PRESS RELEASES

INAUGURAL CULTURAL AND ORGANIZATIONAL AWARENESS FORUM

JUNE 14-16, 2011

Conference Focuses on Africa and the role of the U.S. Africa Command in supporting African stability though enhancing partner capacity

For Immediate Release May 25, 2011

FAIRFAX, VA— Co-sponsored by AFCEA International and the Naval Postgraduate School (NPS), the inaugural Cultural and Organizational Awareness Forum, “Cooperative Engagement for Partnership Capacity: Africa as a Model for Whole of Government” will take place June 14-16, 2011 in Monterey, California. The forum will focus on Africa and the role of the U.S. Africa Command in supporting African stability though enhancing partner capacity.

The forum will address issues and cultural themes, and will facilitate top level.  The conference plenary sessions and breakout sessions will focus on Security Sector Reform (SSR), using SSR to explore larger issues of the U.S. military’s role in supporting a whole of government approach to promoting partner capacity through engagement strategies.

Featured Speakers Include:

• Ambassador Timothy Carney, former U.S. Ambassador to Haiti
• Gen (Ret.) Lamine Cissé, Board President, Partners Senegal - Center for Civic Collaboration
• Ms. Sharon Cromer, Assistant Administrator for African Affairs, U.S. Agency for International Development
• Ambassador Anthony Holmes, Deputy to the Commander for Civil-Military Activities, U.S. Africa Command
• Ambassador Vicki Huddleston, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Africa, Office of the Secretary of Defense
• Mr. Tom Woods, former Deputy Assistant Secretary for African Affairs, U.S. Department of State
• Mr. Karl Wycoff, Deputy Assistant Secretary for African Affairs, U.S. Department of State
• Ambassador John Yates, U.S. Special Representative for Somalia

Panel Session Topics Include:

• Working more effectively across the United States Government
• Working across the International Community and within Africa
• Operational Challenges and Opportunities

In addition, the forum includes two documentary film screenings and discussions as well as onsite exhibits.  The highlighted films are Milking the Rhino and Iron Ladies of Liberia.  There is a registration fee to attend the conference and exposition.  For detailed information and on-line registration visit www.afcea.org/events/nps.

AFCEA International, established in 1946, is a non-profit membership association serving the military, government, industry, and academia as an ethical forum for advancing professional knowledge and relationships in the fields of communications, IT, intelligence, and global security. For more information, please visit www.afcea.org.

The Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) provides high-quality, relevant and unique advance education and research programs that increase the combat effectiveness of the Naval Service, other Armed Forces and our partners, to enhance our national security.  Established as the School of Marine Engineering at the U.S. Naval Academy in 1909, NPS has grown to four schools overseeing fourteen academic departments that provide 61 master’s and 15 doctoral degree programs and certificates to approximately 1,700 resident students, including more than 200 international students as well as 700 distributed-learning students worldwide.  Four Institutes, as well as multiple secure research facilities and twenty-three Centers of Excellence add to the wealth of resources, make NPS a leading edge graduate school and research institution. For more information, please visit www.nps.edu.

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AFCEA Media Contact:                      

Rachel Haborak                                            

(703) 631-6180                                

rhaborak@afcea.org                          

Naval Postgraduate School Media Contact:

Dr. Fran Horvath

(831) 656-2228

rfhorvat@nps.edu

NPS Conference Coordinators:

Will Rodriguez, Rear Admiral, US Navy, Retired

Functional Lead and AFCEA Liaison

 (619) 556-3286

wdrodrig@nps.edu

Dr. Jessica Piombo

Content and Agenda Lead

(831) 656-2831

jrpiombo@nps.edu

Tom R. Hazard

Overall Project Lead

(831) 656-3777

trhazard@nps.edu