28/02/2024
WASHINGTON, DC, 27 February 2024 -- American University (AU) and the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting celebrated the 10th anniversary of their collaboration with a panel discussion on Latin America in the Founders Room of AU's School of International Affairs (SIS).
It was a splendid event, featuring knowledgeable and articulate panelists, interested and informed guests and compelling conversation.
That's me on the far left. At the table from left to right are Kara Andrade, Douglas Farah, Dr. Betilde Muñoz Pogossian and moderator Steven Dudley.
And these are my remarks at the beginning of the event:
SOUNDING THE ALARM:
Welcome Everybody. Great to see you all here. Making these events happen takes a tremendous amount of preparation and dedication, and I thank Jee and her team of the American University Library, plus Ann Peters and her team of the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting, for making this event possible.
Also with us is Robert Nickelsberg, whose pictures from Latin America we will raffle off at the end of this event. My Graduate Assistant Brian Terrill will assist with that. We’re also raffling off two copies of my recent memoir.
Ten years ago, the dean of our School of Communication signed on to the Pulitzer Center’s Campus Consortium. As you may know, the Pulitzer Center is one of the leading organizations created to help fill the void left by mainstream media retreating from coverage abroad. Actually I consider the Pulitzer Center to be THE most important and effective organization designed to do that. And I’m delighted to see the Pulitzer Center’s founders, Jon and Kem Sawyer, are here with us this evening.
One of the ways in which they do THAT, is by awarding the AU-Pulitzer Center International Reporting Fellowships, to students – most of them aspiring journalists -- who compete for the opportunity to report on under-reported, systemic issues abroad.
In these last 10 years, our School and the Pulitzer Center have helped send students on reporting trips to Mexico, Thailand, Borneo, Laos, Colombia, Guatemala, Peru, Puerto Rico and Panama.
The work that you’ve seen on this flatscreen all were produced by winners of these Fellowships. Student journalists produce stories in print, photo or video.
So, this event is built to honor the work done by the winners of those awards, to recognize the institutions that support them, and to thank the men and women who struggle in the field -- often at great personal risk – to inform the world about itself.
Journalism is how we understand the world we live in. We know so much now about Russia and Ukraine. About Israel and Palestine. About climate change. It’s because of Journalism. But what about our neighbors south of our border? Is it all just a vast wasteland of narcos, violence and forced migration? And why do so many people THERE, want to come HERE? And why should we care? Tonight, members of our panel can answer some of those questions.
They are:
Kara Andrade is one of the very first winners of the AU/Pulitzer Center Fellowships and has more than two decades of experience in various sectors, including journalism and media, social entrepreneurship, public health, research and development, launching and supporting projects in more than 20 countries. Andrade also is a poet and adjunct professor with a Master of Journalism degree from the University of California, Berkeley, and a Ph.D. from American University’s School of Communication.
Douglas Farah is the Founder and president of IBI Consultants, co-author of the recent report, “Remilitarization in Central America". Farah's work sounds the alarm on the failure of US policymakers to address key issues that impact the region and that culminate in the current humanitarian crises. Prior to founding IBI Consultants, Farah worked as a foreign correspondent and investigative reporter for The Washington Post covering civil wars in Central America, conflict and organized crime in South America, blood diamond and gold wars in West Africa, and radical Islamic finances.
Dr. Betilde Muñoz-Pogossian is Director of the Department of Social Inclusion of the Secretariat for Access to Rights and Equity at the Organization of American States (OAS). She is responsible for directing the work of the OAS in matters of social inclusion and access to human rights with special consideration to populations in vulnerable situations. She has edited, published and co-authored several articles and volumes on issues of Latin American reality. She is a founding member and coordinator of the Network of Latin American Female Political Scientists, which promotes, makes visible and empowers the work of women dedicated to Latin American Political Science. She has a Master's degree in International Relations from the University of South Florida and a Ph.D. in Political Science from Florida International University.
Steven Dudley (Moderator) is the co-founder and co-director of InSight Crime and senior research fellow at American University’s Center for Latin American and Latino Studies (CLALS). Dudley is a former bureau chief of the Miami Herald in the Andean Region, a former fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, and a current member of the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists.
Finally, I would be remiss if I failed to recognize that Eric Hershberg, founder and director of the Center for Latin American and Latino Studies, is here. Eric and his Center have been highly supportive in funding student fellowships.
Thank you.
