Thursday, August 31, 2017

Polish diplomat Katarzyna Rybka-Iwańska on Smart Power/Public Diplomacy


From linked-in

If I was to choose my absolutely favourite topic of the course on public diplomacy, that would surely be education. There is no other field where coutnries [sic] can gain so much and punch above their weight. There is also no field that will have more impact on the future - of countries, of generations, of international relations, of labour markets, of economic development in various regions. Having students from many countries in my classes I could already see how things are changing regionally and globally - I could also see how different their education needs to be in comparison to my own experiences from less than a decade ago. #education #science #diplomacy #publicdiplomacy #future

'My Chinese Working Day': An Australian's story


Jin Dan, chinadaily.com

McConachie image from
Excerpt:
For a scholar focusing on Australia's public diplomacy, working as a recreational manager in China may never be part of his career path. But Bradley McConachie does have lots to say now about his special experience at a resort in the picturesque tropical coastal city of Sanya in South China's Hainan province.

The 33-year-old Australian is actually a student in international relations completing his PhD through Griffith University. He came to Beijing for a cooperative research at Peking University less than two years ago. Such an academic life was just added color with a chance offered by the cultural exchanges project, "I'm in China".

Bradley was lucky to win the most "likes" for his photo story about his life in China and became one of 20 winners to visit locations after a global recruitment by the project this summer. All the winners' experiences were filmed to produce a reality show, My Chinese Working Day, which will be broadcast by mid-September. ... 

6 incredible Israeli discoveries that influenced the world


The Jerusalem Post

Image from article, with caption: this system developed at a Tikkun Olam Makers (TOM) "make-a-thon" allows people who are paralyzed from the neck down to turn pages in a book.

Excerpt:
The Israeli Ministry of Science and Technology has launched a virtual exhibition highlighting dozens of Israeli discoveries and developments that have influenced the entire world. Medical breakthroughs, international awards and recognition, humanitarian advancements, and environmental and technological discoveries are just some of the categories showcased in the incredible collection which was previous on display at Israel's Ben Gurion Airport, and can now be explored virtually online.

From Science and Technology Minister Ofir Akunis:

"The exhibit is a major public diplomacy asset for Israel. We are showing the vast contributions of Israeli science and technology to the world and all humanity. We have what and who to be proud of. Israel is a pioneering country and innovative leader. The entire world admires, and is amazed by, our achievements and we hope it will assist our ministry to promote and enlarge the international scientific cooperation with more countries." ...

Cultural Exchange Programs Fear Visa Cuts From Trump Order


voanews.com

August 30, 2017 10:17 PM
  • Associated Press

A portion of the Concordia Language Villages home page.
Officials who run a popular language and cultural immersion program in the north woods of Minnesota are warning that potential changes in visa rules could make it hard for them to hire enough instructors.
The Minnesota program's alert is part of a larger push by cultural exchange programs nationwide to draw attention to the possible impact of President Donald Trump's "Buy American, Hire American'' executive order.
Christine Schulze, executive director of Concordia Language Villages, wrote a letter this week urging alumni and other supporters around the country to contact their congressional representatives and ask them to ensure that international exchange programs are excluded from Trump's order.
The Wall Street Journal reported this week that the Trump administration is considering major reductions in J-1 visas for cultural exchange programs as it implements the executive order.
Technology jobs targeted
Trump signed the order in April on a trip to Kenosha, Wisconsin. It's aimed mainly at ensuring that highly skilled technology jobs go to Americans rather than foreigners with H1-B visas who will work for less, and strengthening "buy American'' requirements for government purchases. But it may ultimately affect other categories of workers, too, such as foreign college students who take summer jobs in the U.S.
Concordia Language Villages, a program of Concordia College in Moorhead, gathers more than 10,000 people a year from all 50 states and more than 40 countries to camps near Bemidji and other sites in northern Minnesota as either staff or students. That includes nearly 200 people on J-1 visas.
Students, known as "villagers," include young people and adults. Besides seasonal programs at various locations, the program also offers seven year-round, architecturally authentic "villages'' near Bemidji that represent cultures speaking Finnish, French, German, Russian, Norwegian, Spanish and Swedish.
"These staff offer language and cultural skills that ensure top-quality instruction'' in an immersion setting, Schultze said in her letter. "The international staff are vital members of the Concordia Language Villages community and help us provide an incomparable educational opportunity for thousands of young people in the state of Minnesota and across the country on an annual basis.''
Broader initiative
Concordia Language Villages is making its appeal as part of a broader initiative by the Alliance for International Exchange, a national umbrella group for cultural exchange programs. Schulze said she had met in recent days with alliance staff and member organizations in Washington about their next steps.
The alliance said a number of cultural exchange programs are at risk if the Trump administration curtails privately funded J-1 visa programs, including categories for camp counselors, summer work travel, au pairs and others.
"We believe this is a grave mistake — elimination of these programs would have a negative impact on local communities, employers and families nationwide, while dramatically weakening our public diplomacy efforts,'' said Ilir Zherka, executive director of the alliance, in an action alert to its member groups and supporters.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday from The Associated Press. White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told The Wall Street Journal she had "nothing to announce at this time.''

Wednesday, August 30, 2017

USC Center on Public Diplomacy - CPD Daily (August 29)


PD News Logo
August 29, 2017 - via email
BBC
In an age of 24/7 information, where there’s pressure to stand out, and a general expectation that we should react to news in real time, we need to say something as quickly and emphatically as possible – so we say it with gifs. In a medium where words might be limited, the emotional impact of gifs should be similarly direct: “They’re lingua franca,” says Dr Sarah Thornton, a San Francisco-based sociologist of culture, “They’re not determined by linguistic boundaries, and they are so simple that a child can understand them.” Read More...
NPR
Before, if you wanted to see — for example — Alexander Hamilton's letters to his wife, you had to travel to the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., and even then, you'd have to view them on microfilm. Now, Julie Miller, the library's curator of early American manuscripts, says the collection has been digitized. "The web site is meant to open these up to a much broader public," and given the increased interest in Hamilton, the timing is no accident. Read More...
DALLAS NEWS
The Mexican government expressed its solidarity Sunday with the United States following the damage caused by Hurricane Harvey and offered assistance to Texas. "As we have done in the past, Mexico stands with Texas in this difficult moment," Carlos Gonzalez Gutierrez, the Mexican consul general in Austin, said. Mexico is prepared for a Katrina-like assistance package. Read More...
BBC
The missile, launched early on Tuesday, flew over Hokkaido island, Japan's second-largest island, and fell into the North Pacific Ocean. Jonathan Knight runs a small clothing business in the Hirafu area of the island. [...] Jonathan decided to go for what he thought was the best option: "I got up and did the British thing, I made a cup of tea". Read More...
THE INDIAN EXPRESS
When Kuchipudi dance couple Devi and Girish stepped onto the stage at the Festival of India event held at Mandalay in Myanmar, they were happy to see the huge turnout for their show. This was the first time, after many years, the Myanmar government was opening the doors of its capital to host the event organized by the Ministry of Culture in India. Read More...
FOCUS TAIWAN
Japanese athletes in the Taipei Universiade have been earning high praises in Taiwan since a series of photos of them cleaning a park was posted on social media Tuesday morning. [...] "This is true people-to-people diplomacy," someone else wrote. "Their likability is completely off the charts." Read More...

Tuesday, August 29, 2017

Trump eyes cuts to summer work program


Mary Ann Bragg, capecodtimes.com

image (not from article) from

Posted Aug 28, 2017 at 9:24 PM
Updated Aug 28, 2017 at 9:24 PM

Reports of a Trump administration plan to reduce or eliminate a majority of privately funded foreign student exchange programs, known as J-1 visas, prompted a sharp rebuttal Monday from U.S. Rep. William Keating, D-Mass., and the Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce.

“This Administration has shown itself time and again as hostile to small business,” Keating said in a statement.

Cape and Island businesses rely on the J-1 visa programs to meet staffing needs during seasonal peaks and when American workers are not available, Keating said. One category of the J-1 program in particular, called the summer work travel program, brings about 7,000 foreign students to Massachusetts, with the vast majority going to the Cape and Islands, Keating said.

In 2014, the summer work travel program brought 3,972 workers to Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket, according to state department statistics provided by the chamber. In that year, Edgartown had the largest number, 412, of 19 towns accounted for in the data.

In 2016, there were 4,694 workers in the program here, out of 101,061 across the U.S.

Each summer on the Cape and Islands, students with J-1 visas typically arrive from mid-May until late June and stay until mid-August through late September. The students typically have pre-arranged jobs and dates of employment.

“It’s all temporary, peak season need,” chamber Chief Executive Officer Wendy Northcross said. “These are good kids who are coming here for a good reason and they go home, and they are really important to the Cape economy.”

Eliminating the J-1 programs are part of a broader effort to protect the interests of U.S. workers under President Trump’s Buy American, Hire American (BAHA) executive order, according to the Alliance for International Exchange, which promotes exchanges programs.

The notion that the J-1 programs undermine the BAHA executive order is “misguided and uninformed,” the Alliance said in a statement released Sunday.

“In many cases, these exchange programs work to effectively supplement and expand the American labor force during peak seasons,” the Alliance said. “With this additional temporary support, companies, camps and other organizations can increase their services and ability to grow their businesses — and ultimately their permanent workforce.”

Cape Cod chamber members were alerted Saturday by exchange program advocacy groups about the possibility of the privately funded J-1 programs being a target for reduction or elimination, Northcross said.

As a result of the alert, the chamber has reached out to the White House and to Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin. Mnuchin and other economic advisers may be “more sympathetic to the economic impacts of the decision to eliminate the J-1 program,” Northcross said.

The Cape and Islands relies not only on the J-1 visas but also on the H-2B visa program, which allows foreigners to work in the U.S. for part of the year when there’s a labor shortage. In Keating’s district, about 4,200 workers with H-2B visas are employed during the peak season.

A constraint placed on the H-2B visas earlier this year was resolved in part by July, Northcross said. But that constraint placed even more emphasis on the J-1 visas program, she said.

“There were fewer people, so employers really looked to them,” she said of the J-1 students.

The summer work travel program and other J-1 positions, such as camp counselor and au pair, play an important role in public diplomacy [JB emphasisand cultural exchange as well, according to the Alliance.

Does the Summer Work Travel International Exchange Program Work?


businessinsider.com


image (not from article) from

ROCKVILLE, Md., Aug. 29, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Alliance for International Exchange, an association of cultural exchange agencies, asked EurekaFacts to find just that. The Summer Work Travel program—one of five programs included in the J1 Visitor Exchange Program—brings more than 100,000 college students from 100 countries to the United States during their summer break. These students typically work at amusement parks, ski destinations and hospitality small businesses during their peak seasons.

The key findings of the research show that the program delivers significant benefits in terms of public diplomacy [JB emphasis: SWT participants leave the program with higher regard and understanding of the United States while making lasting friendships with Americans they met. The program also meets internal needs of small businesses.

The assessment included a comprehensive review of the program, surveys of participants from the past five years, interviews and surveys of employers, and labor market statistics for the areas where the program operates. Among key findings, the report documents:

76 percent of SWT participants have a higher overall regard for the US after the program. Three in four say their opinions of American people became more positive.

61 Percent of SWT participants reported higher regard for American companies.

The SWT program helps US businesses meet seasonal labor shortages in areas and times where American workers are not available. The analysis concludes that SWT participants do not displace local workers.

The study was led by Public Affairs research director Alec Ulasevich PhD, and Malinda Rhone, PhD, and company principal Jorge Restrepo, MGA following the international quality for market, public opinion and social research ISO 20252, to which EurekaFacts is certified. To access a copy of the full report go to: https://www.eurekafacts.com/SWTimpact

About the Alliance for International Exchange

The Alliance for International Exchange (formerly Alliance for International Educational and Cultural Exchange) is an association of 90 nongovernmental organizations comprising the international educational and cultural exchange community in the United States. Founded in 1993 after a merger of the International Exchange Association and the Liaison Group for International Educational Exchange, the Alliance serves as the only collective public policy voice of the exchange community. Additional Information is available at http://www.alliance-exchange.org


About EurekaFacts

Based in Rockville, MD, EurekaFacts is a full-service market research and analysis firm that provides information and insight that helps identify and maximize opportunity for better impact. Established in 2003, the company has an established Institutional Review Board, and is certified to the international standard for market, public opinion and social research ISO 20252. Additional information is available at www.eurekafacts.com.

For More Information
Contact: Patrick Benko
Marketing & Communications Manager
240 403 4800 x 268
rel="nofollow">benkop@eurekafacts.com

USC Center on Public Diplomacy - PD News August 28


PD News Logo
August 28, 2017 via email
TEHRAN TIMES
Iran is planning to attract more foreign investors to its capital market through holding a series of international conferences to introduce this market, Hamid Rouhbakhsh, the director of public relations and international affairs of Tehran Stock Exchange (TSE), told the Tehran Times in an exclusive interview on Monday. Rouhbakhsh believes that Iran’s increasing international relations after the implementation of its nuclear deal, known as joint comprehensive plan of action (JCPOA), with the world’s major powers in January 2016 is facilitating presence of foreign investors in the country’s stock exchange. Read More...
BBC
The Edinburgh Festival Fringe and the International Festival have both had record breaking box offices in their 70th anniversary year. [...] Shona McCarthy, chief executive of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society, said: "This has been a very special year for the Fringe as we celebrated 70 years of defying the norm, 70 years of the greatest melting pot of arts and culture anywhere on the planet, and 70 years of Edinburgh as an internationally renowned festival city. Read More...
THE GUARDIAN
Can T-shirts, hoodies and sports socks inspired by God – and worn by Justin Bieber – help to win disciples? Think of church merchandise and you will likely think of mugs decorated with stained glass windows or key chains with bible quotes, sold in a dusty gift shop. But things have changed: for the face of “church merch” in 2017, look in the somewhat unexpected direction of Justin Bieber. Read More...
TRAVELWEEK
VisitBritain has announced the appointment of Gavin Landry as its Executive Vice President for the Americas, with a focus on driving new and repeat visitor growth to Britain from Canada, the U.S., and Brazil. Landry joins VisitBritain from New York State where he was Executive Director of Tourism, having led the iconic I LOVE NEW YORK (NY) program, and where he developed and implemented strategies to support growth of the tourism industry. With tourism as a critical part of the UK Government’s agenda ahead of future trade deals, Landry will continue to develop and strengthen strategic partnerships in the Americas. Read More...
XINHUANET
A Chinese Red Cross foreign aid medical team has carried out screening for the children with congenial heart disease (CHD) in Afghan capital of Kabul to register eligible kids for providing them with medical treatment. Read More...
THE DIPLOMAT
August 24 marked the 25th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and South Korea. Since the establishment of formal diplomatic relations in 1992, both countries have been jointly celebrating the anniversary every five years. This year, China sent its science and technology minister to a South Korean embassy event in Beijing. Read More...
THE ECONOMIST
Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s secretary of state, has just made a four-day trip to Russia. It was the first time in 19 years that a holder of that powerful office, sometimes described as “prime minister” of the Holy See, had visited Moscow. Read More...

Monday, August 28, 2017

Put Tillerson out of his misery, Mr. President — just fire him


Jennifer Rubin, Washington Post

image from

Excerpt:
Secretary of State Rex W. Tillerson, widely derided as the weakest secretary of state in recent memory, has only highlighted his marginal status in the administration. His slow-motion reorganization of the State Department, refusal to rebuff the president’s demands for enormous cuts to his budget, failure to reach beyond his close-knit staff, derogatory remarks about human rights, lack of a close rapport with the president and weak press/public diplomacy skills have left knowledgeable foreign policy types scratching their heads as to what Condoleezza Rice [JB -on Rice, see], Robert Gates and Stephen Hadley could possibly have seen in Tillerson so as to recommend him for the job. (Hint: Follow the money.) ...

Download Nontraditional U.S. Public Diplomacy: Past, Present, and Future (Public Diplomacy Council Series) Read / PDF / Book / Audio id:gl4y9z0


indecorbadajoz.com
 [JB note: I cannot vouch for this site or its reliability].  The reason I'm posting here is that the entry mentions public diplomacy, and specifically Nontraditional U.S. Public Diplomacy: Past, Present, and Future (Public Diplomacy Council Series), a volume to which I contributed an article, "Janus-Faced Public Diplomacy: Creel and Lippmann During the Great War."



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National security correspondents group to join SMPA


Colleen Grablick, gwhatchet.com

Ensor image from

An association of defense and national security correspondents is moving to the School of Media and Public Affairs to become part of a new program focused on how journalists cover national security issues.

The Defense Writers Group, which includes correspondents from more than 50 news organizations around the world, will continue to host events bringing journalists, defense and national security officials and experts together as part of SMPA’s Project for Media and National Security, according to a University release Monday.

The project will also seek to partner with other GW research centers including the Center for Cyber and Homeland Security, according to the release.

“By bringing together the experience and depth of the Defense Writers Group with the expertise and interests found across the University, our Project for Media and National Security will create a robust conversation around these critical issues,” SMPA Director Frank Sesno said in the release.

David Ensor, a former journalist and director of Voice of America, a publicly-funded American news outlet broadcasting abroad, will lead the project. Ensor will also be the first Walter R. Roberts fellow in GW’s Institute for Public Diplomacy and Global Communication. He will begin work at GW Sept. 1, according to the release.

“The project will work with journalists and with leaders in the field, to deepen Americans’ understanding of national security issues — always important, but perhaps never more so than now,” Ensor said in the release.

Before serving as the director of Voice of America, Ensor was the director of communications and public diplomacy for the U.S. Embassy in Kabul Afghanistan. Prior to that he worked as a broadcast news reporter for ABC News, NPR and CNN.

The move will mark a new chapter for the Defense Writers Group, a D.C. organization active for more than 30 years that includes correspondents from large national and regional newspapers, online outlets, international news wire services, magazines and trade publications.

According to this lawsuit, if you opposed DAPL, you’re a terrorist


Nikhil Swaminathan, grist.org

uncaptioned image from article
Excerpt:
The natural gas company Energy Transfer Partners has opened a new front in its ongoing battle with the environmental movement that opposed the Dakota Access Pipeline.
The Dallas-based company is now labeling many of those who opposed its pipeline “eco-terrorists.” This from a company that employed a private security outfit to surveil and track members of the #noDAPL movement as though they were jihadists.
A lawsuit filed in federal court argues that GreenPeace, Earth First! and many other green groups engaged in racketeering, outlining a “criminal enterprise” involving a coordinated attack launched by “wolfpacks of corrupt” environmental groups — using fake news and publicity stunts — that bogged down its construction effort and cost the company millions of dollars. ...
“This is full-scale, frontal military assault on the environmental community,” says Daniel Sheehan, a constitutional lawyer and lead attorney for the Lakota People’s Law Project. He notes that the lawsuit was filed by the law firm of President Donald Trump’s personal lawyer, Marc Kasowitz.
Sheehan says that the racketeering charge is totally unsubstantiated and points out that the suit centers primarily around defamation claims. It accuses the environmental groups of launching a campaign of misinformation, including spreading lies about how the pipeline was routed, that it would contribute to climate change, and the likelihood that it would leak. (By late May, there were three known leaks.)
Sheehan says the lawsuit was the latest salvo in a so-called “public diplomacy campaign,” [JB emphasis] which began with the company’s hiring of the private security firm TigerSwan last fall. As reported by Grist and The Intercept, TigerSwan portrayed the #noDAPL movement participants as, in Sheehan’s words, “an armed enemy that is threatening their physical facility.” That framing, he says, helped local law enforcement see protesters as violent adversaries. This lawsuit continues the narrative.
“They leap on Greenpeace because that’s who most of their constituents recognize as the flagship of the environmentalist movement,” Sheehan says. ...

Lessons from Operation Euphrates Shield


Burhanettin Duran, dailysabah.com


uncaptioned image from article

Operation Euphrates Shield [JB - see], an overdue incursion that ended in success, clearly took the Turkish military's technical capabilities to the next level and strengthened Turkey's ties with local partners

Excerpt:
Operation Euphrates Shield, an overdue incursion that ended in success, clearly took the Turkish military's technical capabilities to the next level and strengthened Turkey's ties with local partners. However, a recent report published by the SETA Foundation's titled "Operation Euphrates Shield: Lessons Learned" warns that Turkey needs to increase its capacity in the following areas: Group-specific threat assessment, public diplomacy, the adaptation of the security sector to new threats, strategic flexibility in diplomacy, the timing of military operations, counter-terrorism efforts centered around local communities, the tactical use and modernization of armored units, the use and functionality of drones and coordination between the various intelligence agencies.

30 Gambians offered Chinese gov’t scholarship


thepoint.gm
uncaptioned image from article

A total of 30 Gambians have received the 2017 Chinese government scholarship to study in China for bachelor’s and master’s levels.

Their areas of study included engineering, medical science, automation, ICT, fisheries, metrology, finance, education, public management, tourism and hotel management, and public diplomacy.

The awardees were treated to a reception at the Chinese Embassy in Bijilo on Friday, attended by senior Gambia government officials.

Li Jimming, Chinese Ambassador to The Gambia, said awarding Chinese government scholarship to deserving Gambian students has become a yearly event for the embassy in The Gambia.

“The year 2017 witnesses a big leap forward in terms of the scale and type of the scholarships,” he said.

In 2016, 12 Gambian students, on Chinese government scholarship, went to China to study and “they are faring very well”, the ambassador said.

This year, he said, the number of scholarships has been more than doubled. In addition to the 14 students for bachelors degree, 16 have been awarded masters scholarship.

Ambassador Jimming said the increased in Chinese scholarships allocated to The Gambia epitomises the ever-growing relations between two countries and peoples.

“Our bilateral cooperation has yielded rich fruits over the year, particularly in recent months,” he said, adding that the construction of the Gambia International Conference Center, funded by the Chinese government, is to commence very soon.

The ambassador said China has offered duty-free treatment to Gambian goods exported to China, written off the remaining debt of millions of dollars, and donated 2,500 tons of rice to the people of The Gambia.

China has also sent a new Chinese medical team to The Gambia, offered around 100 short-term training opportunities to China on a variety of development related subjects, and also launched youth exchange programmes.

Badara Joof, minister of Higher Education, Research, Science and Technology, commended the Chinese government, through the embassy in The Gambia, for “all that they have done for this country”.

He said China has played a very important role in the development of the African continent.

“It has played a very important role in the political emancipation of some countries of Africa and it has supported the African continent at the level of the UN Security Council and the UN General Assembly,” he said.

“China has been partnering with Africa for Africa’s development and for the people of Africa and for that we are grateful.”

A total of 30 Gambians have received the 2017 Chinese government scholarship to study in China for bachelor’s and master’s levels.

Their areas of study included engineering, medical science, automation, ICT, fisheries, metrology, finance, education, public management, tourism and hotel management, and public diplomacy.

The awardees were treated to a reception at the Chinese Embassy in Bijilo on Friday, attended by senior Gambia government officials.

Li Jimming, Chinese Ambassador to The Gambia, said awarding Chinese government scholarship to deserving Gambian students has become a yearly event for the embassy in The Gambia.

“The year 2017 witnesses a big leap forward in terms of the scale and type of the scholarships,” he said.

In 2016, 12 Gambian students, on Chinese government scholarship, went to China to study and “they are faring very well”, the ambassador said.

This year, he said, the number of scholarships has been more than doubled. In addition to the 14 students for bachelors degree, 16 have been awarded masters scholarship.

Ambassador Jimming said the increased in Chinese scholarships allocated to The Gambia epitomises the ever-growing relations between two countries and peoples.

“Our bilateral cooperation has yielded rich fruits over the year, particularly in recent months,” he said, adding that the construction of the Gambia International Conference Center, funded by the Chinese government, is to commence very soon.

The ambassador said China has offered duty-free treatment to Gambian goods exported to China, written off the remaining debt of millions of dollars, and donated 2,500 tons of rice to the people of The Gambia.

China has also sent a new Chinese medical team to The Gambia, offered around 100 short-term training opportunities to China on a variety of development related subjects, and also launched youth exchange programmes.

Badara Joof, minister of Higher Education, Research, Science and Technology, commended the Chinese government, through the embassy in The Gambia, for “all that they have done for this country”.

He said China has played a very important role in the development of the African continent.

“It has played a very important role in the political emancipation of some countries of Africa and it has supported the African continent at the level of the UN Security Council and the UN General Assembly,” he said.

“China has been partnering with Africa for Africa’s development and for the people of Africa and for that we are grateful.”