Dubai - The Mohammed Bin Rashid School of Communication at The American University in DubaiAmerican University in Dubai launched the start of its academic events for the current Fall semester with a lecture entitled, "The Communications Revolution and Public Diplomacy: A Path for Dubai." The lecture was delivered by Dr. Ernest J. Wilson III, Dean and Walther H. Annenberg Chair in Communication, at the University of Southern California; the institution with which AUDAUD is collaborating.

The lecture took place on Tuesday, September 16^th, 2008, on the AUDAUD campus. Among the attendees were Dr. Lance de Masi, AUDAUD's President, Mr. Elias Bou Saab, AUDAUD's Executive Vice- President, Dr. Jihad Nader, Provost and Chief Academic Officer, Mr. Ali M. Jaber, Dean of The MBR School of Communication, and AUDAUD faculty, administrative bodies and students. Paul Sutphin, U.S. Consul General in Dubai and the Northern Emirates, and the USC delegation that accompanied Dr. Wilson in his visit to AUDAUD, including Dr. Carola Weil, Associate Dean for Planning and Strategic Initiatives at the USC Annenberg School of Communication and Professor Philip Seib, Professor at the USC Annenberg School of Journalism, headed the guest-list, along with other prominent dignitaries from the media sector in the region.

Dean Jaber delivered the opening remarks stressing on the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Prime Minister and Vice-President, and Ruler of Dubai, and its realization by way of academic ventures, such as that of The MBR School of Communication at AUDAUD and its mission. He asserted, "The Mohammed Bin Rashid School of Communication at The American University in DubaiAmerican University in Dubai is under a clear mandate from His Highness the Ruler of Dubai to go out and seek the brightest and most interesting students from across the Arab world, and provide them with the best education there is in communication and journalism." He continued, "We are to do that with total disregard to their religion, gender and nationality."

Dean Jaber then announced the faculty members who have joined the newly established School and provided an overview on its curriculum. He also acknowledged the significance of this academic collaboration between USC and AUDAUD and revealed one of its ultimate objectives in establishing a Center for the study of Media and Society at AUDAUD.

Dr. Wilson, in turn, spoke of "public diplomacy" as a response to globalization, information revolution, economic uncertainty and the strategic shifts in world power. Moreover, he explained how public diplomacy may be a tactic for governments, yet warned against its inevitable outcome of causing the setback of nations, if misused.

He moved on to highlight some of the notions, that The Center for Public Diplomacy of The Annenberg School of Communication addresses, of which are the concepts of "hard power," or the power to coerce people to do what you want, and that of the "soft power," or the power to influence people through persuasion, and their influential outcome when combined together, or what can be referred to as the "smart power."

He then elaborated on the "Quad," or the four-sided relationship that countries are to maintain with their respective governments, private sectors, universities and non-profit organizations, to better help experience successful global innovation within the international relations field.

Furthermore, he dwelled on the means by which Dubai can further develop its reputation as an emerging global media hub to nurture the international and local press through the incentives provided by certain institutions, such as Dubai Media City. He also asseverated, "Dubai could become the gateway to global knowledge about public diplomacy," if it were to create new institutions where different stakeholders from the UAE, the region and around the world, could come together to discuss critical issues of the role of media in society.

Finally, he concluded the lecture by stressing, "Information and technology are important, but it is leadership and vision, informed by ethics, that makes a country great and successful in the modern era." He added, "Public diplomacy, traditional diplomacy, and the World Wide Web are simply tools that can be used to advance, or retard, the development of the human spirit."

- Ends -

Notes to Editors:
The American University in DubaiAmerican University in Dubai is a private, non-sectarian institution of higher learning founded in 1995; it serves UAE nationals and international students who seek world-class career-oriented education. It is accredited by the Commission on Colleges (COC) of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) to award Bachelor's and Master's degrees.

AUDAUD is officially licensed by the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research of the United Arab Emirates. The Ministry has accredited the university's programs in Business Administration (both undergraduate

and graduate), Communication and Information Studies, Engineering, Information Technology, Interior Design and Visual Communication.

AUDAUD holds an Agent's License issued by the District of Columbia Education Licensure Commission (Washington, DC, USA). AUDAUD is approved to operate by the State of Georgia Nonpublic Postsecondary Education Commission (NPEC). www.aud.edu.

For more information, please contact:
Ms. Rim Ibrahim
External Affairs Coordinator
Tel: (04 3183139)
Fax:(04 3998899)
Email: ribrahim@aud.edu

© Press Release 2008