those skills beyond a narrow conception of foreign policy and international relations to a broader set of issues and actors. Education Diplomacy can be employed at the international level to formulate global initiatives and movements, or at the national and local levels to translate international policies into appropriate local practice. Alternatively, Education Diplomacy can be used at local levels to educate those operating at international and national levels about local education needs and challenges. This interplay illustrates the broad scope of Education Diplomacy in practice. In order to advance education in innovative ways, educators today need to be well versed in strategies that go beyond typical education advocacy and leadership methods. Education Diplomacy is a new strategy that will help educators everywhere to design and implement education in exciting, yet appropriate and effective, ways. Understanding and cultivating a disposition of diplomatic engagement moves educators to a new place where they can be even more successful in establishing partnerships, mediating differences, negotiating agreements, developing meaningful and contextualized education goals, designing suitable measures of education achievement, increasing access to education, and ensuring that education remains relevant to critical issues including ever-changing workforce development needs. Education Diplomacy has the potential to serve as the leading approach to dynamic education change in this century. Among other critical issues, Education Diplomacy can be used to effectively promote issues relating to workforce development, such as improving skills and opportunities. It can also be used for the purposes of enhancing education as a human right or as the vehicle for expanding the knowledge that will be needed to resolve other crucial international development challenges. Education Diplomacy is a new strategy for new times. About the author: Diane Whitehead is the Executive Director of the Association for Childhood Education International and leads the development of the Center for Education Diplomacy. To learn more about Education Diplomacy visit the Center for Education Diplomacy at www. educationdiplomacy.org.
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