The Obama Administration’s “smart power” approach to foreign policy is being well received abroad.In a period of severe budget constraints, volunteering has the considerable advantage of being a low-cost option. A bold approach that makes multilateral volunteering one of the pillars of U.S. foreign policy can make a major contribution to U.S. national security in a rapidly changing world.

BBC is proud to be a co-sponsor of Service World. Service World is a new policy planning process which aims to bring global service to a higher plateau in American foreign policy and its approach to the world. Policy ideas for ServiceWorld are being collected on this website. If your organization is interested in providing input into the development of a Service World policy agenda, please send ideas, description of innovative programs and best practices, and recommendations on funding them by June 30 to the attention of Jack Sibley at jsibley@globalpeaceservice.org.

Visit the Service World Website or read the ServiceWorld Concept Paper

“From Service Nation” to “Service World”

• Over the past year the Time Magazine hosted Service Nation Summit engaged both Presidential contenders and paved the way for the Kennedy Serve America Act, a "quantum leap" in domestic service signed into law in May by President Obama.
• The Building Bridges Coalition of over 200 NGOs, faith-based groups, universities and corporations, National Peace Corps Association, and the International Volunteering Initiative at Brookings, together with key figures from the Service Nation coalition, have joined forces to expand this success in scaling domestic volunteering to the international level with increased innovation and impact. The Service World initiative will couple international service policy development with a broad-based civic engagement campaign timed with 2010-2011 initiatives commemorating the 50th anniversary of Peace Corps and the UN tenth anniversary of the International Year of Volunteers.
• As the world’s most open and multicultural nation, the United States has an immense advantage in building bridges to people around the world. Volunteering is the most cost-efficient way of building these bridges. In the current global economic crisis, volunteering can play a unique role in enhancing the spirit of community and collaboration across nations.