Larry D. Lauer

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By watching the news over the last few months it’s possible to see the Greek government as totally dysfunctional, its people too lazy to work a full day, its political leaders as ego driven, and its approach to its membership in the EU as naive.

My wife and I just spent almost three weeks touring Athens and many of the Greek isles. We experienced a Greece that is actually functioning fairly well in spite of high unemployment. Christmas decorations are appearing everywhere, and most restaurants are doing fine. People complain about their extremely high taxes, but I must say that their “enjoy-life everyday” lifestyle came off to me as a healthy alternative to the relentless success-driven world from which I retired!

Simply put, being there was a much different experience than just seeing it on television or in textbook photos or on videos. For example, standing on the Acropolis and walking slowly around the Parthenon is truly an emotional experience. These are familiar images we have all seen in books, magazines, and movies. But when you are actually there you cannot escape the thrill of putting your feet on the same ground where ancient people walked,  worked, fought, worshiped, lived, and debated ideas.

At archeological sites and in museums throughout the Greek isles and in Athens my wife repeatedly commented on how breathtaking it was for her to see the actual artifacts and paintings that she had only seen in art and world history textbooks. Being there connects you directly with the same places where artists painted, philosophers taught, and the historical events that we read about really happened. Now you are the director of your own movie. You decide where to point the camera. You alone determine what to spend more time exploring.

Just walking streets and neighborhoods gives you a good  impression of how people live each day. And talking with only a few of them can provide new insights about their core values and life goals. You find that they can be different from yours, but still engaging and understandable.

And sometimes you may also be disappointed. For example, you may find that many of the charming towns and villages you have seen in travel photos and movies have become overcrowded tourist traps much of the year. But this too is a real life lesson about how the world is constantly changing and the price that is being paid for progress.

Observing people’s daily lives, absorbing cultures and values, making foreign friendships, encountering political and religious conflicts, seeing poverty that you can’t change with your own eyes, and even experiencing the consequences of global warming for yourself… all this and more changes people forever.

Yes, the digital technology revolution can bring great images of the world to the campus experience. And we certainly must use this new and traditional media to enrich our classroom conversations and dialogues. But with the globalization of higher education all of this should just be the preparation for students spending more time experiencing the world first-hand.

One final thought about being there: A new level of fear came over me after experiencing the terrorist killings in Paris while in Athens. After all, I had just traveled through the history of this  ancient land and there was no way now I could ignore the fact that many great societies came to an end because of this kind of extreme intolerance coupled with a disregard for the value of human life.

So, what will it take to bring about tolerance in this world! I still believe that the globalization of higher education is a huge step in the right direction. But last week in Athens I must say it felt like we are now in a race against time.

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Reflecting over 50 years of struggling to help people and institutions make themselves better understood I offer the following lessons:

1. Once people have made a commitment to a point of view it is almost impossible to change their minds. So in the case of ISIS today, military and/or political solutions seem to be the only immediate options.

2. But it is not too late for mayors and city managers to collaborate on both communication and action initiatives that will enable Muslim groups to feel better connected to genuine opportunities. Hopelessness and despair in the multi-cultural ghettos of the world’s great cities can still be addressed.

3. This is also a moment that top Muslim leaders can and should seize to plan and launch a major communication campaign to explain Islam to the world. This is because the world’s news media will be looking for new breaking news stories right now, and the timing is especially right for this one. But to be effective at a time like this a story must cut through mounds of negative information clutter. And to do so it must be a completely positive, simple, and endlessly repeated description of what Islam stands for and what it does not.

4. This is also a “right time” opportunity for the leaders of the Western world to unite behind their shared democratic values. However, for this to ring credible politicians and prominent leaders in every country will have to be willing to find the right common language to “rally” everyone behind their president or top leader, no matter political background or past mistakes. Common cause must become the unifier. Blame must be left for historians. Dissent can be accommodated, but not at this time among the leaders.

It’s true that 24/7 news coverage can make it difficult to get beyond many momentary crises. But continuing news coverage in a crisis of ISIS magnitude might prove to be helpful. It can provide an opportunity for the Western world to unite around shared values, a catalyst for addressing ghetto neighborhood hopelessness, a new opportunity for top Islamic leaders to make their religion better understood, and a perfect “teachable moment” for educators and students everywhere around the world.

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The USC Center on Public Diplomacy at the Annenberg School of Communication and Journalism hosted a Summit on Global Leadership in Public Diplomacy at the US Institute of Peace in Washington this week.

In his welcoming remarks the Center’s director explained that the term “public diplomacy” was originally coined 50 years ago by US Diplomat Edmund Gullion to denote “coordinated governmental engagement with foreign publics,” but that over the years the concept became much “more expansive.”

My interest in the topic also began almost 50 years ago as a graduate student studying communication and international relations at American University. And I must say that over the years my teaching and writing embraced the more expansive concept of “people-to-people” communication. For me, government-to-people implied promoting the current administration’s foreign policy. But people-to-people implied a more mutual exchange of traditions, values and human aspirations. In short, for me the “idea of America” seemed best conveyed directly by its citizens. And so I also came to view international higher education as a highly effective form of public diplomacy.

At the Summit this week there were participants from universities, the state department, government contractors, NGO’s, and others. The speakers covered the full “expanse” of public diplomacy concepts and tools from traditional face-to-face exchanges, to uses of social media, to video projects, to MOOC’s, to establishing cultural centers abroad, and more. Common themes ranged from cultivating the ability to have civilized conversations with people with whom you do not agree, to listening first and then accepting a goal of reaching win-win agreements.

One panelist said that “credibility in communication is established by WHO is sending the message.” I certainly agree. And so everything I heard affirmed my contention that international higher education is indeed a pure form public diplomacy. It promises to produce global leaders, enhance cross-cultural understanding, and gradually focus more research on international problem-solving.

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The Pope’s appearance before Congress and Obama’s presentation to the United Nations were both historic moments. They were impressive performances and could be seen as interesting topic agendas for international higher education initiatives.

The Pope addressed most of the pressing issues the planet faces these days, from reversing global warming to breaking the cycle of poverty. He made his concerns about the consequences of capitalist greed very clear, argued that everyone deserves equal opportunities, and reminded the entire world about the universal appeal of the “golden rule.”

But two other points also stood out to me: If you listened carefully he also called for an end to polarization, pointing out how destructive it is for the common good. In addition, he pointed out that US universities have an enormous research capacity to help solve the world’s most serious problems.

On a different but compatible note, Obama’s speech to the United Nations was a clearly articulated case for preferring diplomacy over military action whenever possible. Following the speech, however, a pundit quipped that this was vintage “professor” Obama, missing a perfect opportunity to talk more practically.

My reaction, however, was that all practical solutions begin with “big ideas” and diplomacy and public diplomacy are the perfect “big ideas.” And furthermore, a global higher education industry will help lay the groundwork for effective diplomacy, while itself functioning as a powerful form of public diplomacy.

In the final analysis, both the Pope and the President were challenging the US and the rest of the world to put greed aside and educate everyone everyday for the common good. A global higher education industry will certainly help bring that about.   (more…)

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Each week in the summer The Chautauqua Institution in upstate New York offers top quality programming on a different major topic. This week the focus is on the turmoil in Europe. Lectures, breakout sessions, arts performances, and more, provide a perfect setting for discussion and reflection.

James Walters, chaplain at the London School of Economics, kicked off the week by asserting that Europe is suffering from a fundamental identity crisis. While the common currency seems to be holding disparate countries together, he also sees major religious and secular differences as troubling complications. He described modern Europe as a collection of constantly growing multi-faith and immigrant communities. Therefore, there are both interfaith and cross-cultural problems.

Longtime New York Times foreign affairs columnist Roger Cohen continued by pointing out that after the cold war, East and West Germany united, the Soviet Union collapsed, NATO was formed, and soon 12 European counties became 28! Europe ended up with a common currency, but with little else in common.

William and Mary professor Stephen Hanson described two fundamental and opposing narratives between Russia and the West. The West contends that the recent democratic revolution in Ukraine makes a solid case for an alliance with Europe. Putin, however,  contends that the ousted Ukrainian president was also democratically elected and many Ukrainians still want to remain aligned with Russia. This reality, plus complicated disputes with other border countries, make the situation almost impossible to resolve.

David Marsh, Managing Director of the Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum in the UK, added that he thinks Europe is farther away from a political European union than in the last 100 years. He contends we are all suffering from a vacuum in world leadership.

Akbar Ahmed, chair of Islamic Studies in the School of International Service at American University, discussed the issues facing third generation immigrants in Europe. Their families came for a better life but now their children and grandchildren are facing unemployment and discrimination. For many, ISIS represents adventure and hope.

When questioned about the widespread impact of extremism Ahmed added that when he took his students to cities in the Islamic world people would always ask them why Americans didn’t like Muslims. They had no experience with Americans so they believed what they were told by extreme groups. But a groundwork for better understanding was begun just by talking with his students. Ahmed’s conclusion was that only knowledge can bring people together to solve problems.

My experience has also been that by bringing people together we build foundations for eventual problem-solving. And when we add international leadership development to the equation we take significant steps toward finding workable solutions. Indeed, this is how international higher education becomes pure public diplomacy.

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