Programs to support public diplomacy and international relations
By Yvonne Oh, IPDGC Program Coordinator
As part of IPDGC’s collaborations with like-minded organizations, we are proud to announce our partnership with the Public Diplomacy with the First Monday Forums. These talks will be held in-person (or hybrid) at the Lindner Family Commons room in the GW Elliott School for International Affairs every first Monday of the month.
These events fit well with the Institute’s mission goals to support academic excellence in global communication and public diplomacy, as well as provide opportunities for professional development.
The first of the First Monday Forum was held on Feb 6 with a virtual screening of the documentary “A Diplomat of Consequence” The film by Christopher Teal is about Ebenezer Basset, the first American black diplomat. Teal is a Senior Foreign Service officer with the U.S. State Department and currently, also the Public Diplomacy Fellow for IPDGC.
https://youtu.be/ASalp-IJ-tw
More information on the upcoming First Monday Forums to come.
Our 3rd Visiting Scholar for the spring semester is Christiane Cromm from Humboldt University, Berlin, Germany.
By Yvonne Oh, IPDGC Program Coordinator
As a PhD candidate, Christiane is working on her research into the participation of civil society organizations (CSOs) in global economic governance and if their inclusion in organizations such as the World Bank and IMF will contribute to a more accountable, participatory and democratic governance.
As a PhD candidate, Christiane is working on her research into the participation of civil society organizations (CSOs) in global economic governance and if their inclusion in organizations such as the World Bank and IMF will contribute to a more accountable, participatory and democratic governance.
At Humboldt University, she is also a research associate on the project “Participation and inequality ‘beyond the state’ “where she is conducting an explorative study on the opportunities for participation of transnational civil society actors based on the example of institutions of global economic governance.
Christiane holds an MA degree in Political Science with a specialization in International Political Theory from the University of Hamburg.
IPDGC welcomes Visiting Scholar Ben O’Loughlin from the University of London. Ben is a Professor of International Relations at Royal Holloway and the Director of the New Political Communication Unit. His academic expertise is in the field of international political communication.
His research looks at power and influence in international relations, and the role of communication and technology as the conditions through which power and influence operate. Ben has advised policymakers, including as Select Committee advisor on the UK Parliament’s committee on Soft Power, media organizations, and NGOs on how to act strategically in this environment.
(iii) staging Iran’s international identity after 20 years of nuclear talks.
You are welcome to contact him if you would like to chat about any of these topics, or your own research area in general: benedict.oloughlin@gwu.edu or @ben_oloughlin
We look forward to welcoming our GW students back to campus in less than a couple of weeks. IPDGC will be forging into 2023 with a slate of events and activities for our students, faculty colleagues as well as the interested public.
Meanwhile, we hope that you will join us in recapping the events of Fall 2022.
Chris Teal shared his documentary about Amb. Ebenezer Basset, the first US black diplomat. Teal and his fellow Foreign Service colleague, Sean O’Neill also participated in a Career Talk about opportunities for students at the US State Department.
In November, Udane Goikoetxea-Bilbao presented her research on Slow Journalism as she concluded her scholarship with GW.
Our Annual Lecture for the Walter Roberts Endowment featured Jodie Ginsberg, president of the Committee to Protect Journalists. Her presentation on “Defending Press Freedom: Protecting Journalists Around the World” was a grim reminder that threats to the media community remained, in a world struggling through a pandemic, global recession, and autocratic regimes
The final event for the semester focused on Africa’s Future: University Partnerships, Business, Tech & Open Diplomacy that followed the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit in Washington, DC. This was an opportunity for a multi-university collaboration with the African Centre for the Study of the U.S., University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg; Annenberg Center for Communication Leadership and Policy, University of Southern California; Center for African Studies, Howard University; the Public Diplomacy Council of America and also the Institute for African Studies, at the Elliott School of International Affairs.
With other university partners, IPDGC co-hosted a half-day event of presentations and discussions following the US-Africa Leaders Summit in DC.
By Yvonne Oh, IPDGC Program Coordinator
As a side event to the Summit, issues discussed were about University Partnerships, Digital Technologies and Democracy, Citizen Diplomacy, and U.S. Business in Africa. The day ended with an open discussion on strategies for university-driven, society-relevant U.S.-Africa initiatives.
Recordings of the event:
1st Session aims to advance US-Africa university partnerships across research, teaching, public engagement, and exchanges. WATCH
2nd Session discusses the role of digital technologies with a focus on their linkages to democracy, human rights, and civil society. WATCH
3rd Session aims to enhance citizen diplomacy as a key pillar of U.S.-Africa’s state and non-state engagements including aspects such as people-to-people engagements, diaspora diplomacy, cultural diplomacy and digital diplomacy. WATCH
At IPDGC’s 2022 Walter R. Roberts Lecture, Jodie Ginsberg president of the Committee to Protect Journalists confirmed that journalists all over the world continue to work under threat of being jailed, harmed, or even killed.
Ginsberg’s presentation was on “Defending Press Freedom: Protecting Journalists Around the World” at the George Washington University.
Ginsberg took on the leadership role in April 2022, after years of experience as a journalist and media advocate. CPJ is an independent, nonprofit organization that promotes press freedom worldwide. The organization works to defend the rights of journalists to report the news safely and without fear of reprisal.
Elliott School Dean Alyssa Ayres introduced Ginsberg while the Director of the School of Media and Public Affairs, Silvio Waisbord, moderated the discussion.
IPDGC Director William Youmans welcomed all to the event, noting that the lecture is a tribute to Walter R. Roberts for whom “media and the free flow of ideas were central to his career.”
The Walter R. Roberts Endowment seeks to inspire public diplomacy best practices around the world. Its goal is to expand the universe of public diplomacy practitioners through activities which blend theory and practice, enable dialogue among people from different backgrounds and institutions, and increase awareness of the importance of public diplomacy.
