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June 2008
GW Professor Leads Media Trainings in Iraq
By Julia Parmley Professor of Media and Public Affairs and International Affairs Steven Livingston believes that it is important to experience firsthand the places and situations about which he writes and lectures. So when he is not teaching classes in GW’s School of Media and Public Affairs and Elliott School of International Affairs, Livingston does just that. In late February and early March, Livingston made the first of two trips this year to Baghdad following an invitation from the U.S. Embassy and Multi-National Forces in Iraq (MNF-I), the U.S.-led coalition fighting the Iraq war. During the weeklong visit, Livingston conducted workshops for approximately 20 Iraqi government communicators, trained approximately 50 Iraqi print and broadcast journalists, and directed a strategic information seminar for all MNF-I and embassy personnel. Livingston was the first American professor to visit Baghdad under the embassy’s Visitors Program. In May, he returned to Iraq to continue media training with members of the Iraqi provisional government, military, and media in the northern cities of Kirkuk, Mosul, and Erbil. Livingston describes Baghdad as a “fascinating place” that he was reluctant to leave. “The level of dedication on the part of many of the Iraqi journalists is remarkable,” says Livingston. “The Iraqi press corps has suffered tremendous hardships. More than 250 have been killed since 2003, and 40 have died in the last year alone. They are a brave group and deserve all the help they can get.” While in Baghdad, Livingston lectured on the importance of communication and professional relationships between the Iraqi media and government officials, supplementing his presentations with communication exercises, satellite interviews, and mock press conferences. In between lectures in Kirkuk, Livingston traveled in mine-resistant, ambush-protected vehicles, and he heard “explosions and firefights” in Mosul. He says he never feared for his safety, though. “Almost all cities have some danger,” he says. “Why not continue with the training, the outreach? That is what will make them less dangerous.” Iraq is only one of the many conflict zones Livingston has visited over his career. He traveled several times to Northern Ireland during the violent period known as the Troubles, to the Gaza Strip and West Bank during the Palestinian-Israeli conflict known as the Second Intifada, and to the Balkans in the 1990s. In the spring of 1994, Livingston arrived in the war-torn southern Sudan, where he saw the immediate effects of the unfolding genocide in Rwanda. Since then, Livingston has written and talked widely about the Rwandan genocide. In 2006, he took a group of GW students on a tour of the country to learn about the genocide and its citizens, and following his trip to Baghdad in March, Livingston co-led a private economic development initiative in the region. This month, Livingston heads to Africa, where he will continue previous efforts helping the Lesotho government improve its communications in the face of an HIV/AIDS epidemic. His travel plans for the 2008-09 academic year include Peru, Chile, East Timor, and Singapore with students enrolled in the Columbian College of Arts and Sciences’ Dean’s Seminar on Globalization program. Livingston says he has always been interested in the media and the connection between policy and perception. His research focuses on the role of media in political and military operations and crisis. He incorporates his travels into his classes, which include introductory political communication and media and public affairs, as well as advanced courses on international affairs, foreign policy and media and information technology. While he enjoys traveling the globe, Livingston says he finds his work on campus equally fulfilling. “The solitary work of scholarship and the enriching experience of teaching are incredibly important,” he says.
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