bryce Palmer finished 2012 as the nation’s all-around individual point leader in collegiate rodeo.

Particularly for international students, community colleges can provide a beneficial path into collegiate athletics. Students can enjoy sports while acclimating to American culture without the kind of pressures they might encounter in a university environment. While there are some limitations, it is common for athletes to begin their career at a junior college and then move on to larger schools. (One of the best examples is Mike Sellers, former star fullback for the Washington Redskins, who started at Walla Walla.)

Bryce Palmer roping during last year’s collegiate rodeo season.

The main campus is located in the city of Walla Walla, in southeastern Washington. With a population of 31,000, Walla Walla is slightly smaller than Gisborne. Despite its modest size, the city hosts two well-regarded tertiary institutions besides the community college – Whitman College and Walla Walla University.

In 2012 the American Planning Association named historic downtown Walla Walla as one of the “Great Places in America” because of its rich culture and distinctive atmosphere. Add in the long-standing love of wine-growing — there are more than 100 wineries in the surrounding valley — and Walla Walla offers a comfortable, relaxed, yet interesting environment for residents, students, and tourists alike.

The beautiful rolling hills around Walla Walla.

Meaning “Place of Many Waters,” the city takes its name from the eponymous indigenous Sahaptin-speaking tribe. It is certainly a fitting description for a city that is only minutes from the mighty Columbia, Snake, and Walla Walla Rivers. Those waterways offer some of the best fishing and rafting in the Pacific Northwest. A couple hours’ drive will bring travelers to Hell’s Canyon, North America’s deepest river gorge (located just across the Oregon border) or the Snake River Canyon, stretching hundreds of miles eastward across several different States.

If you like the great outdoors, the Pacific Northwest is a wonderland custom made for you. Washington, Oregon and Idaho are filled with national parks, canyons, mountains, caves, and some of the most diverse and beautiful landscapes you’ll find anywhere on Earth, with extraordinary hiking, camping, skiing, hunting, fishing, and rafting. Not too much farther afield are the iconic Yellowstone National Park, Montana’s big sky country, and two epic long-distance trails in the North American triple crown — the Pacific Crest Trail and the Continental Divide Trail.

The mighty Columbia River Gorge.

Along the Snake River.

If you have urban urges, the vibrant cities of Portland and Seattle – with their world-class museums, extensive shopping districts, fine dining and ethnic cuisines, rich arts and cultural scenes, and highly competitive professional sports teams — are only about 4 hours away by car or an hour by airplane. Vancouver, Canada is only about a 6-hour drive away. By air you can easily reach not only Vancouver but San Francisco, Las Vegas, Salt Lake City, or even Los Angeles for the weekend.

For more information about the pleasures that await in the American Pacific Northwest, take a look back at my prior blog post about the University of Washington in Seattle, as well as the travel article I ran about the great State of Oregon.

To learn more about Walla Walla Community College, including courses of study, degree programs, and how to apply, please visit the school’s main website. Feel free to email our Educational Adviser, Drew Dumas, at DumasAG@state.gov if you would like additional information or have specific questions.

As part of revving up our new digital studio at the Embassy, I invited our friend Dan Neely, Manager of Community Resilience at the Wellington Regional Emergency  Management  Office (WREMO), to talk about his work and the important role of community engagement and social capital in disaster recovery. Another expert on the topic, Daniel P. Aldrich, was visiting Wellington, and Dan ended up interviewing Daniel in our studio.

The visiting Daniel is an associate professor of political science at Purdue University who is on leave as a Fulbright research fellow in Japan. Educated at Harvard, Berkeley, and the University of North Carolina, his work has been widely discussed in the media, including in the New York Times and on CNN and National Public Radio. Below are a few notes from WREMO Dan as well as his interview of visiting Daniel.

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By Dan Neely

Each year, natural disasters threaten the strength and stability of communities worldwide. Yet responses to the challenges of recovery vary greatly and in ways that aren’t explained by the magnitude of the catastrophe or by the amount of aid provided by national governments or the international community. The difference between resilience and disrepair, as Daniel P. Aldrich points out in the video below, lies in the depth of communities’ social capital.

One of Daniel’s publications – Building Resilience: Social Capital in Disaster Recovery — highlights the critical role social capital plays in the ability of a community to withstand disaster and to rebuild both the infrastructure and the social ties that are at the foundation of any civilization.

Daniel examined the post-disaster responses of four distinct communities — Tokyo following the 1923 earthquake, Kobe after the 1995 earthquake, Tamil Nadu after the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami, and New Orleans post-Katrina — and finds that those with robust social networks were better able to coordinate recovery. In addition to quickly disseminating information and financial and physical assistance, communities with an abundance of social capital were able to minimize the migration of people and valuable resources out of the area.

For those who reside here in the World’s Coolest Little Capital, Wellington, WREMO is involved in some innovative social capital projects. Our “Tsunami Blue Line” project is one example of how we are bringing people together to solve a problem.  We applied a bottom-up approach to the way we raised tsunami awareness and went to the community for ideas. The Island Bay community developed the powerful and cost-effective idea of painting blue lines along the roads at the maximum run-up height of a local based tsunami. As a result of this community-driven model, WREMO won both the Global and Oceania awards for Public Awareness in 2012 through the International Association for Emergency Managers.

We have a range of other initiatives underway such as Community Response Plans, It’s Easy – Prepared Neighbours, as well as our use of social media to bring people together and enhance resilience.  WREMO is applying a set of Community Development principles to meet our communities’ needs and levels of interest so that they are engaged at the outset and develop ownership in the outcome.

To learn more about our work, check out our Community Resilience Strategy and follow us on Facebook – WREMOnz. The Community Resilience Strategy can also be found here.

- DN

Thanks to the Dans for coming in to talk about this important topic. You can read more about Daniel Aldrich and his research here and on Twitter.