Ukraine – Communicating Strategically

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Posing with Robert Johnson, Legislative Affairs in the Office of Senator Mark Kirk and also the former officer of Senator now President Obama.

Ukraine has been a constant topic in the global news cycle over the past year or so, especially since the annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation in March 2014.  The public narrative and the news cycle around that particular event and the subsequent unrest in eastern Ukraine have been driven primarily by Western media on one hand and by Russian media outlets on the other.  Little in this global discussion and debate has been shaped by Ukraine’s own narrative.  One may legitimately ask, “Why is this the case?” In part this has to do with the reality of...

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The “Spark” of Euromaidan and Meridian

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Mr. Mustafa Nayyem receiving the 2014 Ion Rațiu Democracy Award at the Woodrow Wilson Center for International Studies.

When I meet international visitors, most of which are participating in one of Meridian’s exchange programs, I often talk about the impact of these exchanges on the lives and careers of previous participants. I often mention Meridian alumni who went on to shine in the global spotlight. Some are very well-known: Nicolas Sarkozy, Mikhail Saakashvili, Romano Prodi, Hamid Karzai, Margaret Thatcher. A few are better known locally: Alvaro Arzu Irigoyen, President of Guatemala, Norovyn Altankhuyag, Prime Minister of Mongolia, Egypt’s former President Anwar Sadat, Finland’s current President, Sauli Niinisto, or Ehud Olmert, former Prime Minister of Israel. In total, some 168 current or former heads of state have stepped through Meridian’s doors mostly as participants in the U.S. Department of State International Visitor Leadership Program.

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