I often struggle to explain my work on “modernizing U.S. foreign assistance policy” to my family in California. But this week, I had something new to share with them to help convey the crux of the issue in one minute: a new video we helped produce at the Center for Global Development (CGD) called “Bring U.S. Foreign Assistance into the 21st Century.”

My family has been joined by another 8200+ individuals who have watched the video on YouTube since it was posted earlier this week and they’ve started to send us their comments. I’m delighted to report that the overwhelming response from viewers is: this video is “fun”, “short” and “makes the point” but that they want to know more.

Many of the policymakers I talk to in Washington tell me they care about foreign aid and global development but that the “American people” don’t want to hear about it and aren’’t interested in the policy details. So the enthusiastic call from people wanting to learn more is music to my ears. I recommend the following:

• Modernizing Foreign Assistance for the 21st Century: An Agenda for the Next U.S. President and CGD’s Modernizing U.S. Foreign Assistance Initiative, which includes: foreign aid 101, election ’08 issues, foreign aid budget analysis, details on Congress, and polling data.
• Rich World, Poor World: A Guide to Global Development on why global development matters for the U.S. and a range of topics including foreign aid, trade and labor standards, state building, HIV/AIDS, and education.
• Impact ‘08: Building a Better, Safer World. The Center for U.S. Global Engagement’s policy framework calling on the 2008 presidential candidates to elevate and strengthen support for development assistance and diplomacy.
• The bipartisan HELP Commission Report produced for Congress.
• ONE Campaign’s “More and Better Aid” resources and their ONE Vote ‘08 site

And keep your eyes open for the launch next Tuesday of “New Day, New Way: U.S. Foreign Assistance for the 21st Century,” a report endorsed by several of the country’s top foreign assistance and global development experts.

My hope is that the video can help you start a conversation with your own friends and family and demonstrate to your representatives in Congress and the White House that there is support for modernizing U.S. foreign assistance and a growing American constituency interested in improving our global development policies to help build a better, safer world.

-Sarah Jane Staats, Senior Associate for Outreach and Policy, Center for Global Development