February 2008
Update
Dear Diplomat Members ,
This is what is most on my mind right now.
ENDOW Citizen Diplomacy Council of San Diego.
WHY in the world create an endowment for us? Why now?
Don’t we earn all of our money through the work we do and our budget works?
What do we need an endowment for?
Thanks to David Edick, a member of our CDCSD Advisory Board, for attending the Endow San Diego session at the SD Foundation tomorrow. (http://www.endowsandiego.org) This is all very timely.
Allow me to plant a seed.
For quite some time now, I have seen that we need a long term home for our organization. Not a no-soul office building, but a place where we can be proud to welcome our visitors, hold events for our members, and say to our San Diego community that we are here for the very long term, and that our work is not only important to San Diego, but also to our world that every one of us shares.
I have found the home.
Thanks to member Mike Grisdale I was connected with the NTC Foundation leasing agent at Liberty Station.
VISION: We will be leasing one of the former U.S. Navy Commander’s homes on Rosecrans. Please join me in seeing our delegations and members mingling at our international receptions on the back lawn with a stunning view of downtown San Diego. See collaborative events happening with all the international organizations in town.
As the houses still need to be refurbished, we (and I do mean WE, as I am a bit out of my element here and request help from all corners) have a year to materialize this dream.
In my wildest fantasy, I see one among us claiming naming rights.
The _______ House of Diplomacy at Liberty Station.
Have I gone over the edge?
Stay tuned,

Cath DeStefano
Executive Director
Contents
1. HELP!
2. The Turkmens Are Coming, twice!
3. Conference Time Again!
4. Do Good While Doing Good
5. All This From Just One Meeting
6. Additional Dinner Hospitality Opportunities
7. Needed: Volunteer Drivers!
8. Caught up in Election Fever?
1. HELP!
Dinner Hospitality for 150!
If you have hosted and loved it, if you have never hosted but thought it would be a good idea, or if you need points in heaven, this is the act of service for you.
In cooperation with our sister organization in San Francisco, we are working to find dinner hosts for 150 Fulbright Scholars for the evening of Friday March 14th.
Shortly a flyer will come in your email with all the details.
When it shows up, please click thru and volunteer. This will need a miracle. We can do it.
2. HELP!
The Turkmens are coming, twice!

WE are honored to have been approved by World Learning/US AID Community Connections to welcome two delegations from Turkmenistan.
http://www.turkmenistanembassy.org/
April 9th thru the 30th: Developing Mass Media
May 7th thru the 28th: Developing Tourism
►IF you know experts in these areas, we need to know of them.
►IF you will HOME HOST a visitor, we need to hear from you.
Please email: Cath
3. Conference Time Again!
WHAT: National Council of International Visitors Annual Conference
WHEN: February 12th thru the 16th
WHERE: Washington DC
SAN DIEGO OFFICE: Staff will be available via email until February 19th
In 98 different locations around the United States people are packing their
suitcases and heading to DC.
It’s time again for professional growth, connecting with colleagues, and marketing our
Council to our DC partners. There will be visits to embassies, lunch with ambassadors,
cocktails at the U.S. State Department and reaffirmation that our work works, in
promoting global understanding.
4. Do Good While Doing Good
Old Cell Phones and Ink Cartridges
Recycle and Support Simultaneously
Contact Charlene Pena at cpena@NoTorture.org or call her at 619 278 2410 to donate old cell phones and used up ink cartridges. It is another way that Survivors of Torture International supports themselves.
Help them if you can.
5. All This From Just One Meeting
Luke Jarrett, Intern, Citizen Diplomacy Council
After many meetings with the “big wigs,” an advisor for the Republic of Chile Department of Defense spent some time with us “little guys.”
The advisor was traveling to the U.S under the State Department’s IVLP program, with the purpose of finding a way to connect civilian and military relations.
I am a representative for a newly developed student-veteran run organization, simply called; the Student Veteran Organization (http://www.svosdsu.org/index.html) located on the campus of San Diego State University.
After taking this advisor to the War Memorial located on campus, we walked and talked our way into the Veteran Affairs office. Here, we discussed how and why the SVO was created, what our intentions and future focus entail, and if he was interested in pursuing an organization similar to this.
Astonishingly, he was.
After handing him a packet with more detailed information about the SVO, we discussed politics, benefits, dilemmas, and goals that we were both facing.
As a side benefit of our meeting, a female student-veteran walked into the meeting, whereupon she was given an opportunity to pursue an internship as a Spanish-English translator at this advisor’s office in Chile!
Before he left, left, he assured us that when he gets back to Chile, he will tell his superiors of our organization, and his intentions to create an organization similar to the SVO.
All the students at the meeting felt a sense of awe; we, local student-veterans made a positive impact on the international level that is mutually beneficial to all.
6. Additional Dinner Hospitality Opportunities
It has been quite some time since we have had dinner hospitality opportunities here at CDCSD, but as we are now well into the New Year the opportunities have been pouring in and some are coming up rather quickly!
The opportunities are as follows:
Serbia – State and Local Government and Management of Diversity
3 visitors plus interpreter: A project coordinator for the Council for Human Rights, the Bureau Head of the Novi Pazar Municipality Information Bureau, and a Member of Parliament.
Requested dates: Sunday February 10th, Monday February 11th, or Tuesday February 12th
Peru – Family Law
1 visitor plus interpreter (no interpreter needed if host is fluent in Spanish): Lawyer and Deputy Director of the Ministry of Women and Social Development
Requested dates: Friday February 15th or Saturday February 16th
Netherlands – U.S. Foreign Policy
1 visitor: Member of Parliament
Requested dates: Saturday February 23rd, Thursday February 21st,
or Friday February 22nd
If you are interested in hosting any of these visitors for dinner hospitality or would
like more information, please email Mel or call 619-291-8105.
7. Needed: Volunteer Drivers
We are in need of volunteer drivers for Thursday February 14th and Friday February 15th for a visitor from Peru here to study Family Law. If you are interested in volunteering or for more information about her program, please email Courtney or Enrique or call
619-291-8105.
8. Election Fever
Caught up in election fever like the rest of us? Visit our website (www.SanDiegoDiplomacy.org) to see not only recent election results, but, thanks to Google, see what people from our country and other parts of the world are saying. When you reach the homepage, click on Election Results. |