The U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Department
of State in partnership with Walt Disney Parks and Resorts premiered
"Welcome: Portraits of America," a multi-media initiative to welcome
international visitors to the United States. The donation from Disney
included a seven-minute film and hundreds of still images, featuring
American people from all regions and walks of life. Disney
commissioned the project as part of the Rice-Chertoff Initiative,
which seeks to secure America's borders while welcoming legitimate
visitors to the United States.
"We greatly appreciate Disney's significant contributions to our
efforts to make America's embassies and airports more welcoming to our
international guests. Disney's creativity and excellence wonderfully
capture the essence of America, which is embodied in the diversity and
values of our people," said Karen Hughes, Under Secretary of Public
Diplomacy and Public Affairs, Department of State.
"Travelers form their first impressions of America when they
arrive at our borders. Our global reputation therefore depends on
making visitors feel every bit as welcome as they feel secure," said
Stewart Baker, Assistant Secretary for Policy, Department of Homeland
Security.
"We are proud to partner with the U.S. government to extend a
world class welcome to America's guests," said Jay Rasulo, Chairman of
Walt Disney Parks and Resorts. "This project showcases America's
greatest asset: the ordinary people who make this nation
extraordinary."
The film and still portraits showcase the diversity, friendliness
and optimism of the American people. The film will be shown in the
Federal Inspection Areas of U.S. airports, and in U.S. embassies and
consulates overseas, while the still portraits will be incorporated in
posters, banners and other imagery welcoming visitors to the U.S. The
video and images will not feature or promote any commercial entities.
The first airports to feature the images will be Washington Dulles
International Airport and Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston,
Texas, to be followed by the nation's other international airports.
For the project, Disney attracted a world-class creative team
including producer Federico Tio, a highly-regarded marketer of some of
America's best-known motion pictures. Born in Havana, Cuba on May 1,
1962, Tio came to the United States on one of the first "Freedom
Flights" in 1965. Tio's crew embarked on a cross-country odyssey to
capture the content for the video, including images of ordinary
Americans at work, play, with family and at moments of introspection.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Secretary of Homeland
Security Michael Chertoff announced a joint vision to enhance border
security while streamlining security processes and facilitating travel
for legitimate visitors in January 2006. As part of this initiative,
the Secure Borders, Open Doors Advisory Committee was established with
participation from the business, travel and tourism and academic
communities. One of the goals of the Advisory Committee is to help the
Departments of State and Homeland Security establish a friendlier,
more welcoming process for visitors from the time they apply for a
visa to their entry into the United States.
To view the film, visit discoveramerica.com or travel.state.gov.
(Note to Editors: The entire film will not be available for viewing
until 6 p.m. EDT on October 22, 2007.)
