Weekly Briefing (3/12/2012 – 3/16/2012)
March 14: A recent study highlighted in Federal Computer Week magazine showed that USAID was one of three federal agencies currently in full compliance with the White House transparency recommendations issued in March 2011. Under the Administration’s Open Government Directive released in December 2009, agencies developed open government plans in April 2010. Many of the agencies updated those plans in mid-2010 and again in 2011 and are now preparing for a third round of updates.
March 14: The White House Blog published An Alliance for Global Development written by USAID Administrator Dr. Rajiv Shah and DFID Secretary of State Andrew Mitchell. The blog discussed the official state visit of British Prime Minister David Cameron and the unique partnership the two countries share on global development.
March 14: Testifying before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Assistant Administrator Nancy Lindborg joined Academy Award-winning actor George Clooney to discuss the on-going humanitarian crisis in Sudan and South Sudan. The Associated Press, Voice of America, and The Washington Post covered the hearing, among other major outlets.
March 15: The Oregonian (Portland, OR) reports that 20 international students from Latin America will soon be heading home after receiving two years of academic and technical studies at a local college. The students were selected to participate in the Scholarships for Education and Economic Development (SEED) program, an initiative funded by USAID. SEED scholarships provide training to youth and community leaders from economically disadvantaged and historically underserved populations, including women and ethnic/Indigenous groups, to become key leaders in their countries’ development.
