Midsummer mixer blends embassy press attachés with Club Journalists

Defying the usual midsummer exodus of professionals fleeing Washington’s heat waves and slowdowns, the National Press Club’s International Correspondents Committee gathered 50 press attachés from the Washington embassies of 35 nations on July 21. They participated in a mixer held in the First Amendment Lounge, joined by journalists from the Club as well as from other countries.

Addressing the attendees,  Club President Jen Judson noted that Washington, D.C., has more journalists than any other city in the world. 

There are limited opportunities in Washington for embassy press attachés - particularly from nations with differing views of various issues on the international stage - to interact in a large group. Echoing an observation offered by a number of press attaches, ICC Chair Elizabeth Hagedorn said, “Part of what makes the evening so special for our embassy guests is the chance to mingle not only with journalists, but with each other.”

The ICC held a similar gathering in the fall of 2021. The annual event is an opportunity for Club journalists to build sources within the diplomatic community, and for press attachés to learn more about the Club and its members.

“The mixer is a rare opportunity to bring together journalists with the press attachés from the countries they cover,” Hagedorn said. “Our members walk away from the event each year having made valuable contacts within the diplomatic community.”

Indeed, most journalists who attended gathered business cards enabling followups with countries of interest to them. They also made requests to be added to embassy press lists, and those for cultural events.

Pitching the attachés on the opportunities offered by the Club for getting their messages out, Judson underscored not just the meeting facilities but the state of the art communications technologies available at the Club. Tours of Club facilities followed.

Describing the evening as “… a testament to the role journalism and communications play in fostering the goals of a vibrant international community here in Washington,” Judson said she is looking forward "to seeing a growth in our international membership as a result of nights like these, which contributes to my goal to bring a wider array of perspectives from around the globe into the tapestry of Club membership."

As he had at the ICC’s recent Algerian Embassy Night, Rafael Javadov buoyed the atmosphere with electric jazz violin musicianship that Sugarcane Harris would have admired.