Chicago Council on Global Affairs: "From A-Lister to Aid Worker: Celebrity Diplomacy" March 4, 2013

YOUNG PROFESSIONALS PROGRAM
FROM A-LISTER TO AID WORKER: CELEBRITY DIPLOMACY

Andrew Cooper, Professor, Department of Political Science and the Balsillie School of International Affairs, University of Waterloo
Israel Idonije, Defensive Lineman, Chicago Bears, and Founder, The Israel Idonije Foundation

Bono fights poverty in Africa. Oprah builds schools and promotes women’s rights. George Clooney is arrested for protesting Sudanese human rights violations while Sean Penn weighs in on Haiti relief efforts. What has come to be called celebrity diplomacy attracts wide media attention, significant money, and top official access around the world. But is this phenomenon just the latest fad? Are celebrities dabbling in an arena that is out of their depth, or are they bringing justified notice to problems that might otherwise languish on the crowded international diplomatic scene? Join Professor Andrew Cooper and philanthropist Israel Idonije of the Chicago Bears to examine celebrity diplomacy as a serious global project with important implications.

Andrew Cooper is a professor in the department of political science and at the Balsillie School of International Affairs at the University of Waterloo and the author of Celebrity Diplomacy. He has been a visiting professor at Harvard University, The Australian National University, and Stellenbosch University in South Africa. He was the Canada-US Fulbright Research Chair at USC in 2009, Fulbright Scholar in the Western Hemisphere Program at the School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University in 2000, and the Léger Fellow at the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade from 1993 to 1994. He has authored or coauthored eight books and has edited or coedited twenty collections. His work has been profiled via Good Morning America, The Independent, Variety, Times of India, China Daily, and The Washington Diplomat. Cooper holds a D.Phil. from Oxford University.

Israel Idonije is a defensive lineman for the Chicago Bears, currently having completed his ninth season in the NFL. Raised in a family of service, he created The Israel Idonije Foundation in 2007 to inspire underserved communities by providing programs focussed on social and emotional life skills. The Foundation is active in Chicago, Canada, and Africa, all places Idonije has called home. Idonije has been widely recognized for both his humanitarian work as well as his athletic ability. He has received the Ed Block Courage Award, the All-Joe USA Today Award, the Youth Advocate Award from the Common Ground Foundation, and the Local Hero Award from Bank of America.

5:30 p.m. Registration and cash bar reception
6:30 p.m. Presentation and discussion
7:45 p.m. Adjournment

*** Promo code ALIST will give nonmembers the Council member rate of $10 ***

Official Website: http://thechicagocouncil.org/yp