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'Strategic Dialogue With Civil Society' Launched Today

Under Secretary for Political Affairs William J. Burns today announced the launching of "Strategic Dialogue With Civil Society" at the U.S. State Department.

Under Secretary Burns: Good morning. I am very pleased to welcome you to the State Department and to the launch of the first ever Strategic Dialogue with Civil Society.

Today's event is the logical outgrowth of Secretary Clinton's more than two years of intensive consultations and interaction with civil society representatives across the globe. We are honored to have citizen activists with us today from virtually every continent. Some of you are here as alumni of the Department's leadership visitor programs, and have been asked to participate in recognition of your pioneering work at home - from launching alternative energy education programs, to advocating on behalf of individuals with disabilities, to encouraging civic participation through a grassroots democracy movement. We deeply admire your passion and commitment to improving your communities.

In recent weeks, we have been awed by the power of committed citizens to effect change in their societies. We have borne witness to a remarkable triumph of human spirit and human courage in Cairo and Tunis. As President Obama said of events in Egypt, "we saw a new generation emerge - a generation that uses its own creativity and talent and technology to call for ... a government that is responsive to its boundless aspirations."

History, too, reflects the moral force of individuals committed to securing rights and advancing opportunities for all citizens: from the group of bereaved mothers in Argentina, who organized to protest the disappearances of their missing sons and daughters ... to the millions of people who came together across the world to battle Apartheid. Not every nation has a large-scale civil society movement; sometimes it is a lone voice who seizes the imagination or who pricks the conscience of a society - a journalist who continues to report in the face of threats and intimidation; an attorney who takes unpopular cases at considerable risk; or a blogger who engages in critical debate despite threats and persecution.

As President Obama has stressed, international relations are not just about ties between governments - they are increasingly about the links between societies. The problems that all of us face today are too complex for governments alone to solve. As community activists in their own right, both President Obama and Secretary Clinton know this to be true and share a passionate conviction in the power of civil society to "bend the arc of history." Secretary Clinton has championed human rights, democracy and civil society for many years. Her long-standing efforts to advance women's rights pre-date her famous 1995 speech in Beijing and her establishment, with former Secretary Albright, of the Vital Voices Democracy Initiative - which today continues to train and organize women leaders across the globe.

As the Secretary said in Krakow, "societies move forward when citizens ... are empowered to transform common interests into common actions that serve the common good." Each of you is an essential part of that great effort, and each of you can count on our enduring admiration and support. And it is in that spirit that I'm proud and honored to introduce to you the Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton.

Source: U.S. Department of State