Media in the Former Soviet Bloc

Ken Jaques, president of Global Communication Strategies, will speak on “The Evolution of Media and Media Relations in the Former Soviet Bloc” at 4 p.m. 14 October in the Oak Room of the Indiana Memorial Union on the campus of Indiana University Bloomington.

An overview of the problems of transition that confronted media, business, and governments on the territory of the former Warsaw Pact in the last two decades, his talk will also address the recent conflict between Georgia and Russia in the context of the "media war" which it generated.

Mr. Jaques has worked extensively as a communications and business consultant to the U.S. government and the governments of Georgia, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Croatia, and Russia. He also served as press secretary to US Senator Frank Lautenberg for many years and as a reporter for leading news organizations including CNN and the Congressional Quarterly magazine.

Valparaiso University's International Triple Play

First:

Three spring graduates of Valparaiso University’s French program will spend the next year teaching in French schools after being accepted into a selective government-sponsored teaching program, reports the Valpo News Bureau

Emily Peters, a French and biology major from Merrillville; Barrett Ludy, a French and Spanish major from Fremont; and Taylor Steinbruegge, a French and television-radio communication major from Florissant, Mo., will travel to France in September to begin the teaching assistantship program.

The program, sponsored by France’s Ministry of Education and the Cultural Services, places recent Americans graduate in primary and secondary schools where they teach English and help French students practice their conversation skills.

Second:

The dean of Valparaiso University’s School of Law will help the Republic of Georgia begin a major reform of its legal education system this month, playing a consultative role in a gathering of the country’s law educators, judges and attorneys, reports the news bureau.

Jay Conison, vice chair of the American Bar Association committee that is responsible for the accreditation of law schools in the United States, recently was invited to help organize a two-day conference that aims to strengthen the rule of law and the legal education system in Georgia.

Third:

Fourteen Chinese college professors will begin an advanced English program at Valparaiso University this week, reports Inside INdiana Business.

The professors are from Zhejiang University of Technology, the partner university for Valparaiso's Confucius Institute.

The teachers, who arrive tomorrow, will tour houses with two local real estate brokers, visit Fair Oaks Farm to learn about agriculture's significance in U.S. culture and meet with Valparaiso Mayor Jon Costas to hear about the nation's system of participatory government.