The USC Center on Public Diplomacy at the Annenberg School and the Center for International Studies hold a conference Feb. 7-8 about public diplomacy's role in the U.S. Africa Command. AFRICOM: The American Military and Public Diplomacy in Africa is the first of a series of conferences on public diplomacy, and will be held at USC's Intellectual Commons at Doheny Library.
On Feb. 6, 2007, President George W. Bush directed the creation of U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM). According to the Department of Defense, the decision acknowledges "the emerging strategic importance of Africa, and (recognizes) that peace and stability on the continent impacts not only Africans, but the interests of the U.S. and international community as well."
"The USC conference will be the first thorough, independent examination of AFRICOM, which promises not only to reshape America's strategic approach to Africa, but also will redefine the role of the military as practitioners of public diplomacy," said journalism professor Philip Seib, who will also speak at the conference. "The U.S. military is embarking on a new mission in Africa, and the American public needs to understand what's at stake and how the military's role is being redefined."
The AFRICOM conference will feature panel sessions addressing U.S.-African relations, the State Department and Department of Defense concepts of public diplomacy in Africa, and African perspectives on the issue. Some questions to be discussed include how AFRICOM should be presented to African publics, to what extent African nations and regional organizations will be involved in shaping AFRICOM’s role, and how AFRICOM will work with other developmental and humanitarian projects on the continent. The conference hopes to provide AFRICOM as a case study for a discussion of public diplomacy in a broader sense, considering who should conduct public diplomacy and how it can be better integrated into government policy.
Confirmed panelists include: Mary Carlin Yates, who is number two in the AFRICOM chain of command; Jendayi Frazer, Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs; Ryan Henry, Principal Deputy Undersecretary of Defense; Nicole Lee, Executive Director of the TransAfrica Forum; Amb. Brian Carlson, State-DoD Liaison in the Office of the Undersecretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs; Mark Malan, Peacebuilding Program Officer at Refugees International; Ambassador Mark Bellamy, Fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies; Ambassador Charles A. Minor, Liberian Ambassador to the United States; Major General Herbert L. Altshuler, Director for Strategy, Plans and Programs at AFRICOM; and Dr. Abiodun Williams, National Defense University.
The conference will be recorded and followed by the publication of the transcript and briefing papers. All sessions will be open to the USC community, the news media, the Los Angeles consular corps, and the general public.
RSVP requested. Please do so here. For further information, please contact Lisa Larsen, assistant director for programming and events, at (213) 821-0768 or llarsen@usc.edu.
