In the third part of the Public Diplomacy Series, Minister-Council Andrew Koss will speak at the Josef Korbel School on his 28 year career and role in “Flacking for America,” or promoting the American image abroad.
Public Diplomacy could loosely be called America’s public relations abroad, and the field has been growing over the past decade. Concerned with influencing the foreign perception of America, public diplomacy touches a vast range of work in the foreign policy sector. Everyone from Foreign Service officers to journalists play a part in public diplomacy. With speakers from former Army Chief of Staff General Casey to CNN China correspondant Mike Chinoy, the Public Diplomacy Series has fostered a wide range of discussions.

The Public Diplomacy Series aims to bridge students with active practitioners of public diplomacy. As a growing field, the Office of the Dean cited the practicality of bringing in speakers on this topic.

“It’s becoming something we as students are going to need to be more aware of if we want to go into foreign policy,” said Clifton Martin, the Series Organizer.

Strategies of public diplomacy include cultural and academic exchanges like the Fulbright Program to social media to a defined Foreign Service track.
“Public Diplomacy is attached across the continuum of Foreign Policy,” said Martin.

Connections with Ambassador Chris Hill, Dean of the Josef Korbel School, are bringing in high level speakers like Koss. Former Secretary of State and daughter of Josef Korbel School Founder, Madeleine Albright, is also visiting in April. The hope is to build a relationship with these speakers over the long term. After visiting in the fall, General Casey will be teaching a class during the spring quarter about Civil-Military relations.

Good public diplomacy not only puts a message out, but also brings a message in about the state of relations.

“We have been bringing in speakers who will speak to a message that is a two way street,” said Martin.

With a career spanning Asia, Eastern Europe and the Americas, Koss’s work with public diplomacy abroad is unparalleled. To RSVP for “Flacking for America” a discussion with Andrew Koss at 12pm, Wednesday February 22, 2012 email isdean@du.edu by Feb. 20th.

A full list of Public Diplomacy Series events can be found here.

- Sarah Crozier, MA Candidate, International Development
Josef Korbel School of International Studies