IPDGC – Page 5 – The Institute for Public Diplomacy and Global Communication

January 17, 2020July 7, 2022

Representative Lowey Receives Award for Congressional Leadership in Public Diplomacy

Nita Lowey speaking at her award ceremony with four others sitting beside her

Nita Lowey receives award standing with Janet Steele

Nita Lowey and award panel stand for a photo with the award

On Wednesday, January 15, 2020, the Institute for Public Diplomacy and Global Communication awarded Congresswoman Nita M.Lowey (NY-17) with the IPDGC Walter Roberts annual award for Congressional Leadership in Public Diplomacy.

In presenting Congresswoman Lowey with the award, IPDGC Director Janet Steele noted that “the award was created to highlight the importance of something that for many Americans is largely invisible.”

Rep. Lowey and IPDGC Director Janet Steele.

“As Chair of the House Appropriations Committee, Congresswoman Lowey has been a tireless advocate for international education and exchanges. Her fostering of learning and indeed her commitment to education at all levels has helped the United States to put its best foot forward, to lead with our values, and to enhance our international leadership.”

In receiving the award, Congresswoman Lowey said, “I have long believed that our national security is strongest when development, diplomacy, and defense are all well-funded and equally prioritized. That is why I’ve served proudly in leadership roles related to foreign affairs. I thank the George Washington University Institute for Public Diplomacy and Global Communication for honoring me and accept this award not for a job well done, but as a reminder of our shared and ongoing commitment to doing everything we can to build a better world for all.”

At the event to congratulate her was U.S. State Department Assistant Secretary for Educational and Cultural Affairs Marie Royce who said, “Chairwoman Lowey has been a champion for American leadership and diplomatic engagement around the world. Thank you, Madam Chair, for your enduring support of people-to-people exchange programs as a core element of our foreign policy.”

To accompany the Congresswoman’s award, the Walter Roberts Endowment presented a $5000 grant to Battery Dance of New York for public diplomacy outreach in her constituency.

Others at the intimate ceremony were National Public Radio President and CEO John Lansing, Voice of America’s News Center Director Yolanda López, Battery Dance Vice-President and COO Emad Salem, members of the Walter Roberts Endowment – Thomas Miller, Patricia Roberts and Shawn Powers, and even GW student Helen Jiang from Lowey’s constituency

Jiang who grew up in Scarsdale, NY, first met with Congresswoman Lowey on a 5^th grade trip to the Capitol. This time, she was able chat with the Congresswoman, and share about her own public diplomacy effort – as a Peace Corps Education volunteer in China (photo on right).

The grant to Battery Dance will be use to organize dance workshops, panel discussions, and screenings of the short film, “Moving Stories” for youths and students at schools in Westchester and Rockland counties, NY.

All photos by Harrison Jones/ GW University

January 15, 2020July 7, 2022

Press Release: 2020 Award For Congressional Leadership In Public Diplomacy

Lowey Receives Award For Congressional Leadership
In Public Diplomacy

Congresswoman Honored by George Washington University Institute for Public Diplomacy and Global Communication

WASHINGTON (Wednesday, January 15, 2020) – Today, U.S. Congresswoman Nita M. Lowey, Chair of the House Appropriations Committee, received the George Washington University’s Institute for Public Diplomacy and Global Communication’s (IPDGC) annual Walter Roberts Award for Congressional Leadership in Public Diplomacy at a ceremony on Capitol Hill. To accompany the award, IPDGC announced that it is providing a grant from the Walter Roberts Endowment to New York’s Battery Dance. The grant will be used to support outreach programs at schools in Westchester and Rockland Counties, which Lowey represents in Congress.

Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs Marie Royce, National Public Radio President and CEO John Lansing, Director of VOA’s News Center Yolanda López, and Battery Dance Vice-President and COO Emad Salem spoke at the event about the importance of American public diplomacy.

“In today’s interconnected world, our critically valuable diplomatic relationships, cultivated over years of engagement, are needed more now than perhaps ever before,” said Congresswoman Lowey. “I have long believed that our national security is strongest when development, diplomacy, and defense are all well-funded and equally prioritized. That is why I’ve served proudly in leadership roles related to foreign affairs. I thank the George Washington University Institute for Public Diplomacy and Global Communication for honoring me and accept this award not for a job well done, but as a reminder of our shared and ongoing commitment to doing everything we can to build a better world for all.”

“The Institute for Public Diplomacy and Global Communication created this award for congressional leadership in public diplomacy because we wanted to highlight the importance of something that for many Americans is largely invisible,” said Janet Steele, director of GW’s Institute for Public Diplomacy and Global Communication. “As Chair of the House Appropriations Committee, Congresswoman Lowey has been a tireless advocate for international education and exchanges. Her fostering of learning and indeed her commitment to education at all levels has helped the United States to put its best foot forward, to lead with our values, and to enhance our international leadership.”

Lowey was first elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1988 and is currently serving her sixteenth term in Congress, representing parts of Westchester and Rockland Counties. At the beginning of the 113th Congress, Congresswoman Lowey was selected by her colleagues to be the Ranking Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee

Few members of Congress have taken key leadership roles on so many vital public policy issues. Lowey has led efforts to make our nation and families more secure by better equipping and training first responders as well as ensuring preparedness for pandemics like Ebola, Zika, and avian flu. She has worked to increase health care access and biomedical research and spearheaded the effort to more than double funding for breast cancer research. She has successfully fought efforts to cut funding for public broadcasting and supported fully funding the federal government’s commitment to education at all levels. Because she understands that instability abroad undermines security at home, she is a fierce advocate for increasing developmental assistance abroad on the State and Foreign Operations Appropriations Subcommittee.

Lowey served in the House Democratic Leadership in 2001 and 2002 as the first woman and first New Yorker to chair the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. Lowey was born in the Bronx; graduated from the Bronx High School of Science; and received a Bachelor’s Degree from Mount Holyoke College. She served as Assistant Secretary of State for the State of New York before being elected to Congress. Nita and Stephen Lowey have been married for almost 60 years and have three grown children and eight grandchildren.

The grant to Battery Dance will be used for dance workshops, panel discussions, and screenings of the film “Moving Stories” at schools in Westchester and Rockland counties.

For media information – contacts:

Jason Shevrin (GW) 202-994-5631.

Katelynn Thorpe (Rep. Lowey) at 202-225-6506.

Deborah Corrales (Battery Dance) at 212-219-3910.

December 10, 2019July 7, 2022

IPDGC to host Distinguished Humphrey Fellows in 2020

The Institute for Public Diplomacy and Global Communication (IPDGC) recently received a $124,000 grant from the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and CulturalAffairs, to host a Distinguished Humphrey Fellowship Program on Media and Information, in September 2020.

Distinguished Humphrey Fellows are senior officials from foreign nations, who are leaders in their professional areas. This program is designed to bring these representatives together with professional counterparts in the United States for professional development and networking to facilitate cooperation on shared global challenges.

IPDGC will be organizing a one-week course that will focus on the topics of managing communications and strategies to counter disinformation for 15 representatives from Eastern Europe and Eurasia. The Distinguished Humphrey Fellows will also have a week of professional affiliation at U.S. think tanks, non-profits, government, media or corporate sector; to better understand how these organizations implement best practices in digital and media literacy and fact-based communication.

The Distinguished Humphrey Fellows will return home with a greater understanding of the threats to free, open, and fact-based media and communications and strengthened abilities to defend against them.

IPDGC will be working with the Institute for International Education which administers the Humphrey Fellowship programs.

December 6, 2019July 7, 2022

A look back on IPDGC events

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:

Your Country, Our War: The Press and Diplomacy in Afghanistan, September 25.

Asia Centre: Fake News Legislation in Southeast Asia, October 17.

Work-Life Balance in a 24/7 Organization panel, November 7.

Please do support IPDGC in the year ahead!

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.

More information HERE.

November 25, 2019July 7, 2022

Support #publicdiplomacy

Dear Friend,

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.

Donate Now

November 7, 2019July 7, 2022

Panel: Work-Life Balance in a 24/7 Organization

At this panel event moderated by Public Diplomacy Fellow Emilia Puma (at right), 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.

Emilia Puma introduces the panel of foreign service officers speaking on how they balance their lives with the commitment to a near-24/7 career.

Lowey Receives Award For Congressional Leadership In Public Diplomacy

Congresswoman Honored by George Washington University Institute for Public Diplomacy and Global Communication

Lowey Receives Award For Congressional Leadership
In Public Diplomacy