Bureau of International Information Programs

Bureau overview
Jurisdiction	Executive branch of the United States
Employees	328 (As of 2013)^[1]
Annual budget	$55 million^[2]
Bureau executives	Macon Phillips, Coordinator for International Information Programs Jonathan Henick, Principal Deputy Coordinator Nicole Chulick, Deputy Coordinator for Products Tom Cochran, Deputy Coordinator for Platforms Tom Smitham, Deputy Coordinator for Programs
Parent department	U.S. Department of State
Website	Official Website

The U.S. Department of State's Bureau of International Information Programs (IIP) supports the Department's public diplomacy efforts by providing and supporting the places, content, and infrastructure needed for sustained conversations with foreign audiences. IIP is one of three bureaus that report to the Undersecretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs. The Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and the Bureau of Public Affairs are the sister bureaus.

Macon Phillips is the current Coordinator of IIP. He assumed this position on September 23, 2013. Dawn McCall, Jeremy Curtin, Stuart Holliday, John Dwyer and Alexander C. Feldman are former Coordinators of IIP.

History

When the Foreign Affairs and Restructuring Act abolished the United States Information Agency (USIA) on October 1, 1999, USIA's broadcasting functions were moved to the newly created Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG), and its non-broadcasting information functions were given to the newly created Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs. The Bureau of International Information Programs was created out of this restructuring.

Mission and purpose

According to the bureau's page on the Department of State website, IIP "provides and supports the places, content, and infrastructure needed for sustained conversations with foreign audiences to build America's reputation abroad".^[3]

Physical and virtual places include over 700 American Spaces around the world,^[4] as well as a large social media community that numbers over 12 million followers. Content includes publications, video, and U.S. expert speakers, who engage foreign audiences both in person and through virtual programs. IIP manages the infrastructure for all embassy and consulate websites, translations of public remarks by the President and Secretary, and maintains internal websites with resources for use by public diplomacy officers for overseas programs.

Role and responsibility

The Bureau of International Information Programs provides public diplomacy materials and support in three primary areas:

Digital

IIP operates the Department's embassy and consulate websites, which attract more than 150 million unique visitors per year (http://usembassy.gov) in over 60 languages. IIP also supports embassy social media efforts with theme-based Facebook pages and Twitter sites in six languages, reaching more than 12 million fans and followers.

IIP also operates an interactive web-chat platform that links foreign audiences to U.S. subject matter experts, opinion-makers, community leaders, and government officials in more than 800 programs each year. In September 2014, the bureau launched a new social sharing platform ShareAmerica to distribute public diplomacy content that is interesting, policy-relevant, and visually appealing.

American Spaces

American Spaces exemplify the United States' commitment to a core tenet of democracy: the citizen's right to free access to information. Hosting more than 16 million visits each year, American Spaces support public diplomacy by creating a place for in-person engagement with foreign audiences. Over 700 Spaces are hosted in embassies, schools, libraries, and other partner institutions in 169 countries. They provide information about United States' policy, culture, and values as well as study in the United States. They also support English language learning and activities for alumni of international visitor programs.

Public Diplomacy (PD) Content

IIP creates and curates content that provides context and information on U.S. foreign policy topics in a variety of formats ranging from video to print publications to audio books, reaching more than one billion people a year. Much of this content, along with transcripts of the Secretary's and President's speeches, is available to embassies in multiple languages. IIP also produces more than 125 video products each year and recruits more than 650 speakers annually, including Supreme Court justices, renowned authors, innovators, scholars, entrepreneurs, journalists, and sports figures who connect directly with more than 160,000 people in local markets via in-country and virtual events.

References

↑ "Inspection of the Bureau of International Information Programs" (PDF). Office of the Inspector General of the Department of State. May 2013. Retrieved November 21, 2015.
↑ "Bureau of International Information Programs". AllGov. Retrieved March 22, 2016.
↑ "Bureau of International Information Programs". U.S. Department of State.
↑ "American Spaces". U.S. Department of State.

External links

Agencies under the United States Department of State

Headquarters: Harry S Truman Building John Kerry, Secretary of State Tony Blinken, Deputy Secretary of State Heather Higginbottom, Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources

Deputy Secretary of State & Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources	Bureau of Budget and Planning Counselor of the Department Office of U.S. Foreign Assistance Resources

Under Secretary for Political Affairs	Bureau of African Affairs Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs Bureau of International Organization Affairs Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs

Under Secretary for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment	Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs Bureau of Energy Resources Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs Office of the Science and Technology Adviser Office of the Chief Economist

Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security Affairs	Bureau of Arms Control, Verification and Compliance Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation Bureau of Political-Military Affairs

Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs	Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs Bureau of Public Affairs Bureau of International Information Programs Department Spokesperson Office of the Historian Office of Policy, Planning, and Resources for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs United States Diplomacy Center

Under Secretary for Management	Bureau of Administration Bureau of Consular Affairs Bureau of Diplomatic Security Bureau of Human Resources Bureau of Information Resource Management Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations Diplomatic Reception Rooms Foreign Service Institute Office of Children's Issues Office of eDiplomacy Office of Foreign Missions Office of Management Policy, Rightsizing, and Innovation Office of Medical Services Office of White House Liaison

Under Secretary for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights	Bureau of Conflict and Stabilization Operations Bureau of Counterterrorism Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration Office of Global Criminal Justice Office of Global Youth Issues Office to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons

Bureaus/Offices reporting directly to the Secretary	Bureau of Intelligence and Research Bureau of Legislative Affairs Executive Secretariat Operations Center Office of Civil Rights Office of Inspector General Office of the Legal Adviser Office of Policy Planning Staff Office of the Chief of Protocol Office of Global Food Security Office of Global Women's Issues Office of the United States Global AIDS Coordinator Office of Global Partnerships

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