White House highlights efforts to engage technology in fight against trafficking

President Barack Obama took major action to bolster efforts to combat human trafficking on Tuesday, September 25, 2012. He announced new measures during an address to the Clinton Global Initiative, including an executive order that incorporates key research from USC Annenberg's Center on Communication Leadership & Policy conducted by a team led by research director Mark Latonero…….

Research director Mark Latonero interviewed on CNN International

Research director Mark Latonero, Ph.D. was interviewed on CNN International about CCLP's Technology and Trafficking Initiative. Appearing on the Quest Means Business program on Friday, September 9, 2011, Latonero discussed the prevalence of mobile phones in developing countries and the ways individuals in these regions can use technology to aid victims and capture traffickers. He also expressed caution about the risks of using communication technologies that can be tracked so that individuals would need to be assured of anonymity and safety when reporting possible cases of trafficking. The segment was a part of CNN's Freedom Project series, which is……

CCLP to offer courses in partnership with The New York Times

The New York Times Knowledge Network and USC have joined forces to establish and offer a new online continuing education program. As part of this new program, the USC Annenberg Center on Communication Leadership & Policy will be offering courses in journalism and public relations beginning in October 2011. Led by Mark Latonero, CCLP's director of research and instruction, courses will be taught by CCLP instructors with journalists from The New York Times. A series of six courses in journalism for high school students will be offered beginning in October 2011. Students may enroll in any of the two week……

Research Director Latonero discusses trends in social media during visit to Saudi Arabia

"Social media are growing in popularity throughout the world, but at this historic moment, nowhere is its presence more groundbreaking than in the Middle East," said CCLP's Director of Research & Instruction Mark Latonero. In May, Latonero joined a team of scholars from the US and Middle East in Saudi Arabia as a part of an educational visit to share information on the American higher education system and also to learn more about the use of communication technology in the region. Latonero visited a class on social media during his trip, and noted that "communication majors were learning about……

CCLP's Latonero Joins Disaster Preparedness Taskforce

The March earthquake, tsunami, and radiation disaster in Japan offers a stark reminder of the need to prepare for emergencies and natural disasters. While most of the public's attention is focused on transportation and energy infrastructure needs, an equally important but often neglected aspect of civil preparedness is developing the proper communication infrastructure in advance of a crisis. To address this need, the Center on Communication Leadership & Policy's Research Director Mark Latonero is helping the Center for National Policy to develop the necessary communications strategies and social media approach to prepare the public for emergencies and natural disasters. As……

CCLP Researchers Share Projects with Annenberg Students, Faculty

From technology's impact on public diplomacy to the role of biography in constructing presidential legacy, the USC Annenberg Center on Communication Leadership & Policy's (CCLP) diverse range of research projects and policy initiatives on display at the April 13th Policy Research Roundtable. Convened by CCLP Director Geoffrey Cowan and hosted by CCLP Research Director Mark Latonero (pictured left), the lunchtime event served as an opportunity for the Center to spotlight its key areas of engagement. "We believe that we have an obligation to produce research that makes a difference," Cowan explained to the standing-room only crowd, which included CCLP Fellows……

Spotlight on TIP efforts in Investor’s Business Daily

Investor's Business Daily recently profiled the Center on Communication Leadership & Policy's research project on human trafficking. CCLP's Research Director Mark Latonero shared his expertise on communication technology and trafficking in persons as well as some of the highlights from his August fact finding trip to Thailand and Cambodia and the research that has been undertaken so far by CCLP. —————————————————————————————————————– Tech Gets Enlisted In The War Against Human Trafficking By Shelia Riley, for INVESTOR'S BUSINESS DAILY The fight against human trafficking is using a few new weapons: texting, iPhone apps and smarter passports. An estimated 12.3 million adults and……

Tech@State

The Center on Communication Leadership & Policy's Research Director, Mark Latonero, along with senior fellows, Jeremy Curtin and Adam Clayton Powell III, participated in the Tech@State Conference on Civil Society 2.0, which took place from November 4-5, 2010, at the US Department of State and World Bank in Washington, D.C. The conference was organized around several themes: transparency and engagement, economic opportunity, the position of science, technology, and the environment, risk management in disaster zones, and the structure and status of civil society in frail states. Several notable speakers highlighted the conference. Alec Ross, Senior Advisor for Innovation, Office of……

Communication technology serves as a rare bright spot in Haitian recovery, CCLP research trip finds

The Republic of Haiti continues to struggle in its recovery efforts following the devastating January 2010 earthquake, but information and communication technologies are among the few infrastructure bright spots in the country, based on the observations from a recent fact-finding trip, in which the USC Annenberg Center on Communication Leadership & Policy (CCLP) participated. CCLP Research Director Mark Latonero, who was selected for the week-long research project because of his work in communication technology and emergency management, found that cell phones and text messages were critical tools for sharing information about recovery efforts in the earthquake ravaged country. "Port-au-Prince still……

Anti-Trafficking Forum Highlights Need for Global Information Sharing Platform

International nonprofit organizations are gaining ground in the fight against human trafficking, but would be better served with the development of an information sharing platform, a team of researchers from the Center on Communication Leadership & Policy confirmed after a two day conference in Yorba Linda, Calif. Led by CCLP Research Director Mark Latonero, the team participated in the Global Forum on Human Trafficking, an international symposium hosted by a San Francisco based anti-trafficking non-profit. "This conference reinforced the findings from our August fact-finding mission to the Mekong sub-region," explained Latonero, who led the research initiative in Cambodia and Thailand…….