The United States, Papua New Guinea, and Diplomacy 2.0

Diplomacy 2.0 combined the International Visitor Leadership Program with a blog to bolster the effectiveness of the overall initiative. I would like your feedback and opinions on the effectiveness of these programs and initiatives. For instance, there are all of 8 followers of the blog at the moment, but there are some insightful portions of the blog in terms of the impact that this program participant will have in his community and his country beyond already occupying a seat in Parliament:

The trip was announced unofficially before Christmas 2008 and the news spread like wildfire throughout my district (Wau/Bulolo, Morobe Province). I was very surprised that people from all walks of life enquired during my electoral visit.
During the festive season, I was summoned by Village Elders in Mapos One (1) Village to brief them about my trip. I thoroughly briefed the leaders. Some of the elders were very concerned about my security as they know and heard about the evils of this world and some were even worried about my personal security. After lengthy discussion, I got many words of caution and advise from the village elders. They also prayed for my safety and to return home in one piece as Wau/Bulolo District needed my leadership to deliver the much need basic goods and services.

I was privileged to have been nominated by the U.S. Embassy Port Moresby and selected by the Office of the International Visitors Leadership Program in Washington, DC to participate in the 2009 International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) “Transition Power in the U.S. Federal System”.

Here is a list of the participants he lists in the blog:

1.Egypt - Ms. Lobna Fadel El Ansary Mahmoud EL ANSARY - Senior Program Officer, North America File, Ministry of Communication & Information Technology (MCIT).

2. Ghana - Mr. Paul ANDOM-OTCHERE - Producer & President, Metro TV.

3. India - Mr.Madhavan Ramanathan MUCKAI -Head of Research, Parliamentary Research Service (PRS), Legislative Research, Center for Policy Research.

4. Macedonia - Mr.Saso KOKALANOV - Editor-in-Chief, Dnevnik (dailyu newspaper).

5. Malaysia - Mr.Chee Keong SIM - Special Assistant to the Penang State Cabinet Executive Counselor.

6. Mexico - Mr.Carlos Alonso SALINAS OSORNIO - Secretary to the Mayor of Guadalajara, Jalisco State. (Withdrew)

7. Nepal - Mr. Bhimarjun ACHARYA - Advocate, Alliance Law Firm.

8. New Zealand - Mr. Scott Anthony CAMPBELL - Television Political Reporter, NZ Parliament.

9. Nigeria - Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

10. Norway - Mr. Bjorn Willy ROBSTAD - Secretary General, Conference of Parliamentarians of the Arctic Region.

11. Pakistan - Mr. Syed Muhammad MEHDI - Cordinator, Foreign Affairs Liason Committee, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N)

12. Phillipines - Ms. Rosario Sofia Santos VILLA - Head International Broadcast Services ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corporation.

13.Turkey - Ms. Fatma DEMIRELLI - Managing Editor, Todays Zaman (Daily Paper).

14. Ukraine - Mr. Mykola SIRUK -Head, International Section, Den (Daily Paper)

15. Malaysia - Ms. Hannah YEOH - Member of State Assembly, Subang Jaya