Bill Wanlund's Worth Noting: This year’s Ameri Prize for Innovation in Public Diplomacy

This year’s Ameri Prize for Innovation in Public Diplomacy was presented to Andrea Stanford, press officer at the American Embassy in Mexico City. I wanted to use today’s Worth Noting to discuss the winning entry in a little detail, because -- to me -- it represented PD’s potential to focus on a critical and sensitive issue of U.S. foreign policy, using careful planning, creative thinking, and thoughtful audience identification.
 
But don’t just take my word for it. No one would know better than PDCA member Goli Ameri herself, creator and namesake of the prize, speaking at the award ceremony September 29 at the USC Capital Campus in Washington: “Public diplomacy delivers significant impact when creative minds break barriers to reach people in impactful ways,” said Ameri. “Andrea Stanford embodies that spirit. She has transformed how the U.S. government communicates about illegal immigration. Her work has built trust, reduced illegal immigration, and set a new standard for what public diplomacy can achieve.”
 
Among her accomplishments, Stanford:  
The creativity that went into the effort deserves special mention, like Tortipel, which involved printing QR-coded messages on over one million tortilla wrappers, delivering critical U.S. migration information to rural and underserved communities; and Project Plantalla, in partnership with the UN’s International Organization for Migration, through which the Embassy broadcast U.S. migration videos and Facebook Live events in over 100 shelters across Mexico, reaching thousands of migrants with timely, accurate policy guidance at key moments in their journey. There were themed comic books (a project of Consulate Ciudad Juárez), journalist border tours, social media influencers…the list goes on.
 
It was a remarkable effort, Andrea took on, with remarkable, quantifiable results. But, let’s leave the last word with her:
 
Andrea says, “In responding to illegal immigration, I drew on every tool in the toolbox—media outreach, digital platforms, partnerships, and creative campaigns—and saw our messages gain traction with government officials, journalists, and communities alike. This recognition affirms that when we apply public diplomacy strategically, we can use it as a powerful tool to address some of the world’s most entrenched and difficult challenges."
 
Bill Wanlund is a PDCA Board Member, retired Foreign Service Officer, and freelance writer in the Washington, DC, area. His column, Worth Noting, appears occasionally in PD Today and the PDCA Blog; it seeks to address Public Diplomacy and related topics of interest to all.