The Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training (ADST) is an independent nonprofit organization founded in 1986. Located at the State Department’s George Shultz National Foreign Affairs Training Center in Arlington, Virginia, ADST’s mission is to capture, preserve, and share the experiences of America’s diplomats to enrich the professional knowledge of practitioners and strengthen public appreciation of diplomacy’s contribution to America’s security. It achieves this mission by recording the oral histories of diplomatic practitioners, helping them prepare and publish books and memoirs, contributing to the development of case studies, supporting the work of the Foreign Service Institute, and taking educational programs to citizens of all ages.
More about ADST’s ongoing activities:
– The Foreign Affairs Oral History Collection, which grows by some 80 histories per year, conveys the experiences, analyses, knowledge, and wisdom of both career and non-career foreign affairs practitioners. Users include people in academia, business, the media, and government. Some 1,700 oral histories are accessible on the website of the Library of Congress and many more are in various stages of completion.
– Two book series on diplomats and diplomacy help increase public knowledge and appreciation of the involvement of American diplomats in the events of world history. Moreover, ADST provides advice on publishing to serving and former foreign affairs personnel. Almost 80 books have been published in the two series, and more are forthcoming.
– Support for Foreign Service Institute training programs as well as seminars and policy conferences bring together academics, the private sector, and senior government officials in discussions of critical foreign relations issues.
– Its annual awards to Foreign Service Institute instructors recognize excellence in foreign language training.
– Biennial awards highlight accomplishments for outstanding leadership in diplomacy, international business, and promotion of the study of diplomacy.
Donations to ADST
Are you interested in providing a financial contribution to ADST? Donations are tax-deductable! Our donation page lists several ways to help ADST continue its projects.