Bureau of International Information Programs

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The US Department of State's Bureau of International Information Programs (also called IIP) describes itself as follows:

The Bureau of International Information Programs (IIP) is the principal international strategic communications service for the foreign affairs community. IIP designs, develops, and implements a variety of information initiatives and strategic communications programs, including Internet and print publications, traveling and electronically transmitted speaker programs, and information resource services. These reach--and are created strictly for--key international audiences, such as the media, government officials, opinion leaders, and the general public in more than 140 countries around the world. [1]

Among other things, IIP operates the USINFO website to deliver "information about current U.S. foreign policy and about American life and culture."[2]

The Bureau prides itself on using cutting-edge technology and strategic alliances to improve its effectiveness. The Bureau's products and services--including web sites and other internet services, electronic journals, speaker programs, print publications, and CD-ROMs--uniquely are designed to support the State Department's initiatives, as well as those of other U.S. foreign policy organizations. It also manages Information Resource Centers overseas and offers reference specialists based in Washington, DC, to answer specialized information queries from abroad. The IIP was created from elements of the U.S. Information Agency when it merged with the Department of State on October 1, 1999.

1 Organization
2 Screening of speakers
3 See also
4 Notes
5 External links

[edit] Organization

Operating as a reinvention laboratory through its team-based management structure, the IIP comprises three offices:

The Office of Geographic Liaison is the first point of contact within IIP for missions overseas and the audiences they serve. Its teams' writer-editors, information resource officers, program officers, and translators provide regionally oriented products and services.
The Office of Thematic Programs has multifunctional teams organized in one of two ways: along subject-matter lines, such as economic security, or along product lines, such as electronic media. The thematic teams work closely with the geographic teams in preparing products and services that support Washington initiatives and mission requests.
The Office of Technology Services is responsible for developing, interpreting, and applying government-wide technology policies and procedures in support of the Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs, the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, and IIP.

[edit] Screening of speakers

The Bureau runs the U.S. Speaker and Specialist Program, which selects U.S. experts to deliver lectures, serve as consultants and conduct seminars, either overseas or from the United States via teleconferences. Senator Joe Biden requested a review of the program after a December 2005 story in which State Department officials said that political litmus tests were being used to weed out speakers critical of the Bush administration.

In September 2006, a report by the department's Inspector General's Office said that U.S. officials screened the public statements and writings of private citizens for criticism of the Bush administration before deciding whether to send them on foreign speaking assignments. The screenings amounted to "virtual censorship" in the State Department's selection of speakers, said the 22-page report.^[1]