Mayor Williams Reaching Out To Bridge Diplomatic Divide by Anna Gawel For a long time, the diplomatic corps and the D.C. city government seemed to exist on two different playing fieldsófriendly neighbors working side by side in the same city but never really interacting with one another, never fully throwing off the blinders to realize the potential benefits of a union. Well, the blinders are slowly coming off. Mayor Anthony A. Williams recently met with various ambassadorsí spouses at a luncheon spearheaded by the Diplomatsí Washington, Inc.óan organization that helps foreign diplomats adjust to life in Washingtonóto try to bridge this invisible diplomatic divide. The Sept. 30 luncheon was the first in a series of steps aimed at fostering better relations between city and diplomatic officials, with each side hoping to mutually further their agenda and enhance the prestige of their shared home, Washington, D.C. It is an effort that is generating a lot of buzz in the diplomatic circles and one that is, in a sense, long overdue. ìI really do believe that as a great city, we really should have all the wonderful, marvelous assets in our great city, and one of them that is often overlookedócertainly itís been overlooked for over the past 25, 30 yearsóitís the fa ct that we are the largest concentration of diplomatic community in the world, and thatís something meaningful and beneficial to our city,î said Williams as he spoke to a sea of eager faces that had gathered at the Hilton Washington Embassy Row for the meet and greet with the mayor and his wife, Diane Simmons Williams. The mayor is looking to usher in a new, more fruitful era of cooperation with the diplomatic community and essentially tap into this underused resource, which has long been glanced over by local politicians because of its nonvoting status. Williams, however, is well aware that the inability to vote does not overshadow the many positive contributions this segment of the population can and does bring to the nationís capital. ìAs part of the diplomatic community, your role and your presence enliven and really invigorate our cityís cultural and community life,î Williams said. ìIn addition, I canít ignore the importance of the diplomatic community in the role that it plays in something critical to our city right now as it faces the budget crisis like every other state and city in our country and probably around the worldóand that is you bring needed revenue to our city.î The mayor hopes these envoys will use their global connections to thrust Washington, D.C., into the international limelight, boosting the cityís tourism, regional economy and overall prominence. ìWhen [diplomats] go back to their home countries with a positive attitude about our city, thatís one of the greatest economic development tools we have as a city,î Williams told The Washington Diplomat. ìI really do believe that our international community in our city is a sleeping giant.î In turn, the mayor is working to incorporate the views of the diplomatic community into his political strategy, listening to their concerns, grievances and opinions on how to combat some of the Districtís woes, which include cleaning up the heavily polluted Anacostia River, curbing a persistently low literacy rate, and shoring up holes in the cityís public transportation system. Williams has appointed to his team Carlton Terry, special assistant for protocol and international affairs in the D.C. Office of the Secretary and a seasoned Foreign Service officer, and Beverly D. Rivers, secretary of the District of Columbia, to help him establish closer ties with the diplomatic corps. Rivers, in fact, is a familiar face on the diplomatic circuit, attending a steady stream of events and receptionsóa reflection of the mayorís desire to boast a strong showing by his office at ìall the national days of the different countries in our city.î The mayor also approached a group of ambassadors from Africa several months ago to discuss a variety of issues, ranging from the broad initiatives his administration hopes to tackle to some of the more everyday hassles that affect diplomats, such as licensing, permitting, and easing passage through area airports. Williams said he hopes to pursue similar meetings in the future: ìWe would like to meet with the Asian ambassadors, to meet with the Europeans, to meet with the Latin American ambassadors because I think it would really be important to try to bridge whatever differences there are but very importantly, hear about their concerns.î The mayor wants to enlist the support of his diplomatic allies on the political front as well, hoping they can use their influences and powerful connections to galvanize support for the District on the Hill, where the city is facing various political battlesóchief among them being the Districtís lack of congressional representation in the House and Senate. He spoke at great length with the ambassadorsí spouses about this ìconstitutional oddity,î which has become one of the mayorís main gripes with Congress, and about how he wants to breathe new life into an issue many consider dead in the water. ìWhile this cityís population is greater than four states, while we Ö pay $2 billion annually to the federal governmentóweíre the second highest tax paying group in the United Statesóand while our residents were the first to serve our country all the way back to the Revolution and through every war since then, it is the largest block of disenfranchised voters in the world,î Williams said, adding that ìpretty much every person Iíve talked to, pretty much every major capital that I know of, the citizens have voting representation in their national legislature.î The mayor was frank about his discontent with Congress over this issue as well as about some of the other stumbling blocks his administration has encountered, candidly opening up about his re-election ìsagaîóìI woke up one morning and Ö I was running unopposed, and I woke up another morning and I wasnít on the ballot. Thatís pretty hard to do, right?îóand about some of the other blunders the city government has made in the past. ìEverybody admits that we made a mistake by not originally connecting Georgetown [to rail]. The problem is now that is really expensive,î Williams said as he outlined some of his future goals, which include possible plans to hook up Georgetown to Arlington, Va., and the rest of downtown via more cost-effective light rail. As he fielded questions from the ambassadorsí spouses, he also talked about his Anacostia Waterfront Initiative, which includes a massive revitalization of the Anacostia River, ranked among the top-10 polluted rivers in the nation, and he explained some of the specific duties and functions of his office to help the spouses gain a better understanding of what exactly his role as mayor entails. ìWhatís great about him is that heís up front about everything Ö trying to answer for [diplomats] questions that Iím sure theyíre much too diplomatic to ask,î said Katherine Moss, executive director of the Diplomatsí Washington. Moss and her group were actually the impetus behind the recent luncheon. At a previous Diplomatsí Washington seminar for the wives of the ambassadors, Moss asked if the ladies had any final thoughts. She recalled one participant saying, ìYou know, we know what to do with the administration, and we need them, we know what to do with Capitol Hill and we need them, and the State Department. We donít know what we should be doing with the D.C. government.î Moss said she was taken aback by the overwhelming response: ìThe amazing thing was, around the room everyone said, ëThatís true. Thatís true. Thatís true.íî She took the message to heart and called up the mayorís office the next day. ìTo my surprise, they invited me down for consultations within a week,î she said. ìThey said the mayor really wants to reach out, wasnít sure quite how Ö but if there was some way where he could reach out to a lot [of diplomats], wouldnít that be terrific? And I said, ëI think I can work this out for you.íî The plan didnít quite go off without a hitch though, suffering a minor setback when the mayor was called away to an international mayors conference in Rome and the luncheon had to be rescheduled at the last minute. Nevertheless, Moss said she was thrilled with the turnout and the ìelectricityî she felt in the room. She also noted that the event was an excellent venue for introducing Mrs. Williams to the spouses, another busy wife who is a certified public accountant in her own right. Moss founded the Diplomatsí Washington to help foreigners posted to Washington maneuver the dicey diplomatic dance of attending receptions, establishing contacts, perfecting American protocol, and pushing an embassyís agenda into the forefront of the public eye. She said she is excited to have her organization act as a conduit between the mayorís office and the diplomatic community, particularly in areas such as tourism, where using embassies to promote the cityís already diverse international flavor not only brings in coveted tourist dollars for the city, it also brings coveted public exposure to the individual embassies, which is one of the most daunting PR tasks facing all embassies. In addition, there are more practical ways in which diplomats can bolster the cityís economyóways that carry as much political clout as the ability to vote. ì[Diplomats] are nonvoting, but they are there and they are important. You heard [the mayor] say he knows that a lot of jobs in D.C. are dependent on the international, the diplomatic community, and heís right,î Moss said, listing the scores of embassy jobsófrom caterers and secretaries to gardeners and waitersófilled by local residents. Moss said embassies can also bond with area residents through local grassroots efforts that ìbring the two communities together, ways that they can creatively work together, knowing full well that neither the D.C. government nor embassies have pots of moneyóthey donítóbut with some really inventive, creative ideas, lots can get done.î One of those inventive ideas is the embassy adoption program, a coordinated effort between embassies, the Washington Performing Arts Society and the D.C. public school system where an embassy takes a local school under its wings. During the exchange, children receive study materials on their host country and an ambassadorís wife or other embassy representative visits the school to talk about their particular country. The program often features a field trip to the ambassadorís residence as well as a cultural program that the children put on to demonstrate what theyíve learned. Moss said the embassy adoption program, in addition to the countless other charities embassies support, are a ìtremendousî example of how diplomats can forge stronger links with the local community and, ultimately, the city government. The next phase of the Diplomatsí Washingtonís reach out to the mayor will involve a lunch with the mayor and the actual ambassadors. In the meantime, Moss said she is busy heading up seminars for the Diplomatsí Washington, which have more of a general focus. ìItís more living in America, itís the education, the how to meet your neighbors, how to understand your neighbors,î she said. And now, one of those neighbors, the D.C. city government, is no longer that anonymous face next door and a lot more like an actual neighbor. Anna Gawel is the assistant managing editor for The Washington Diplomat. Group Helps Diplomats Adapt ëAmerican-Styleí Imagine coming to a foreign country completely unaware of the customs, the culture, or of the everyday nuances many of us take for granted. Itís done by millions of people every day. But now imagine all of that under the added weight of constant business meetings, awkward social appearances and strict diplomatic protocol. Thatís just a sampling of some of the pressures facing newly arrived diplomats as they pull double duty, trying to establish themselves both personally and professionallyómaking contacts, managing a demanding work load, all the while trying to deal with the challenges of just being a foreigner in a strange land. Helping them surmount these challenges is the Diplomatsí Washington, Inc. Since 1999, the organization has been helping diplomats adapt to life ìAmerican-style.î ìThings are done differently here than anywhere else in the world,î said Katherine Moss, executive director and founder of the Diplomatsí Washington. Moss said her program teaches diplomats how to ìhit the ground runningî by helping them master the unwritten rules of U.S. etiquette, showing them how to meander the maze of bureaucracy that Washington is so well known for, giving them a firmer grasp of the American business mentality, and just answering for them some of the simple questions that come up when trying to settle into a new life. Moss, a native Washingtonian and a graduate of Georgetown Universityís School of Foreign Service, launched her endeavor partly in response to the ìmany missed opportunitiesî she frequently saw at embassy receptions and other gatherings, which often times boiled down to fundamental culture differences that were acting as barriers to success for many diplomats. So she sought to design a program that would help correct what she prefers to call missteps rather than mistakes. ìI donít ever use the word mistake because these are all incredibly polished, wonderful people,î said Moss. ìThey are not making mistakes: They are doing what they know, which is understandable. And you canít know that a place does something differently until you crash into it and youíve done a faux pas.î Thus emerged a series of seminars that teach diplomats how to avoid the pitfalls of U.S. protocol. The Diplomatsí Washingtonís flagship seminar, The Keys to Washington, provides diplomats and members of multinational organizations with training in American business tactics, explains important cultural differences, and reveals tricks on how to access Capitol Hill and the media. Moss said that just having this type of knowledge in their arsenal gives many diplomats the confidence they need to approach opportunities more aggressively. ì[Americans] are proud of the fact that we are, we think, very free from strict protocol and rules. Well, but guess what? We actually do have a very real protocol, particularly here in Washington, and it isnít explained anywhere because that is kind of our secret,î Moss said. ìSo just by helping [diplomats], by giving them the protocol expectations, they can relax because they know what to do.î A sister seminar, Unlocking Life in Washington, D.C., focuses on some of the broader issues affecting a diplomatís entire family, covering such topics as the U.S. education system, safety, helping children adjust, and applying to work in the United States. Mossí seminars quickly found a niche in the diplomatic market, shedding light on universal concerns that no one U.S. agency addressed. The program also quickly expanded thanks to a chance encounter with one of the wives of the ambassadors. Maria Defago, wife of the former Swiss ambassador, attended the Keys to Washington seminar on behalf of her husband. Afterward, Moss recalled her saying that she had ìlearned more in six hours than I learned in six years,î and that her ìthought all the way through the day was, if only there could be something like this for the ambassadorís wife because sheís very important in the mix.î She told Moss, ìIf your company will create it, I will put my name behind it.î And so the Diplomatsí Washington grew to include the wives of the ambassadors and The Diplomatic First Ladies seminar was born. In addition to the First Ladies seminar, which helps the spouses become acquainted with American norms and customs, eight of the wives make up an advisory board committee that uses its first-hand insights to help Moss plan future seminars. Moss said that these wives are an often overlooked but absolutely essential part of the diplomatic equation. ìThe wife is one of the main conduits to the powerhouses of Washington,î she said, citing an example where a European diplomat, who had desperately been trying to arrange a meeting with a particular congressman for nearly two years, finally got the lawmakerís attention because of his wife, who served on the same committee as the congressmanís wife. In addition, many wives are initially intimidated and, to a degree, overwhelmed by the onslaught of obligations and responsibilities that their post entails. ìThe wives are surprised, very surprised about Ö exactly what kind of power they have in Washington and the fact that Washingtonians expect that theyíre going to use it,î Moss noted. It is a position that is also fraught with many subtle and hidden complexities. How, for example, do you make your national day reception stand out amid the hundreds of other national day celebrations held across the city? Where do you go when you need to find high-quality linens on a tight budget to replace those in the official residence? What do you do about schooling when your husbandís appointment is still in limbo? Whatís fair when it comes to staff pay? How do you plan an intimate dinner that looks like itís been professionally catered when itís just you and one assistant preparing the meals? And how do you find the time to organize the plethora of charity balls, cultural events and social receptions youíre expected to host? These are just some of the questions that come up in Mossís workshops as she helps newcomers navigate the ins and outs of life in Washington, and no questionófrom what to wear to a reception to what a daughter should wear to an eighth-grade danceóis to big or small in Mossí school of diplomacy. For more information on the Diplomatsí Washington, please call (301) 963-0930 or email DipsDC@aol.com. óAnna Gawel