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Pre-5th Summit of the Americas: Clinton's Town Hall- Stream Live

by Pythiian1 | April 16, 2009 at 07:05 pm

1433 views | 93 Recommendations | 4 comments

Update: Follow-up on the Digital Town Hall, read Part II also by Pythiian1.

This article is the first of a two-part series that previews the role of the United States in the Fifth Summit of the Americas. It is a regional meeting of all 34 elected leaders of the nations of the Western Hemisphere to be held from Apr. 17-19, in Trinidad and Tobago. View photos of the 34 Heads of State who will attend the Summit.

The United States is approaching the Fifth Summit of the Americas in a two-pronged diplomacy, Mr. Obama travels to Mexico in his first visit as President, while Secretary of State Clinton is laying the groundwork by visiting Haiti and conducting her Town Hall in the Dominican Republic before joining President Obama in Trinidad and Tobago for the Summit.

On Apr. 16 afternoon, US President Barack Obama landed in Mexico, where he met with Mexico President Felipe Calderon in anticipation of the Summit of the Americas.

In the meantime, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton has concluded her visit to Haiti before traveling to Santo Domingo. According the State Department, Dipnote, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton plans to conduct a live web-based discussion from the Dominican Republic on Friday, Apr. 17 at 11:15 AM EST with citizens across the Western Hemisphere.

The 5th Summit Digital Town Hall is the Secretary's fourth segment in a series of discussion, which focus on Securing our Citizens Future by Promoting Human Prosperity, Energy Security and Environmental Sustainability.

The State Department has its Social Media Hub dedicated to the Summit, which will host 34 democratically elected leaders from the Western hemisphere. The 5th Summit of the Americas Digital Town Hall Hub is in English, French, Spanish, and Portuguese.

Citizens across the Western Hemisphere are encouraged to participate and join the conversation with the US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton. Citizens will have the opportunity to communicate and listen to one another across various borders.

Citizens are welcome to text the Secretary their questions from the United States: 90822 - Outside of the United States: 202-255-6299

The Digital Town Hall of the Americas will be streamed live on the Department of State’s Social Media Hub for the Fifth Summit of Americas, powered by Howcast.

Content will also be featured on Ustream, Facebook, MySpace, YouTube, Twitter, Orkut, and Hi-5. Secretary Clinton will answer questions submitted through these sites prior to the event as well as from the local Dominican audience in attendance.

Interaction will be facilitated through web chats, discussion forums, and the ability for visitors to upload their own videos and guides.

In addition, the Social Media Hub will feature on-location interviews with world leaders and Summit participants throughout the event.

The Social Media Hub features educational videos on the following topics: “What is the Summit of the Americas?” “How do I benefit from the Summit of the Americas?” “How are we connected in the Americas?” And, “How can I participate in meeting the Summit of the Americas goals?”

The Social Media Hub will continue as an information resource after the Summit, providing community forums on topics of interest for the hemisphere and serving as a repository for all documents related to the United States Summit participation.

Sources:

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Karen Hatter

at 19:28 on April 16th, 2009

Great coverage, Pythiian1 but, then again, I'd expect nothing less.

Pythiian1

at 20:07 on April 16th, 2009

Thank you so much, Karen, for your interest and recommendation. I appreciate your kind words.

I hope you and others will have a chance to peek in the Digital Town Hall when it goes live. The State Department Social Media Hub is quite interesting as there are different State Department representatives to answer the questions posted by users.

Amy Judd

at 20:09 on April 16th, 2009

Interesting, they really are reaching out to all corners of the globe and all age groups with the different social networking sites.

I honestly don't know what I would ask Clinton if I was to text her - I'll have to think about it.

Pythiian1

at 20:24 on April 16th, 2009

Thank you so much, Amy, for your recommendation, observation, and comment.

Well, you have the option to ask her questions about her trip so far before the Town Hall, or during the Summit... I think it's great that we'll all have an opportunity to watch some of the Summit's activities that might not be covered by the news media.

albertacowpoke

at 03:56 on April 17th, 2009

As a Canadian I really don.t have any questions for Hillary Clinton, but I wish the Canadian Government would set up something similar. This is a great idea. Reaching out to constiutents, is always welcomed.

albertacowpoke

at 05:41 on April 17th, 2009

I agree that I can ask her, however, I'm more interested in what my governments Foreign Minister does in interaction with the US. As I see it, US foreign policy has not changed much recently. The Americas need to find a way to work in closer harmony. Canada, in cooperation with the US can be a big player to this end.

During Obama's recent visit to Canada (his first foreign visit, which we appreciated) sensitive subjects such as NAFTA and Afghanistan policy were only touched on the surface. As you may know, Canada will end it's combat role in Afghanistan in 2011. Many in this country are concerned that pressure will be put on our government to continue with this role. Obama mentioned during his election campaign that he wanted to reopen the NAFTA agreement. At this point I don.t think we would get a forthwright answer from the US administration on its NAFTA policy.