From A-Lister to Aid Worker: Celebrity Diplomacy

Monday, March 4, 2013

Professor Andrew Cooper will be speaking at The Chicago Council on Global Affairs on March 4, 2013 with Chicago Bears lineman Israel Idonije
 
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.