Tuesday, February 16, 2010

It’s not too late to nominate somebody for AFSA’s Dissent Awards

Deadline February 26, 2010

The following information taken from AFSA’s information page on awards:

For over thirty years AFSA has sponsored a program to recognize and encourage constructive dissent and risk-taking in the Foreign Service. The AFSA Constructive Dissent Awards are unique for the following reasons:

1. They are not based on superior performance, for which numerous Department awards already exist.

2. No other government agency has a similar program.

3. These awards publicly recognize individuals who have demonstrated the intellectual courage to challenge the system from within, to question the status quo and take a stand, no matter the sensitivity of the issue or the consequences of their actions. The issue does not have to be related to foreign policy. It can relate to a management issue, consular policy, or, in the case of the newest award, the F. Allen "Tex" Harris Award, to the willingness of a Foreign Service Specialist to take an unpopular stand, to go out on a limb, or to stick his/her neck out in a way that involves some risk.

CRITERIA FOR DISSENT AWARDS

The following awards are for Foreign Service employees who have "exhibited extraordinary accomplishment involving initiative, integrity, intellectual courage and constructive dissent":

The Christian A. Herter Award | for Senior Foreign Service officers (FE OC-FE CA)
The William R. Rivkin Award | for mid-level officers (FS 1-3)
The W. Averell Harriman Award | for junior officers (FS 4-6)
The F. Allen "Tex" Harris Award | for Foreign Service Specialists

Nomination Procedures
Nominations may be submitted online (using the dissent or performance awards forms) or by e-mail to green@afsa.org. Any questions may be directed to Perri Green, Coordinator for Special Awards and Outreach, tel: 202-338-4045, ext. 521, fax 202-338-6820 or e-mail as above. Nominations should be submitted no later than February 26, 2010.  Nominations may also be submitted to: Awards Committee, AFSA, 2101 E Street NW, Washington, DC 20037, Attention Perri Green.

Additional items to note:

The purpose of the Dissent Awards is to encourage Foreign Service career employees to speak out frankly and honestly; non-career ambassadors or other political appointees are not eligible for nomination.

AFSA Board members may not be nominated for their activities while serving on the Board, but may be nominated for any actions which occurred prior to serving, within the time period mentioned in statement C.

Nominations for any of the awards may be submitted by anyone with knowledge of the nominee's accomplishments, and does not necessarily need to be a government employee. As noted in Part II of the Format guidelines, the nominator must describe the relationship or association with the nominee. Self-nominations are not eligible.

The Constructive Dissent Awards are not for performance of assigned duties, however exceptional. They offer an opportunity to publicly recognize and honor the courageous and thoughtful actions of our colleagues, over and above their responsibilities.

Read more here on the AFSA awards and here on the dissent awards.





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