2003 Award Winners Announced

[Washington, DC - May 5, 2003] The Department of State is pleased to announce that teams from East Noble High School in Kendallville, Indiana and the International School in Tashkent, Uzbekistan have been selected as the winners of its Doors to Diplomacy Award. The award recognizes the student-created Global SchoolNet Web project that best teaches others about the importance of international affairs and diplomacy.

“Education and diplomacy have similar goals, in that both aim to make the world a better, safer and friendlier place in which all citizens can live,” said Yvonne Andres, co-founder and executive director of the Global SchoolNet Foundation.

260 schools worldwide representing 300,000 students from 45 countries participated in Global SchoolNet's International Schools CyberFair competition this year. The Doors to Diplomacy Award was specially created for CyberFair, a contest that encourages students and educators to join together to build high-quality, educational Web sites on a variety of topics and share them as learning tools to millions of people around the globe. Global SchoolNet is a not-for-profit, Internet-based education program, which prepares students for the workforce and helps them to become responsible literate and global citizens.

Secretary of State Powell encourages youth to familiarize themselves with international relations: “…Get some sense of the broader world in which you live -- out of your community, out of your neighborhood, out of this country, and gives you a sense of what foreign policy is all about and how the United States has to work with some 190 nations around the world and look at all it takes to keep our foreign policy on track….”

"Uzbekistan: Opaque Reality," created by a diverse team of four students from Tashkent, Zimbabwe; and Seoul, provides a background on international human rights and their importance to society. It also tells about the status of human rights in Uzbekistan, its development, implementation, and violations.

“History of Foreign Relations: Past, Present, Future” was created by a team of five students from Kendallville, who produced an interactive tutorial to demonstrate how throughout history diplomacy has “not been easy, it has been essential.” Teacher coach Robert Waterson added, “The welfare of all people depends upon the efforts of our world leaders, and it is drastically important that we educate ourselves concerning world affairs and work constructively to teach others, encourage others, voice our opinions, and remain open to other people in other cultures.”

As winners of the Doors to Diplomacy Award, each student team member will receive a $2,000 scholarship and the winning coaches’ schools will each receive a $500 cash award. In addition, the entire team of students and their coaches will be invited to Washington, DC to receive a private tour of the State Department facilities, meet with key officials, and participate in a special award presentation ceremony.

Judging was performed by students and educational professionals, with the final selection made by a State Department official in its Bureau of Public Affairs. The winning projects will be linked from the State Department’s youth site later this month. Learn more about Doors to Diplomacy projects at http://www.globalschoolhouse.org/doors