Announcement from the American Foreign Service Association
Give them a clue about what you do! AFSA is working on the third edition of our popular book, Inside a U.S. Embassy, and we need to hear from you.
What is the Foreign Service? Most Americans still do not understand the role of U.S. embassies and more broadly, of diplomacy. Getting that story out is more critical than ever, and Inside a U.S. Embassy serves as a great introduction to the Foreign Service. The book is one of AFSA’s best resources for educating the public, both in the United States and overseas, about the role of the U.S. Foreign Service. And it does this by introducing real people in real jobs.
Published in 2003, and updated in 2005, the book has sold over 66,000 copies. It is a must-read for anyone considering a Foreign Service career, and has been adopted for more than 35 university foreign affairs courses. Military institutions and embassies purchase hundreds
of copies a year.
What is a typical day? This is the most frequent question people ask when looking at the Foreign Service career. We’re seeking day-in-the-life submissions that provide an hour-by-hour description of an interesting – and recent – day on the job in the Foreign Service. We want to feature a wide variety of geographic locations, mission types, and FS positions represented.
There are no typical days. Foreign Service personnel are on the front lines of history, and we want to illustrate the extraordinary. We¹re looking for tales of the Foreign Service in action during times of change during the past 10 years – political upheaval, delicate negotiations, natural disaster – handling the everyday not-so-ordinary events of diplomatic life. Please aim for 700-900 words.
Help AFSA get the story right! Contribute a tale from the field or a day-in-the-life entry. Take a look at the book Web page to find excerpts from the current edition – www.afsa.org/inside. Please send your contribution to Inside Embassy Editor Shawn Dorman at dorman@afsa.org, or call (202) 338-4045, ext. 503, for more information. Thank you for being part of this important Foreign Service outreach project.
Deadline for submissions is January 30, 2009.