State Department Announces Online Townhall with Secretary Clinton

The State Department has announced an online townhall with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at the Summit of the Americas this weekend in Trinidad and Tobago. The Summit is held every four years or so, and brings together leaders from the Western Hemisphere to discuss key global issues - this year they've identified four: human prosperity, energy security, environmental sustainability, and poverty reduction. Secretary Clinton's online townhall will take place in the Dominican Republic, and citizens will be able to submit questions on a new hub that State created with one of YouTube's top DIY partners, Howcast.

State has posted videos explaining the townhall on their YouTube channel, like this one that explains just how people can participate:



There are also some videos explaining just what the Summit is and why it matters (see below). It will be interesting to see how this townhall plays out in comparison to the one the President held three weeks ago. Doing a townhall from the road begs the question of how foreign audiences might engage. And will State make this sort of event a regular feature of the Secretary's travel agenda? The results of the first online townhall will no doubt influence their opinion - head over to the Summit's hub and check it out.