Past Events

Africa – U.S. Forum: Telemedicine, Remote Technologies and Healthcare in Africa

Date and Time: Tuesday, January at 9 am EST

Location: University of Southern California Capital Campus1771 N St NW, Washington, DC, 20036 

Speakers:

• Hussein Amin, Professor of Journalism and Mass Communication and Director, Kamal Adham Center for Television& Digital Journalism, The American University in Cairo
• Miles Davis, Vice Chancellor, Wigwe University, Nigeria
• Joana Eva Dodoo, Lecturer with the Department of Business Programmes, University of Cape Coast, Ghana
• Bob Wekesa, Director and co-founder of the African Centre for the Study of the United States, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg

Africa’s Future Series: Technology, Innovation and the Digital Economy

Date and Time: Monday, December 4 at 9 am EST

Location: University of Southern California Capital Campus1771 N St NW, Washington, DC, 20036 

Speakers:

• Kwami Ahiabenu, Founder, Pen + Bytes 
• Vinton G. Cerf, Vice President and Chief Internet Evangelist, Google
• Samuel Chigome, Senior Researcher, Nanomaterials Division, Botswana Institute for Technology Research and Innovation
• Nii Simmonds, Nonresident Senior Fellow, Atlantic Council’s GeoTech Center

Africa’s Future Series: Digital Governance

Date and Time: Monday, October 23 at 9 am EST

Location: University of Southern California Capital Campus1771 N St NW, Washington, DC, 20036 

Speakers:

• Bulelani Jili, Meta Research Ph.D. Fellow, Harvard University; Cybersecurity Fellow,  Harvard’s Belfer Center
• Samia Melhem, Lead Policy Officer, World Bank’s Transport and ICT Global Practice
• Elijah N. Munyi, Assistant Professor for Political Economy, United States International University in Kenya

Liberia Election Insights: A Conversation with the Honorable Alexander B. Cummings

Date and Time: Tuesday, September 26 at 3 pm EDT

Online event 

Speaker:

• Alexander B. Cummings, Candidate for president in the Liberian 2023 General election

Africa’s Future Series: Business and Trade

Date and Time: Monday, September 25 at 9 am EDT

Location: University of Southern California Capital Campus 1771 N St NW, Washington, DC, 20036 

Speakers:

• Richard America, Professor of the Practice, Emeritus, Georgetown University McDonough School of Business
• Paul Clyde, President of the William Davidson Institute, University of Michigan
• Michael Finley heads Basketball Business Development for NBA Africa
• Ezekiel Odiogo, Head Private Sector Investment Operations, Africa Investment Forum, African Development Bank Group

Africa’s Future Series: Climate Change

Date and Time: Monday, August 28 at 9 am EDT

Location: University of Southern California Capital Campus 1771 N St NW, Washington, DC, 20036 

Speakers:

• Ochieng’ Ogodo, Science Journalist and a Consulting Editor
• Ambassador Charles Ray, Chair of the Africa Program, Foreign Policy Research Institute

Africa’s Future Series: Global Powers and Multilateralism

Date and Time: Monday, July 31 at 9 am EDT

Location: University of Southern California Capital Campus1771 N St NW, Washington, DC, 20036

Speakers:

• Arhin Acheampong, Deputy Director, Afro-Sino Center of International Relations, Accra
• Priyal Singh, Senior Researcher, Institute for Security Studies Peace Operations and Peacebuilding Program, Pretoria, South Africa

Africa’s Future Series: Africa’s Peace and Security

Date and Time: Monday, June 26 at 9 am EDT

Location: Room 602; Elliott School of International Affairs 1957 E Street Northwest Washington, DC 20052

• Speakers:
  • Ibrahima Kane, Head, Africa Union Advocacy Program of the Africa Regional Office, Senegal
  • Gilbert Khadiagala, Director, African Centre for the Study of the United States, University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa
  • Margaret Monyani, Senior Migration Researcher, Institute for Security Studies, Pretoria, South Africa
  • Philip Oke-Thomas, Africa Policy Associate, Search for Common Ground, Washington D.C.
  • Kester Chukwuma Onor, Senior Research Fellow, Nigerian Institute of International Affairs, Nigeria

To read an article that was mentioned in the session, please click 

Africa Day Open Forum

featuring Bob Wekesa, Inaugural Africa Visiting Fellow, USC Annenberg Center and Adam Powell III, Director, USC Annenberg Center Washington Programs 

Date and Time: Monday, Thursday, May 25, 2023 at 8:00 a.m. EDT

Location: Ralph J. Bunche International Center, Howard University and via Zoom

Moderated by Bob Wekesa, Inaugural Africa Visiting Fellow, USC Annenberg Center

To watch the full recording, please click HERE 

Africa’s Future Series: Africa’s Strategy Toward Global

Date and Time: Monday, May 22, 2023 at 9:00 a.m. EDT

Location: George Washington University (Room 602, Room 602, 957 E Street Northwest Washington, DC 20052) and via Zoom

• Speakers:
  • Lee Kinyanjui, Former Governor of Nakuru County, Kenya
  • Sanusha Naidu, Senior Research Fellow at Institute for Global Dialogue, South Africa
  • Paul Nantulya, Research Associate of the Defense Security Cooperation Agency, Africa Center for Strategic Studies
  • James Shikwati, Founder and director of the Inter Region Economic Network, Kenya

To watch the full recording, please click HERE.

Africa’s Future: University Partnership

Date and Time: Monday, April 24, 2023 at 9:00 a.m. EDT

Location: George Washington University (Room 602, Room 602, 957 E Street Northwest Washington, DC 20052) and via Zoom

• Speakers:
  • Patrick Maluki, Senior lecturer and the Chairman of the Department of Diplomacy and International Studies, University of Nairobi in Kenya
  • Rosemary Okello-Orlale, Director of Africa Media Hub at Strathmore University Business School in Kenya
  • Ousmane Sène, Associate Professor (Maîtres de Conférences) in the Department of English, University Cheikh Anta Diop, Dakar, and the Director of the West African Research Center (WARC)
  • Steve Sharra, Associate Professor and Dean of the School of Education, Social Sciences and Technology, Unicaf University, Malawi
  • Degefa Tolossa, Professor of Geography and Development Studies, Addis Ababa University in Ethiopia

Africa’s Future: Trade and Investment

Date and Time: Monday, March 27, 2023 at 9:00 a.m. EDT

Location: George Washington University (Room 602, Room 602, 957 E Street Northwest Washington, DC 20052) and via Zoom

• Speakers:
  • Geoffrey Garrett, Dean of the Marshall School of Business and Professor of Management and Organization, University of Southern California
  • Afua Hirsch, Wallis Annenberg Chair in Journalism and Communication, University of Southern California
  • Caesar Mwangi, Executive Dean of Strathmore University Business School
  • Laird Treiber, Professorial lecturer at the Institute for African Studies, George Washington University Elliott School of International Affairs

Africa’s Future: Democracy and Human Rights

Date and Time: Tuesday, February 28, 2023 at 9:00 a.m. EST

Location: George Washington University (Room 602, Room 602, 957 E Street Northwest Washington, DC 20052) and via Zoom

• Speakers:
  • Ambassador Salah S. Hammad, Head of the African Governance, Peace and Security Architectures’ (AGA-APSA) Secretariat and the Senior Human Rights Expert within the Department of Political Affairs, Peace and Security of the African Union Commission
  • Honourable Commissioner Ourveena Geereesha Topsy-Sonoo, National of Mauritius, Member of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights
  • Dr. Nikiwe Kaunda, Policy Manager – Africa at the Open Society Foundations

The 2022 U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit: Review and Forward-Looking

Date and Time: Monday, January 30, 2023 at 9:00 a.m. EST

Location: George Washington University (Room 602, Room 602, 957 E Street Northwest Washington, DC 20052) and via Zoom

• Speakers:
  • Professor Jennifer Cooke, Director, Institute for African Studies, George Washington University
  • Professor Krista Johnson, Director, Center for African Studies, Howard University
  • Professor Gilbert Khadiagala, Director, African Centre for the Study of the United States, University of the Witwatersrand
  • Gifty Obeng, Good Governance Africa Ghana representative
  • Adam Clayton Powell III, Director, Washington Programs, Annenberg Center on Communication Leadership and Policy, University of Southern California

Africa’s Future: University Partnerships, Business, Tech & Open Diplomacy

Date and Time: Monday, December 16, 2022 at 9:00 a.m. EST

Location: George Washington University (Room 602, Room 602, 957 E Street Northwest Washington, DC 20052) and via Zoom

• Speakers:
  • Professor Jennifer Cook, Director, Institute of African Studies, George Washington University
  • Judd Devermont, Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for African Affairs at the National Security Council
  • Professor Krista Johnson, Director, Center for African Studies, Howard University
  • Lorna Johnson, Sister Cities International, Africa Region
  • Professor Gilbert Khadiagala, University of the Witwatersrand, and Director, ACSUS
  • Michal McElwain Malur, Director of External Programs, George Mason University’s Schar School of Policy and Government
  • Dr. Mima Nedelcovych, Co-chair, US Business in Africa Awards, Chairman, AfricaGlobal, Schaffer
  • Carol Pineau, Journalist, Governing Board Member, US Business in Africa Awards
  • Lee Rainie, Director of Internet and Technology Research, Pew Research Center
  • Michael Sudarkasa, US Business in Africa Awards
  • Dan Whitman, Public Diplomacy Council of America
  • Professor Wheeler Winstead, Assistant Director, Center for African Studies, Howard University

First Monday Forum: Disinformation, Democracy, and Public Diplomacy

September 12th, 2022 – a CCLP + PDCA Joint Event

While some view digital authoritarianism and disinformation as primarily a cyber or technological problem, others see this threat to democracy primarily through the lens of the human and societal vulnerabilities that allow false narratives to take hold. How should the U.S. government respond to the problem of digital authoritarianism? How should democratic governments coordinate their domestic and foreign policy responses to digital authoritarianism, and what is the role of public diplomacy practitioners?SHOW LESS

Featuring Todd Leventhal, a longtime Counter-Disinformation Officer at USIA and State, served as Senior Counter-Disinformation Adviser, Global Engagement Center, U.S. Department of State from 2018 to 2022.

To watch the recording, please click here.

First Monday Forum: A Conversation with Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch

May 26th, 2022 – a CCLP + PDCA Joint Event

Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch joined PDCA to speak about her new best-selling memoir, “Lessons from the Edge,” experiences and thoughts on the conflict in Ukraine, and the role that public diplomacy played throughout her career in the U.S. Foreign Service. Born in Canada, Ambassador Yovanovitch came to the United States at age three. She was raised in Connecticut and graduated from Princeton University. She entered the Foreign Service in 1986. In addition to serving as U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine, Armenia, and Kyrgyzstan, earlier posts have included Ottawa, London, Mogadishu and Moscow.

Featuring Ambassador Marie (Masha) Yovanovitch

To watch the recording, please click here.

First Monday Forum: Promoting Democracy in a Turbulent World

May 7th, 2022 – a CCLP + PDCA Joint Event

President Biden is trying to rally the world’s democracies to reverse an authoritarian trend that has grown steadily over the last 15 years. It’s a challenge for public diplomacy, complicated by the fact that the resilience of our own democracy is being questioned both abroad and here at home. Do we have a hopeful message? Will anyone listen?

Featuring Tom Carothers, Senior Vice President, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

To watch the recording, please click here.

First Monday Forum: Preparing Graduate Students for the “Public Dimension” of World Affairs

April 4th, 2022 – a CCLP + PDCA Joint Event

Much is written and said about the digital revolution in world affairs: diverse, rapid communication, inexpensive mobile phones, an explosion in information, and connectivity. These seem to have empowered institutions even more, in small groups or on a societal and even transnational level. We will discuss how graduate International Relations (IR) Programs prepare students for this new world.SHOW LESS

Featured speakers included: Dr. David Van Slyke, Dean; Dr. Mike Schroeder, Associate Dean for Graduate Education; The Honorable Tara Sonenshine, Murrow Professor of Public; and Dr. Robert Banks, Director, Master of Public Diplomacy Program

To watch the recording, please click here.

Mid-Month Forum: Covering Ukraine: Views from the Frontlines

March 21st, 2022 – a CCLP + PDCA Joint Event

Featured speakers included: Mykhaylo Shtekel, RFE/RL’s Ukrainian Service Correspondent (Odessa) and Oleksiy Syvak, Partner and GR Director, CFC Big Idea

To watch the recording, please click here.

First Monday Forum: Promoting Democracy in a Turbulent World

May 7th, 2022 – a CCLP + PDCA Joint Event

President Biden is trying to rally the world’s democracies to reverse an authoritarian trend that has grown steadily over the last 15 years. It’s a challenge for public diplomacy, complicated by the fact that the resilience of our own democracy is being questioned both abroad and here at home. Do we have a hopeful message? Will anyone listen?

Featuring Tom Carothers, Senior Vice President, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

To watch the recording, please click here.

Virtual PD Monitoring Forum: Preparing Public Diplomacy for 21st Century Challenges: The ACPD Shot List

March 12, 2021

Discussion featuring Vivian Walker, Executive Director and Shawn Baxter, Senior Advisor of the United States Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy at the Department of State.

This meeting was presented by the USC Annenberg Center on Communication Leadership and Policy, Geoffrey Cowan, Director and Adam Powell III, Director of Washington Programs.

To watch the recording, please click here.

 

Virtual PD Monitoring Forum: Simon Anholt on Nation Branding

February 16, 2021

Discussion featuring Simon Anholt, creator of the Good Country Index.

This meeting was presented by the USC Annenberg Center on Communication Leadership and Policy, Geoffrey Cowan, Director and Adam Powell III, Director of Washington Programs.

To watch the recording, please click here.

To read his recent interview with USC Center on Public Diplomacy, please click here.

 

How President-Elect Biden Is Viewed from Abroad

January 19, 2021

On the eve of the Presidential Inauguration, Richard Wike, Director of Global Attitudes Research at the Pew Research Center, discussed new polling data released on January 19 on international attitudes towards President-elect Biden.

This meeting was presented by the USC Annenberg Center on Communication Leadership and Policy, Geoffrey Cowan, Director and Adam Powell III, Director of Washington Programs.

To watch the recording, please click here.

Virtual PD Monitoring Forum: How the US election is explained to the world

December 15, 2020

• Jeff Ballou, News Editor of the Americas at Al Jazeera Media Network
• Jacqueline Charles, Carribbean/Haiti Correspondent, Miami Herald
• Vasily Gatov, Russian media researcher and author
• Anton Harber, co-founder of South Africa’s anti-apartheid Weekly Mail newspaper, now Caxton Professor of Journalism at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg
• Insun Kang, Deputy Managing Editor, The Chosun Ilbo, and former Washington bureau chief, Chosun Media
• Anita Li, who teaches at Centennial College in Toronto and the City University of New York

This meeting was presented by the USC Annenberg Center on Communication Leadership and Policy, Geoffrey Cowan, Director and Adam Powell III, Director of Washington Programs.

To watch the recording, please click here.

For more information, please read the Public Diplomacy Council’s blog about this forum.

Diplomacy in Blue: Willis Conover and the international impact of jazz

August 3, 2020

Tribute to the life and career of Voice of America jazz specialist Willis Conover. The virtual forum was chaired by former VOA Director Geoffrey Cowan of USC. Speakers included:

• Rick Barnes, VOA Supervisor for Radio and Multimedia Operations
• Nick Cull, USC professor and public diplomacy scholar
• Ed Gursky, former VOA Chief of Music Branch
• Arturo Sandoval, American-Cuban jazz trumpeter, Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient, 10-time Grammy award winner

This meeting was presented by the USC Annenberg Center on Communication Leadership and Policy, Geoffrey Cowan, Director and Adam Powell III, Director of Washington Programs,  and the Public Diplomacy Association of America (PDAA), the Public Diplomacy Council (PDC).

To watch the recording, please click here. For more information, please read the Public Diplomacy Council’s blog about this forum.

 

News Reporting in Asia

August 5, 2019

Radio Free Asia President Libby Liu discussed the impact of her organization’s news programming in East Asia and Southeast Asia. Radio Free Asia is a private, non-profit corporation created by the U.S. Congress mandated to broadcast to China, Tibet, North Korea, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar

To watch the recording, please click here.

Social Media, Politics and War

January 7, 2019

The Annenberg Center on Communication Leadership and Policy held a discussion on weaponizing social media in politics and war. Peter Singer and Emerson Brooking discussed their book, LikeWar: The Weaponization of Social Media, in which they discussed the tools and strategies of social media influencing, and how those same tactics are similarly employed by political campaigns, celebrities and nefarious actors. They also talked about what more the U.S. government should do to both modernize its own cybersecurity and educate American companies and private citizens for better online health and security.

To watch the recording, please click here.

Cybersecurity (CCLP with the Wilson Center)

October 19, 2018

Cybersecurity officials from Michigan, Indiana, and Louisiana participated in a Wilson Center discussion on cyber threats. They talked about their work within their states as well as their partnering efforts with other states, the federal government, and private industry to prepare for and combat threats to critical infrastructure, including election and voting systems.

To watch the recording, please click here.

Foreign Cyber Threats

August 6, 2018

Shawn Powers, senior adviser at the Broadcasting Board of Governors, spoke at a discussion on foreign cyber threats hosted by the University of Southern California Annenberg Center on Communication Leadership and Policy.

To watch the recording, please click here.

Countering Violent Extremism

January 8, 2018

Michael Duffin, a State Department policy adviser on countering terrorist recruitment, spoke at a discussion on how cities can counter violent extremism . He talked about the efforts and initiatives of the Strong Cities Network, a global network composed of mayors and local officials aimed at strengthening community resilience against violent extremism. In addition, Mr. Duffin emphasized the importance of cities building partnerships and said countering violent extremism needs to be a non-partisan issue.

To watch the recording, please click here.

Future of Public Diplomacy

April 3, 2017

The deans of three public diplomacy programs — at American University, Georgetown University, and George Washington University — talked about the academic programs they operated and about the future of public diplomacy education in the United States. They also discussed the impacts of various immigration policies on international student recruitment at American universities and colleges.

To watch the recording, please click here.

Edward Schumacher-Matos on Public Diplomacy

August 1, 2016

Edward Schumacher-Matos talked about the future of public diplomacy and ongoing efforts in academia to educate and train new researchers and participants in the field. Following his remarks, he responded to questions on the subject.

To watch the recording, please click here.

Amanda Bennett on the VOA

May 2, 2016

Amanda Bennett gave a keynote address at an event hosted by the Annenberg Center on Communication Leadership and Policy, her first major public appearance since being sworn in as the new Voice of America Director. Among the topics she addressed were the VOA agenda, collaborating with other news organizations, and the challenges of U.S. international broadcasting. After her opening remarks, she answered questions from foreign service officials and journalists.

To watch the recording, please click here.

International Broadcasting and the Information War

January 4, 2016

David Ensor talked about the state of U.S. public diplomacy such as international broadcasting and how Washington could win the so-called “information war” against Russia, China, ISIL, and other rivals. This monthly leadership forum was held at the American Foreign Service Association.

To watch the recording, please click here.

Countering Boko Haram

August 10, 2015

A State Department’s expert on Boko Haram and a Voice of America journalist talked about U.S.-led strategy to defeat the Islamist militant group that operates in Nigeria, Chad, Niger, and Mali. They discussed the group’s history in west Africa, and detailed its non-violent origins that gave way to its current status as a militant power in the region. Audience members asked questions about diplomacy in the region and efforts by the U.S. to establish stronger ties with Nigeria’s recently-elected government in an effort to partner against the Boko Haram threat.

To watch the recording, please click here.