Internet freedom

On January 30, 2012, in Mark, by Ambassador Brzezinski
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That people all over the world are taking to the Internet to voice their interests and concerns is something that the U.S. and the Obama Administration see as a positive force in the world. This is why we take the issue of Internet freedom so seriously and why the President and Secretary of State Clinton have made the issue of Internet freedom a vital part of U.S. foreign policy. I urge everyone to read Secretary Clinton’s excellent speech on Internet Freedom.  It is in everyone’s interest that as many voices and opinions, ınterests and concerns, be heard as possible.  The Internet and technology are providing an ever growing forum for this positive development.

In the past two weeks, there have been a couple of events generating positive discussion.  One of those events was a talk by Bill Lynn, former US Deputy Secretary of Defense, The Future of War: Cyberdefence and Defence Restructuring, at a seminar organized by Folk och Försvar and the Swedish National Defense University.  I recommend watching the replay, because modern free societies need to talk about protecting digital infrastructure in an open, honest and realistic way.  Bill Lynn is a particular expert on how the US is tackling this relatively new challenge.

Secretary Clinton has emphasized that the importance of the universal human rights of freedom of expression, assembly and association apply online as they do offline.  Last week, Assistant Secretary Posner said at the State of the Net conference, ” No deed is more evil — or more noble — when it is committed online rather than offline… You can’t beat up and gag a peaceful protestor and you can’t jail her for a blog post criticizing a government policy, either.”   If there was any question whether America is serious about protecting people’s rights online, this statement stands as a clear testament.

Important questions are being raised by private industry, civil society and the tech community about the balance between freedom of expression and the enforcement of intellectual property rights in the digital realm.  These are some of the same challenges we have faced in the analog world before, some for centuries, and they are solvable when we have all the stake-holders sitting at the table working toward lasting partnerships.  The embassy is strengthening our partnership with Sweden as the emphasis moves from agreement to action, and focus turns to Internet Freedom for Global Development at the Stockholm Internet Forum April 18-19.  I’m excited about this event and the potential to make freedom and openness on the Internet an economic and social development priority.

All of these discussions and actions around cyberspace and the role of the Internet in our lives demonstrate one simple but important principle: the Internet itself is an exceptionally effective tool for this public debate.  So it’s perhaps fitting to see, after so much effective use of the Internet to break down barriers in repressive countries, the lively discussion and activism by individuals in the US and Europe over these very questions of online expression, piracy and security.  In the words of theorist Marshall McLuhan, who predicted the web some 30 years before it existed, “the medium is the message.”

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Motherhood through an artist’s lens

On January 18, 2012, in Natalia, by Ambassador Brzezinski
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Mrs. Brzezinski with daughter

A woman holding her naked daughter possessively to her breast—physically shielding her from an unseen ghost, yet with a look of forlorn detachment on her face; the same woman, looking like she is barely transcending her own girlhood, sitting on an operating table, holding her burgeoning belly, and preparing for the unknown.
These are just two descriptions of the evocative photographs being presented by American-Israeli artist Elinor Carucci at the Fotografins Hus this week here in Stockholm, in an exhibition entitled “Kin and Self”. The exhibition centers on her family, placing a substantive focus on the all-encompassing role of motherhood, and the raw, messy and utterly awe-inspiring journey of having a child.

I saw some of Ms. Carucci’s photographs several weeks ago and was plunged into a reflective process on my own identity as a mother.

Having my daughter two years ago was the most transformative and emotionally complicated experience of my life. I felt blissful and transfixed by this wondrous being, yet at times viscerally confused. One expects motherhood to be organic, yet no one talks about the guilt-ridden nights you will lay awake wondering if you’re a bad mother.

I realized that with the birth of a child, a new self is also born. I’m still redefining who I am as a woman, but it’s an empowering journey of self-awareness and part of who I am will forever belong entirely to my daughter.

Seeing Ms. Carucci’s photographs at the Fotografins Hus this week in Stockholm made me feel part of something bigger. Her raw honesty captures so finely and precisely many of the emotions mothers feel, but never reveal.

This desire to dissect the role of the artist within their cultural norms is a recurring theme I’ve observed while combing through museums across town. Artists such as Cecilia Edefalk, who currently has a striking exhibit entitled “Moment” at Stockholm’s Moderna Museet, are turning the lens onto themselves in order to make provocative statements on social responsibility, countering conventional gender roles and female empowerment. There is nothing more inspiring than strong females finally rising in the art world and displaying their stories of growth and introspection as women in modern society.

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To a great 2012!

On January 11, 2012, in Mark, by Ambassador Brzezinski
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As the new U.S. Ambassador in Sweden, I can’t tell you how enthusiastic I am about the coming year.  I want to share with you some of the events the Embassy is organizing, but first an anecdote.

 
After I was confirmed by the Senate to be Ambassador to Sweden, I had the opportunity to ask former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright for her advice on what makes a good Ambassador.  Her wise response was illuminating:

First, good ambassadors “don’t take themselves too seriously” [Good advice, and not just for Ambassadors!]

Second, she said, the way America is viewed around the world is changing and can be shaped positively by a dynamic embassy team that listens and learns and engages in a humble and inclusive way with the people and government of the country in which they are posted.

As Ambassador, I take that advice to heart, and as I plan our agenda for 2012 I am working with my embassy team to engage with the government and people of Sweden in way that helpfully interprets American priorities, policies and perspectives.  And a great agenda is beginning to materialize.
In 2012, Sweden will celebrate the 100th anniversary of the birth of Raoul Wallenberg, a diplomat whose efforts to save Hungarian Jews from the Holocaust clearly demonstrate the importance of not being indifferent.  He paid with his life for that commitment.  It will be our mission at U.S. Embassy Sweden to advance the American – Swedish relationship in a way that honors that legacy.

 

At the U.S. Embassy, we have formed an internal cluster to think how best to celebrate the basic values Raoul Wallenberg stood for.  One excellent recommendation that emerged from our team – and that we will implement in 2012 at an appropriate time for planting – is to plant a horse chestnut tree in honor of Raoul Wallenberg.  That strain of tree is famous from the legacy of Anne Frank, as it was a horse chestnut in the center of Amsterdam which she mentioned in her diary.  The tree will be endowed with a Raoul Wallenberg plaque.  It will serve as a living symbol of Wallenberg’s legacy that we hope will inspire future generations of both Americans and Swedes to protect basic values as a universal imperative.

 
Sweden now holds the rotating chairmanship of the Arctic Council.  Since the United States is a member of that Council, we at U.S. Embassy Sweden are enthusiastically working with Sweden to advance our common goals of protecting the environment and conserving the Arctic’s biological resources while promoting economic cooperation.  At the end of January I will travel to Jokkmokk in the northern Norbotten province of Sweden to attend and speak at the Jokkmokk Winter Conference.  It will be my goal to convey at the conference my deep personal passion for protecting the environment and biodiversity, and to listen and learn from other attendees on how we can work together to address climate change and its effects in the Arctic that are threatening the future of the North.

 
In 2012, we will be working hard to tactically implement Secretary of State Clinton’s vision of Economic Statecraft.  The Secretary has been eloquent in articulating the overlay between the commercial context and the strategic context.  Deputy Secretary of State Tom Nides also crystallized it when he said “We are living at a moment when economics is at the heart of what it means to lead in this world.”  I and the Embassy team will focus on a multi-pronged strategy when it comes to Economic Statecraft:  promoting public-private partnerships especially when it comes to socially responsible causes, and bringing in U.S. trade missions to promote business to business relationships.  In the coming year, our embassy will also work on a variety of initiatives designed to partner with Sweden to promote anti-bribery and anti-corruption overseas.  With the Arab spring, the timing has never been more ripe for engaging young people and women in entrepreneurship, sharing best practices and transferring American and Swedish values of openness and transparency.

 
Also on our agenda early in 2012 we are focusing on military ties as a top priority, because Sweden is a role model for what it is to be a helpful NATO partner.  The United States salutes the valuable contributions of Sweden in Afghanistan (where Sweden has over 500 troops) and in Libya, where as part of the coalition the Swedes deployed eight aircraft for reconnaissance purposes.  I am very pleased to say that in January we will welcome former Deputy Secretary of Defense Bill Lynn to Stockholm.  Our embassy is partnering with the Swedish think tank “Folk och Försvar” to host a lecture series, and Mr. Lynn will be presenting a lecture discussing cybersecurity and defense restructuring.  As Mr. Lynn wrote in a 2011 article in Foreign Affairs, “cyber technologies now exist that are capable of destroying critical networks, causing physical damage, or altering the performance of key systems. In the twenty-first century, bits and bytes are as threatening as bullets and bombs.”  It promises to be a fascinating discussion.

 
So we are just thrilled with the beginning of 2012 – and hope you are too — as they say here in Sweden “Gott Nytt År!” – Happy New Year!

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Falling in love with Stockholm

On January 4, 2012, in Natalia, by Sweden
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“Det finns inget dåligt väder, bara dåliga kläder” (there is no bad weather, only bad clothes).

I think of this Swedish saying almost every morning as I wake up to the squeals of nursery school children playing on the lulling hill in front of our home. Whether it is pitch dark or spitting rain, they are always outside, clad in bright red water-proof slickers and neon green light-reflecting vests, breathing in the fresh air and chasing each other around the soaring trees. Sometimes the sun has not yet risen, and they look like glowing fairies. Our daughter loves to press her face against the window and call out to them.

I have adopted this expression and the attitude of these young naifs as my mantra. After piling on layers of sweaters and slick boots, I’ve spent hours enjoying this lovely city that we now call home. Rain and snow sometimes penetrate my jacket, but I cannot resist being entranced by the wide, romantic boulevard that is Strandvägen, featuring the most intricately designed apartment buildings. I have never seen such well-preserved woodwork and carefully painted mosaic windows before.

I am not only attracted to the glamorous and cosmopolitan portions of Stockholm. Even more so, it is the almost artistically disheveled neighborhoods and stolid, gray apartment blocks I have stumbled upon outside of the city center that I am drawn to even more. The smell of spiced lamb and the purposeful look of people walking to work for the night-shift is strangely familiar to me.

Beyond the enticing visage of the city, I’m drawn to the admirable attitude of Swedes that focuses on family and work-life balance. As a young mother to a toddler, it is so gratifying to see gaggles of “pappor” (dads) pushing babies through the streets. Proactive engagement by both parents is so important in early childhood development and provides a healthy sense of partnership.  I know my husband adores introducing our daughter to new things here in Sweden, which has created a solid familial bond for her through his enthusiastic involvement.

People are generally not as glued to their email and Blackberrys here, and I am beginning to admire the fact that I often do not get my emails returned for a day or two, and almost never over the weekend!

Many Swedes, and even the ex-pats living here, put a premium on taking ample vacation time to take care of themselves and their families. In my opinion, working to live and not living to work actually makes one more productive. The city has been fairly empty over the holidays, and I have never felt so relaxed and lucid. Perhaps it is the weather that forces one to begin to slow down as the day diminishes. Whatever it is, I can say one thing categorically: I am falling in love with Stockholm!

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