Hey guys, I hope you all have a nice break and I encourage you to keep
collecting coins and to thinking about writing articles to newpapers.
I got this sent to me from the Elliott School, its a competiton where
you can win up to $2500 and write about Dafur. Also below competion
information is a great NY Times article.

Thanks for the GREAT work!


Essay Contest:
The American Academy of Diplomacy is sponsoring an essay contest on
issues in American Foreign Policy. Eligibility for the award is limited to
American citizens who are degree candidates in the 2004-2005 school year at
member schools of the Association of Professional Schools of International
Affairs (APSIA).

Participants in the contest must submit an essay of no more than 1,500 words
on one of the nine challenges for American diplomacy in the attached list -
and propose a policy course to address that challenge over the next one to
three years. The paper should be framed as an Action Memorandum for the
Secretary of State and should emphasize realistic, practical recommendations
for the Secretary's action, which are within his area of responsibility.

Any major foreign policy initiative will necessarily include a Public
Diplomacy dimension. Therefore, one goal of the contest is to encourage
applicants and the schools they represent to think creatively about the role
and uses of Public Diplomacy in promoting and implementing policy.
Resources available include speeches, press briefings and releases, VIP
visits, Voice of America and other US government sponsored media broadcasts;
as well as longer-term activity in the cultural and educational fields, such
as educational exchanges and sponsored visits of US scholars, specialists,
and cultural leaders abroad and visits by foreigners to the US. Where
appropriate, the paper should also address the roles of foreign governments,
international organizations, non-governmental organizations and the
Congress.

Contest entrants are required to follow a prescribed outline (to be
provided) that reflects the format of an Action Memorandum as used in the
Department of State.

A winning entry at each participating school will be determined by that
school's faculty. All winning entries will then be forwarded to the
Academy, where a committee of its members will select three overall winners;
the first prize at $2,500, the second at $1,500 and a third at $1,000. The
first prize-winning student will be invited to travel to Washington to
defend his or her paper before a panel of Academy members.

The nine topics include:

*Alleviating the genocide in the Darfur region of the Sudan
*Halting or containing Iran's pursuit of nuclear weapons
*Strengthening US/NATO relations following the war in Iraq
*Negotiating trade issues in the Doha Round on multinational trade
*Allocating State Department resources for diplomatic programs in the Middle
East
*Eliminating or suspending nuclear weapons programs in North Korea
*Fostering democratic reforms in Egypt
*Revising trade and travel sanctions against Cuba
*Developing future policies toward Kosovo.

Deadline:

All essays must be submitted to me by May 2, 2005 for review by a faculty
committee in the Elliott School. If you are interested in participating in
this contest, please write back to me and I will forward the full text,
which outlines the required format.

James L. Fry, Director
Academic Advising and Student Services
Elliott School of International Affairs
1957 E Street NW, Academic Suite 302
Washington, DC 20052
Phn: 202.994.3002
Fax: 202.994.9537


----------
NY Times Article: Thousands Died in Africa Yesterday
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/27/opinion/27sun1.html?ex=1110344400&en=16f0ab0ef\
86b7968&ei=5070

OPINION | February 27, 2005
Editorial: Thousands Died in Africa Yesterday

When it comes to Africa, where hundreds of thousands of men, women and
children die needlessly each year, much of the developed world seems
to have a heart of stone.

--
Sara Weisman

2222 Eye Street NW
Room 312
Washington, DC 20052
609-937-3190