U.S. Embassy Brings Speakers on Civil-Military Relations, Media and Democracy to Bangladesh

Col. Curfiss

The U.S. Embassy Dhaka brought two experts to Bangladesh for a series of speaking engagements for the week of August 1-6. They engaged in conversations with Bangladeshis on the topics of military and media relations with government at universities, non-governmental organizations, and governmental offices.

Col. Daniel E. Curfiss is a retired United States Marine Corps infantry officer, now serving on the faculty at the Near East South Asia Center at the National Defense University in Washington, D.C. He joined the NESA Center in August of 2005 as the Program Manager for Afghanistan and Iraq, wherein he oversaw training and education programs for those two countries.

Col. Curfiss presented on civil-military relations and the U.S. National Security system to students, academics, and civil servants at BRAC University; the Civil Servants College; the Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies; the Bangladesh Center for Development, Journalism and Communication; the National Defense College; the Bangladesh Institute of Law and International Affairs; and Eastern University.

Col. Curfiss also met individually with Embassy staff, members of the business community, and the media.

Marguerite H. Sullivan is director of the Center for International Media Assistance at the National Endowment for Democracy. She has had extensive experience as a journalist and a communications practitioner both in the U.S. and overseas, and has worked in the White House, at a federal agency and as a cabinet member for a U.S. governor.

In Bangladesh, she discussed various topics relating to the freedom of the press, ethics in journalism, and communications techniques to mobilize grassroots participation.

Ms. Sullivan met with members of the media and public relations practitioners and students at the Department of Mass Communication; the Press Institute of Bangladesh; the Bangladesh Public Relations Association; the Journalism Training and Research Initiative; the University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh; the Independent University Bangladesh; and the Bangladesh Centre for Development, Journalism and Communication.