TALIM’s Moment In the Sun?

Good publicity is almost as good as cash in the bank.  So we were very pleased to be listed in the top 10 organizations to be highlighted in the upcoming "Summit" in Washington on Citizen Cultural Diplomacy.  If it brings us much-needed funding, all the better.  If not, well, we can bask in the glory.

Here's the blurb:

TALIM's citizen diplomacy program proposal has been selected as a Top Program by the Business Task Force and the U.S. Center for Citizen Diplomacy (USCCD) and as such will be highlighted as a key component of the upcoming U.S. Summit for Global Citizen Diplomacy, to be held November 16-19, 2010 in Washington, DC.

Business Task Force, chaired by Keith Reinhard, President of Business for Diplomatic Action and Peter Tichansky, President & CEO of Business Council for International Understanding will present key opportunities for the private sector to stimulate and facilitate greater citizen involvement in international relations through programs both within their corporate structures and in collaborative programs with the non-profit sector.  The session(s) will also address a number of challenges that impact private sector involvement in promoting global citizen diplomacy relative to funding.

This is good stuff.  BDA and Keith Reinhard have been laboring for years, ever since the "why do they hate us" drivel was the only thing coming out of the 2001-2009 White House, to bring private sector resources to bear on "Rebuilding Brand America."

The White House attitude may have improved, but the challenges to re-brand the United States remain as great as ever.  TALIM is well-placed to put the best face of America forward.  Glad that they can see us way out here in the medina of Tangier, and put us in the same league as the Kennedy Center and the Alvin Ailey Dance Group.  Not bad for a shoestring operation!

Gerald Loftus