Ellen Lebelle was part of the AARO (Association of American Residents Overseas) delegation that was in Washington, D.C. last week for Overseas American Week. ACA (American Citizens Abroad) and FAWCO (Federation of American Women's Clubs Overseas) were there as well.
Ellen has written a very nice blog post about what the delegates were up to, what they were trying accomplish, and how it went. She gives you an idea of the context in which proposals were being presented.
Really helpful and I thank Ellen for sharing her impressions. Opens up something that can feel like a "black box" to some of us and it makes one feel more a part of the overall effort.
A modest suggestion for next year: Tweets, updates on Facebook, and more blog posts so we can follow the action in real time.
5 comments:
You are right about the tweets and facebook. When I was on my computer, I was concentrating on important e-mails and getting my notes done. I visited facebook once a day, briefly and I was able to say we were going to meetings and very busy, but as a newbie, I didn't feel confident going into details. As for tweets, well, I didn't go there on the computer and I didn't always have the connections for my phone. Next time, maybe I will invest again in a US phone chip. That plus the fact that I really never tweet much -- just can't get into it. As the French say, it's "chronophage".
Amen to that! Thanks for linking to the only comments on the web so far on OAW. We need to encourage more openness to the lobbying black box efforts, I agree. This would help us all support them more, I think.
@Ellen, Thanks again for the post. It was really interesting to read ( I was wondering what you all were up to :-)
A suggestion for next time around. I know you folks were probably just swamped with meetings and the like. What you could do is grab some nice young social-media savvy youngster and get him/her to handle it. You could have a daily call to update that person with what you would like to send out and then let him/her Just Do It.
@Just Me, I wish you were in Paris. If you could be here on a Tuesday, we could walk down to the American Library and take Ellen out for coffee. :-)
While searching the web last week for news of what was happening in Washington during OAW 2013, I became aware of your blog. Thank you for posting the link to Ellen's report and to Ellen for writing and posting her report.
When I read your blog postings, I feel you are a kindred spirit who has the ability to express my thoughts and emotions in words much better than I could ever do myself.
Janet
@Janet, Sorry to reply so tardily. Was a bit under the weather there for a few weeks. Thank you so much for reading my words and for your kind comments. And it really made my day that you enjoy the Flophouse and that my words resonate with you. All the best to you.
Victoria
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