On the recordJuly 30, 2010
I wish to speak to a resolution honoring the National Council for International Visitors, NCIV, on the occasion of its 50th anniversary. The United States has the responsibility of protecting its citizens by ensuring peace, and I believe that citizen diplomacy as practiced by the NCIV is a crucial tool to achieving that end. With the goal of promoting 'excellence in civilian diplomacy,' the NCIV promotes the idea that individual citizens have the right and responsibility to promote peaceful and cooperative foreign relations. NCIV champions the belief that 'citizen diplomacy has the power to shape American perceptions of foreign cultures and international perceptions of the United States, effectively shattering stereotypes, illuminating differences, underscoring common human values, and developing the web of human connections needed to achieve more peaceful relations between nations.'
