As this year draws to a close, IPDGC would like to recap some of our activities of the Fall semester. We hope that you’ve had the opportunity to attend some of the events:
Mark your calendars for the 2020 Walter Roberts Lecture featuring Joseph S. Nye. The talk will be on “Do Morals Matter? Presidents and Foreign Policy”, to be held on Thursday, January 30, 2020, at the GW Elliott School of International Affairs.
Thirteen years ago, the Walter Roberts Endowment was established with generous contributions from Dr. Roberts and the Roberts family. The Endowment was to ensure continued support for public diplomacy through higher learning and research, recognition of leadership and shared best PD practices.
The Endowment has assisted in funding activities of the Institute for Public Diplomacy and Global Communication (IPDGC) at the George Washington University.
The Annual Walter Roberts Lecture for 2020 will feature Dr. Joseph S. Nye, who, 30 years ago, originated the term “soft power” in describing the persuasive approach in U.S. foreign policy. The Lecture will be held on January 30, 2020, at the Elliott School for International Affairs.
The Endowment continues to support IPDGC’s Walter Roberts Award for Congressional Leadership in Public Diplomacy, which honors members of Congress who have been consistently supportive of public diplomacy throughout their careers. These awards support public diplomacy micro-projects in institutions situated in the member’s state or congressional district.
The Endowment also encourages GW graduate students to excel in public diplomacy studies. Hence, to move ahead, we are trying to increase the size of the Endowment to allow us to provide grants to graduate students who could not otherwise afford to study public diplomacy at GW.
We encourage you to join with the Roberts family in continuing to support the vital public diplomacy outreach work that the Endowment underwrites.
In 2018 and 2019, IPDGC recognized two U.S. senators for their unwavering support for public diplomacy work with the Walter Roberts Award for Congressional Leadership in Public Diplomacy. To further honor the recipients of this award, small grants were given to organizations in their home states for micro-projects reflecting the essence of public diplomacy – exchanges, outreach, engagement.
The University of Tennessee’s Center for Sports, Peace and Society (CSPS) and Vermont Council of World Affairs (VCWA) were the grantees for those respective years. The directors of both organizations have enthusiastically shared how the grants provided opportunity to have follow-up projects for the work they already do.
CSPS Director Dr. Sarah Hilyer was able to visit Iraq to conduct a first-ever mother-daughter basketball clinic for the partner organization, Zhima. CSPS and Zhima have a years-long supportive relationship; building sports and life skills of young girls in the city of Sulaymaniyah. Learn more.
Lady Vols basketballs at the Pat Summitt movie premiere – “Legacy of Love”.
VCWA Director Patricia Preston said that having a “reverse-exchange” program allowed their organization to return to Tanzania and reinforce the positive messages of the initial leadership program that brought visitors from Pan-African nations to Vermont.
Breakout session at the Changemakers 2019 Summit in Tanzania.
In the upcoming year, IPDGC plans to recognize another representative who has ensured that America’s values, vision, and ideas are shared with the rest of the world through public diplomacy efforts.
As IPDGC’s Director Janet Steele notes, “The Institute for Public Diplomacy and Global Communication created this award for congressional leadership in public diplomacy because we wanted to highlight something that for many Americans is invisible.” It is through the Award Recipients’ active participation, advocacy, and legislative support, that America’s story is shared with the world.
The Walter Roberts Endowment will hold its 2020 Annual Lecture on Thursday, January 30, 2020, at the Elliott School of International Affairs, Washington, D.C. The speaker will be renowed political scientist Joseph S. Nye, Jr. who will be speaking on “Do Morals Matter? Presidents and Foreign Policy”. Nye is one of the world’s leading scholars on international relations and the person responsible for introducing the term “soft power” to describe the persuasive approach in foreign policy.
Nye’s latest book takes a look at past U.S. presidents to the current, and evaluates their leadership in U.S. foreign policy based on ethical dimensions. The 2020 Walter Roberts Annual Lecture will also celebrate the 30th anniversary of “Soft Power”.
At this panel event moderated by Public Diplomacy Fellow Emilia Puma (atright), Foreign Service Officers shared their experiences on maintaining a balance with work and life as they represent the United States in different parts of the world.
With varied experiences from length of service, to the regions served, job functions, personal and family needs – six Foreign Service Officers spoke on what they had to consider when making the choice to join, and continue, with a career that never “rests”. They shared how they surmounted those challenges and also enjoyed the benefits that came with the job.
The audience of students and a handful of former diplomats participated in the lively discussion.
Dr. James Gomez talking about Fake News Legislations in Southeast Asia.
By Yvonne Oh, IPDGC Program Coordinator
Dr. James Gomez, Director for the Asia Center presented the organization’s project on Fake News Legislation and Freedom of Expression in Southeast Asia.
The Asia Centre is a not-for-profit organization that seeks to create social impact in the Southeast Asia region; based in Bangkok, Thailand. The Asia Centre serves as a think-tank, meeting space, project partner and social enterprise.
Dr. Gomez shared the findings of this three-year project and how the legislations and other practices being adopted by individual governments in that region was taking an impact on democracy, rule of law, and freedom of expression.
By Yvonne Oh, IPDGC Program Coordinator
