On 23 January 2012, IGE President, Dr. Chris Seiple, was privileged to join U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom, Suzan Johnson Cook, as they participated in the State Department’s online video series “Conversations with America.” The webcast focusing on “Religion and Foreign Policy” was moderated by Cheryl Benton, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs.

The webcast includes anecdotes from both Dr. Seiple’s and Ambassador Cook’s travels around the world regarding their engagement with religious leaders, and the importance of religious freedom as a function of “the American DNA.” The discussion further touched on the structure and impact of Secretary Clinton’s Strategic Dialogue for Civil Society, of which both Dr. Seiple and Ambassador Cook, among others, serve as Co-Chairs to the “Religion and Foreign Policy” working group. The webcast also featured questions from the public.

We encourage you to watch this short 36 min clip of “Conversations with America“. The clip is also available for viewing on YouTube.

Conversations with America is organized by the Bureau of Public Affairs at the State Department. It is an online video series featuring live interviews between the leaders of nongovernmental organizations and the State Department’s leadership. These conversations aim to provide candid views of the ways in which private sector leaders from the foreign affairs community are engaging the Department on pressing foreign policy issues. Launched by the Bureau of Public Affairs in 2010, the videos are aired online on State.gov and the Department of State’s official blog, DipNote. The videos are available for replay from Apple iTunes video podcasts.