Africa Archives - School of Journalism and New Media

Posts Tagged ‘Africa’

School of Journalism and New Media leaders travel to Ethiopia to bring the world to Ole Miss

Posted on: March 15th, 2023 by ldrucker

Beyene, Wilkin, Smith and Hickerson.

University of Mississippi School of Journalism and New Media leaders are working to build international relationships by strengthening partnerships with Ethiopia Airlines, meeting with Ethiopian officials, and visiting the University of Namibia.

Four school and university leaders recently traveled to the African countries Ethiopia and Namibia to meet with business and government leaders.

The group included Andrea Hickerson, Ph.D., dean and professor; Marquita Smith, Ed.D., assistant dean for graduate programs and associate professor; Zenebe Beyene, Ph.D., associate professor and coordinator of international programs; and Noel Wilkin, Ph.D., provost and executive vice chancellor for academic affairs.

Beyene said the purpose of the trip was to demonstrate the school’s committed partnership with Ethiopian Airlines and explore other possible collaborations.

“Partnership is like establishing friendship or planting a seed or a tree,” Beyene said. “If you have a very good partnership, it has to be sustained and nurtured with effective communication. And you have to make sure that you are there for a long term, and you are interested in the relationship, not only the business aspect.”

That’s where many institutions fail, he said. They focus exclusively on outcomes.

“Once you establish a strong relationship, like having a strong foundation for a building, you can achieve so many things together,” said Beyene. “Because when you envision a partnership, it’s not only based on your interests and priorities, but it is also based on the interests and priorities of your partners.”

Beyene, Hickerson and Smith.

In 2018, a group of University of Mississippi IMC students traveled to Ethiopia, visited the airline facilities, and created a marketing campaign for Ethiopian Airlines.

“The major focus of this partnership was enrolling employees of Ethiopian Airlines into our regular Master of Arts program or the online program,” Beyene said.

Leaders discovered that Ethiopian Airlines employees were also interested in short-term training.

The UM group also traveled to Namibia, a country in Southern Africa that borders the South Atlantic Ocean between Angola and South Africa, to explore possible collaborations with the country’s leaders and those at the University of Namibia.

Hickerson said one of the trip highlights was touring the Ethiopian Airlines facilities, including its airport and aviation university.

“The logistics of airlines have always impressed me, but here we saw our graduates at work. It was impressive and rewarding,” she said.

“This partnership is just beginning. We have many opportunities for future collaborations with EA, other organizations in Ethiopia, and in Africa more broadly. We are fortunate to have faculty with expertise in the region to facilitate meaningful, long-lasting work.”

While in Africa, school leaders visited the U.S. Embassy in Addis Ababa and held meetings with a U.S. diplomat, the U.S. Agency for International Development, the Centers for Disease Control, and other government agencies in Ethiopia.

This was Wilkin’s first trip to Africa and Ethiopia. He said he was impressed with the welcoming hospitality and commitment Ethiopian Airlines executives have to being an industry leader.

“The training facilities and the extent to which the airline is committed to educating its employees and adapting to the needs of the continent are inspiring,” he said. “They are looking for creating programs or finding partners who can help them to ensure they have a well-qualified workforce.”

Wilkin said it was enjoyable to visit with graduates from the University of Mississippi in their home country.

“To be an industry leader, Ethiopian Airlines recognizes and is committed to provide their employees with the necessary education and abilities,” he said. “This commitment and their commitment to excellence is wonderful and is being recognized by other companies in Ethiopia and throughout Africa.”

Beyene said the group held talks with leaders about strengthening the collaboration with Ethiopian Airlines and other institutions in Ethiopia. He said one of the trip highlights was attending an event organized by the U.S. Embassy that provided information for prospective students. More than 200 students registered for the information session.

Beyene believes one of the University of Mississippi’s priorities is campus internationalization.

“Campus internationalization is an institutional response to globalization,” he said. “What that means is through various programs, projects, entities and departments, the university would increase its reach to the external world having some kind of role in serving humanity in general through providing quality education.

“By bringing in students from around the world, we can increase diversity and enrollment, and we can add value to our program. Our students would learn from our international students. International students greatly benefit from the resources and opportunities here in the university.”

Beyene said one of the university’s missions is to “transform lives, communities and the world by providing opportunities for the people of Mississippi and beyond through excellence in learning, discovery, healthcare and engagement.”

“People have very strong interests in advancing their career to get quality education if you make education affordable and accessible,” he said. “As you know, our university, compared with many, many other universities – we offer quality education at a very reasonable, affordable price. Not many people know this. So we can attract talent from around the world, and then make our institution a better place for everybody.”

Strengthening the relationship with Ethiopian Airlines will help the University of Mississippi extend its reach internationally, Beyene said.

“We can make Ole Miss one of the destinations for global education,” he said. “We can bring the world to Ole Miss and give our students firsthand experience that they cannot find elsewhere.”

This story was written by LaReeca Rucker.

Ethiopian Airlines graduate cohort flying high with University of Mississippi master’s degrees

Posted on: January 14th, 2022 by ldrucker

Partnership puts 17 employees through UM School of Journalism and New Media integrated marketing communications program

Though they’re rising stars working for Africa’s largest airline and already have impressive resumes, 17 integrated marketing communications students soon will be able to add master’s degrees from the University of Mississippi to their qualifications.

The cohort is the fruit of a partnership between the UM School of Journalism and New Media and Ethiopian Airlines. The students began the program in 2019 and have continued their studies during the pandemic, and several of them have finished their coursework.

Zebiba Miftah, manager of group advertising and sales promotion for Ethiopian Airlines, recently completed her master’s degree in integrated marketing communications at the School of Journalism and New Media. Miftah, who is based at Bole International Airport in Addis Ababa, said she uses the knowledge and insights gained from the program on a daily basis in her job. Submitted photo

UM Chancellor Glenn Boyce shared how this partnership and the students’ achievements are helping the university meet its mission of offering enriching and life-changing educational opportunities.

“At the University of Mississippi, we’re committed to increasing educational access and opportunities,” Boyce said in a video message of congratulations to the cohort. “We’re also committed to making sure that our students are prepared to compete in a global economy. Our collaboration with Ethiopian Airlines – and your success in the IMC online graduate program – reflect that commitment.”

Interim Dean Debora Wenger

The program has many benefits, said Debora Wenger, the journalism school’s interim dean. The cohort brings together seasoned professionals with their own experiences to interact with the other students in the IMC master’s program.

“They are already highly successful professionals who realize that to help their company thrive, they need to do a different kind of marketing and communication, and our IMC program is ideal for this group,” Wenger said.

“These are top executives in the largest airline in Africa. They get stationed all over the world. The exponential reach of our program through them is something we think is incredibly valuable.”

Zenebe Beyene, UM assistant professor and coordinator of international programs for the School of Journalism and New Media, and Marquita Smith, the school’s assistant dean for graduate programs, lead the program.

The partnership has provided the university with a group of enrolled students who were eager for “one of the best educations,” Beyene said. The cohort has exposed other students to their cultures and added to the diversity of the program, while gaining skills to help their company reach the next level.

Zenebe Beyene, Ph.D.

Beyene is from Ethiopia. When he was a student at the naval academy there in 1990, he found himself captured by the Eritrean People’s Liberation Front and became a prisoner of war. He has deep ties to the region, which has helped the program succeed, Wenger said.

The chancellor noted that many in the cohort managed a full-time job, family obligations and the challenges of distance learning, all during a global pandemic.

“You are to be commended for your perseverance, hard work and focus, all of which led to your graduation,” Boyce said. “The invaluable insight, experience and knowledge that you have gained from the program will yield tangible outcomes for yourself, your employer and your career.

“The skills you have acquired will enable you to take Ethiopian Airlines to the next level.”

Samson Arega, the airline’s area manager for Canada, is among those who have completed the program. He said it has given him greater confidence in his academic prowess and also in his ability to move into positions of leadership.

Since enrolling, he’s helped his company through the COVID-19 pandemic, which caused business to decline severely.

“You can easily imagine how challenging it was with the existing new company responsibility, and being a dad of two little boys who need a lot of their parents’ cuddling, and at the same time, pursuing my studies at Ole Miss,” Arega said. “So, I had to develop new skills to manage multiple tasks at once, and now I know how persistence, passion and hard work pays off.”

Tadesse Tilahun, who lives in Addis Adaba, Ethiopia, has been with the airline for 20 years. He said he was initially unsure what he would gain from the program, but after a few classes, he clearly saw its potential to help anyone working in sales or marketing.

“I became highly interested and enjoyed all the readings and exercises,” Tilahun said. “The knowledge I gained from the program and the ideas and experiences shared with my classmates gave me the confidence to work as an IMC professional, which I hope will be applicable in my job.”

Tilahun said he came away impressed with the breadth of the skills he has mastered.

“I never expected that I would be able to get this much practical knowledge from the program,” he said. “The program gave me a number of opportunities to grow and explore my skills.

“I really enjoyed the two years in the program and I have done my level best to benefit the most out of it.”

Zebiba Miftah, the airline’s manager of group advertising and sales promotion based at Bole International Airport in Addis Ababa, just completed her studies. She said she understands that she must read constantly to stay on top of ever-changing market trends and always be aware of the needs of her target audience, while having a good handle on the relationship her brand has to its customers and the media.

She has seen her value to her company grow, she said.

“It has been quite an experience for me to see as the knowledge and insights gathered from each course added value to my daily activities and decision-making process,” Miftah said. “Now, I can contribute to the organization I am in or anywhere in the field of marketing with the knowledge and insight from the master’s program.

“I feel like a marketing expert, and it is a great feeling.”

This story was written by Michael Newsom for University Communications.

UM School of Journalism and New Media professor attends London event to develop policy for Ethiopia nation building project

Posted on: April 29th, 2019 by ldrucker

A University of Mississippi School of Journalism and New Media professor recently traveled to London to create a lasting foundation for peace in Ethiopia and all of Africa.

Zenebe Beyene, Ph.D., an assistant professor and director of international programs, said he traveled to London to gather input to develop policy for a nation building project in Ethiopia. Here’s more about his work.

Q. Can you tell me a little bit about the work that you recently did that took you abroad?

A. On April 20, I organized another successful meeting on nation building in Ethiopia. This event in London is part of an ongoing “Nation building project in Ethiopia,” which has been supported by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It is one of several similar programs we have held in the U.S. and Ethiopia since January of 2018.

The project aspires to promote peace, bring people together and find common ground on issues of collective identity. Focusing on these issues is needed today more than ever. There are ethnic, political, religious differences and other longstanding historical fault lines that divide us.

If we pause for a moment and reflect, we will realize that what unites us is more than what divides us. Based on that fact, this project encourages people to rise above those fault lines. It is hoped the project will create a foundation for lasting peace in Ethiopia and all of Africa.

Q. What are your goals, hopes and mission regarding the work you are doing involving peace?

A. The main goal of the project is to gather input for policy formulation on nation building in Ethiopia, which can be a blue print for the rest of Africa as well. To that end, we have held similar programs in Ethiopia and the U.S.A. And, I have witnessed a commonality among those various events.

People are tired of division, violence and hatred from any corner. However, here is the challenge: Those people, who aspire to promote peace and work to bring people together don’t have platforms. In contrast, those, who divide us along ethnic, political and religious lines have plenty of platforms and opportunities to do so and make us become suspicious of one another, and in the extreme case, to hate each other.

The latter groups confuse others by misconstruing the fact. Here is the fact: promoting collective identity, (which nation building is all about) and recognizing and celebrating ethnic identity are not mutually exclusive. In fact, such an approach will help us set the foundation for lasting peace in Ethiopia and Africa.

Q. How do you think our school and our students will benefit from the relationships you are forming?

A. Peace in Ethiopia and Africa in general is one of the priorities of US foreign policy. The saying “What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas” does not work anymore. We have seen that time and again. Peaceful and stable Ethiopia and Africa are strong and reliable partners for the U.S.

The experience from this exercise is also vital for our school and students. It will help us develop the skills and knowledge to bring people together and find common ground on issues of common interests.

Another main benefit of my involvement in this project is promoting the UM brand in these events. Wherever I go, I represent our school and our university. As we well know, many people don’t know a lot about this university, and what they know is the incident from the fall of 1962. It is incumbent on all of us the promote our brand, and the initiatives have given me that opportunity.

* * *

Beyene earned his Ph.D. from the University of Nebraska, Lincoln in political science in 2012. He specializes in media in conflict and post-conflict societies. He has taught, researched and provided training in Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda and the United States.

Beyene has served as a consultant for InterNews Network, US Agency for International Development, United Nations Development Programme, Voice of America, Pennsylvania University/Carnegie Foundation, Oxford University and Oxford University/U.K. Embassy in Ethiopia and Aadland Consult/IDEA International.

He has published or co-published work about tolerance and online debate in Ethiopia; the role of TeleCourt in changing conceptions of justice and authority in Ethiopia; the role of ICT in peacebuilding in Africa; media use and abuse in Ethiopia; From an Emperor to the Derg and Beyond: Examining the Intersection of Music and Politics in Ethiopia.

For more information about our program, email jour-imc@olemiss.edu.