Podcasts about african union mission

Ambassador Cindy Courville joins Mike Shanley to discuss her work as the first Ambassador for the African Union. She talks about what it was like to enter into that role and how she worked with African Leaders to ensure their voices were heard, as well as what it meant to them to have someone assigned to Africa. Ambassador Courville describes the way the relationships have changed throughout different Presidencies and that it is critical to choose our next President based on the needs of other countries. Lastly, Ambassador Courville talks about what someone looking to get started in the development and diplomatic sector should be focused on. Tune in to learn more about the African Union.    IN THIS EPISODE: [1:49] What is Ambassador Courville's view on global security? [2:43] What does she see as the interplay between intelligence and development in promoting development outcomes?  [5:32] What was Ambassador Courville's experience being the first Ambassador to the African Union and what was her role? [9:25] How have the policies changed since the first implemented policies? [14:28] What did it mean to the African Leaders to have an Ambassador assigned to them? [16:25] Has there been momentum on the foundation of engagement with African nations and leaders under the Biden administration?  [19:56] How do the current African leaders see geopolitical options to them in the US, China, and other nations? [24:26] What is Ambassador Courville's insight on good development and the importance of interagency work? [27:25] What is Ambassador Courville's insight to someone that wants to cut development funding or diplomatic funding? [31:53] Ambassador Courville's advice for someone getting started in the development or diplomatic sector.   KEY TAKEAWAYS:  If we fall or shift to a more authoritarian situation, that is not in the best interest of African countries or developing countries in general.  We need to have a democracy and a leadership that is focused on maintaining democracy, not curtailing the rights and freedoms of Americans.  The more politically and economically stable we are, the less you have to use other tools, and you only want to use those other tools in the most extreme situations.    QUOTES: [21:35] “The Africans have been extremely forgiving and understanding. I would say, extremely democratic in their outlook, so they recognize the dynamics and shifts on a level that the average American just doesn't get. I'm not just talking the leadership of Africa, but the people themselves, and so you can't expect them not to engage.” - Ambassador Cindy Courville [24:33] “If I were writing the policy for USAID today, or for the administration, not just for Africa, but in general, I would say we need to increase the size of USAID. USAID's mission is so huge, but the number of personnel and NGOs are great, but we need more continuity in that process.” - Ambassador Cindy Courville [31:19] “We haven't resolved our civil war issues, women's issues, all of those things that are fundamentally part of a democracy.” - Ambassador Cindy Courville   RESOURCES: NSL4A Steering Committee  Aid Market Podcast Aid Market Podcast YouTube   BIOGRAPHY: Ambassador (retired) Cindy Courville, Ph.D. currently serves on the executive board of the National Security Executives and Professional Association (NSEPA) and as a member of the Steering Committee of the Leadership Council for Women in National Security (LCWINS).  Previously Ambassador Courville served as a member of the Board of Trustees of the Social Science Foundation Board for the Korbel School of International Studies at the University of Denver. Within the U.S. government national security enterprise Ambassador Courville has served in a number of positions for nearly 20 years in the Department of State, the National Security Council, the Defense Intelligence Agency , and the Office of the Secretary of Defense.  In the academic arena,  Ambassador Courville taught at the National Intelligence University, Occidental College, and Hanover College. Ambassador Courville served as the first U.S. Ambassador to the African Union where she was significantly instrumental in organizing and managing the fiftieth U.S. mission in Africa from November 2006-May 2008.  She led the U.S., European Union, and Non-African Observer countries negotiating efforts to design and implement the Strategic Planning Management Unit to support the African Union Mission to Somalia.  Also, she facilitated engagements with the ambassadors from Algeria, Ethiopia, and Uganda to develop a strategic engagement plan for the launch and sustainment of a Ugandan People's Defense Force led African Union peacekeeping mission to Somalia. In addition, Ambassador Courville led a team of experts that developed a Disaster Readiness Program.  Under her leadership, this effort was fully funded at $1 million to assist the African Union in the creation of a standardized, coordinated system to monitor, address and remedy humanitarian crises in Africa. From 2004 – 2006 at the National Security Council (NSC), Dr. Courville served as the Special Assistant to the President of the United States and Senior Director for African Affairs.  She was responsible for developing and implementing critical strategic bilateral U.S. – Africa policy and relations that contributed to the advancement of U.S.- Africa political, economic, military partnerships, and security alliances.  Dr. Courville served as the White House and NSC lead working in collaboration  with the Nigerian government and the Special Court for Sierra Leone Office of the Prosecutor that helped bring  former  Liberian President Charles Taylor to justice for war crimes at The Hague.  In addition, Dr. Courville led the NSC interagency process that resulted in the U.S. training, airlifting and deployment of African Union troops in Darfur.  Also, she helped to create  and launch the Corporate Council on Africa, a public private partnership in support of the Presidential Malaria Initiative. Ambassador Cindy Courville received her Ph.D. and M.A. in international studies from the University of Denver and received her M.A. and B.A. in political science from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.  Also, she was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Louisiana, selected as  the Korbel School of International Studies 2014 Alumni of the Decade, and received the University of Denver Alumni Association Professional Achievement Award. Ambassador Courville is a Shell Oil Fellow, Ford Foundation Post-Doctoral Fellow, International Career and Advancement Fellow and Department of Defense Executive Leadership Development Fellow.

In this episode we speak to Lieutenant Colonel Ed Fraser of the Duke of Lancaster's Regiment, formerly the 1st Battalion The King's Regiment, which he commissioned into in 2001. He served in Afghanistan on Op HERRICK, and twice in Iraq on Op TELIC. Away from regimental duty, Lt Col Fraser instructed as a Platoon Commander at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, was a Staff Officer in the Army HQ Operational Training and Advisory Group and served as a Military Assistant to the Commanding General US Army Europe. He also led a Mission Support Team for the African Union Mission in Somalia on Op TANGHAM. He attended the Advanced Staff and Command Course at the Defence Academy before his tenure as Commanding Officer of the 4th Battalion The Duke of Lancaster's Regiment, which saw him oversee their contribution to Op INTERFLEX.  We discussed Lt Col Fraser's self-awareness of his leadership style and how it has developed over time, drawing on two particular examples from training prior to Platoon Command. He comments on competency, the ability to do your job from a technical perspective and knowing your your craft entirely, and the necessity of pairing it with human understanding - knowing your people and what makes them 'tick'. Lt Col Fraser recognises the significance of identity and creating a shared purpose, and references to the experience of creating sub-unit identities which aligned with the purpose of training Ukrainian soldiers, on Op INTERFLEX, to facilitate operational effectiveness across the whole team. 

In this episode we speak to Lieutenant Colonel Ed Fraser of the Duke of Lancaster's Regiment, formerly the 1st Battalion The King's Regiment, which he commissioned into in 2001. He served in Afghanistan on Op HERRICK, and twice in Iraq on Op TELIC. Away from regimental duty, Lt Col Fraser instructed as a Platoon Commander at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, was a Staff Officer in the Army HQ Operational Training and Advisory Group and served as a Military Assistant to the Commanding General US Army Europe. He also led a Mission Support Team for the African Union Mission in Somalia on Op TANGHAM. He attended the Advanced Staff and Command Course at the Defence Academy before his tenure as Commanding Officer of the 4th Battalion The Duke of Lancaster's Regiment, which saw him oversee their contribution to Op INTERFLEX.  We discussed Lt Col Fraser's self-awareness of his leadership style and how it has developed over time, drawing on two particular examples from training prior to Platoon Command. He comments on competency, the ability to do your job from a technical perspective and knowing your your craft entirely, and the necessity of pairing it with human understanding - knowing your people and what makes them 'tick'. Lt Col Fraser recognises the significance of identity and creating a shared purpose, and references to the experience of creating sub-unit identities which aligned with the purpose of training Ukrainian soldiers, on Op INTERFLEX, to facilitate operational effectiveness across the whole team. 

Somalia has asked the African Union Commission representative in the country to leave within a week after declaring him persona non grata. Somalia's foreign ministry says Simon Mulongo, the AUC's deputy special representative in Mogadishu, was no longer welcome in the country due to his engagement in activities that are incompatible with African Union Mission in Somalia's mandate and Somalia's security strategy. Foreign Minister Mohamed Abdirizak says the Somali government will hold accountable AMISOM person[n]el, particularly those at the leadership level, who are expected to be beyond reproach in their integrity as they discharge their duty under the UN/AU mandate.

Somalia has asked the African Union Commission representative in the country to leave within a week after declaring him persona non grata. Somalia's foreign ministry says Simon Mulongo, the AUC's deputy special representative in Mogadishu, was no longer welcome in the country due to his engagement in activities that are incompatible with African Union Mission in Somalia's mandate and Somalia's security strategy. Foreign Minister Mohamed Abdirizak says the Somali government will hold accountable AMISOM person[n]el, particularly those at the leadership level, who are expected to be beyond reproach in their integrity as they discharge their duty under the UN/AU mandate.

Somalia has asked the African Union Commission representative in the country to leave within a week after declaring him persona non grata. Somalia's foreign ministry says Simon Mulongo, the AUC's deputy special representative in Mogadishu, was no longer welcome in the country due to his engagement in activities that are incompatible with African Union Mission in Somalia's mandate and Somalia's security strategy. Foreign Minister Mohamed Abdirizak says the Somali government will hold accountable AMISOM person[n]el, particularly those at the leadership level, who are expected to be beyond reproach in their integrity as they discharge their duty under the UN/AU mandate.

Listen to the Sun. Aug. 29, 2021 special edition of the Pan-African Journal: Worldwide Radio Broadcast hosted by Abayomi Azikiwe, editor of the Pan-African News Wire. The program features our regular PANW report with dispatches on the rapidly approaching deadline for the United States military withdrawal from the Central Asian state of Afghanistan; Ethiopian analysts are accusing Washington of attempting to stage a "Libya-type" intervention in the Horn of Africa state; the African Union Mission to Somalia (AMISOM) is making plans to remain in the country until 2027; and the governments of Rwanda and Lesotho have signed an agreement for cooperation within the police services. In the second hour we conclude our month-long focus on Black August with a reexamination of the U.S. government's counter-intelligence program against the African American Liberation Movement. Finally, we review a myriad of issues impacting Africa and the international community.

Tensions have been rising in Somalia since President Mohamed Abdullahi “Farmajo” failed to hold elections in February. After Farmajo moved to extend his term by two years, the ongoing political crisis triggered clashes between security forces loyal to the president and the opposition in Somalia’s capital Mogadishu. This turn of events forced President Farmajo to backtrack, says political and security analyst Mohamed Mubarak, but inherent lack of trust among stakeholders means the dispute continues.  Mohamed says the crisis proves Somalia doesn’t really have a national army, as clans still hold the most sway. Despite these challenges, there is no political will to make much-needed changes to Somalia’s broader federal structure. He tells Alan that Somalia, pressured by the international community, has focused on anti-piracy and counter-terrorism operations, setting aside fundamental security issues and institution building. They also discuss why Al-Shabaab may be winning the battle for legitimacy, the barriers to seeking any political settlement with the group, the risk of civil war should the African Union Mission to Somalia (AMISOM) soon withdraw, and where Somalia’s state-building project should go from here.  For more information: Read our recent Q&A: Why Somalia’s Electoral Crisis Has Tipped into Violence  The Horn S2 E10: Somalia's Election Crisis The Horn S1 E22: Somali Politics Heat up, Again

Many translation professionals can pinpoint a specific time or place that set them on the path to translation. Industry newbie Clysree Brown is no exception, but what makes her story different is that her time is now.Clysree is a recent graduate of the 2020 Graduate Studies in Interpreting and Translation (GSIT) program at University of Maryland College. As a D.C. native, she searched for ways to help underserved communities in her area access healthy foods and joined forces with D.C. Greens. Since then, Clysree has earned both her Undergraduate in Spanish Language and Literature from Howard University and a Masters in Translation and Localization in Project Management from UMC. On this episode, Clyrsee discusses how she was able to go way beyond the fundamentals as she worked through her schooling and shares how focusing on the art of writing, and even mathematics, were a part of her training. Join us and hear her rationale for taking the leap into localization from translation and interpreting. If you're a recent graduate or just want to know how the rising stars of localization are climbing the ranks these days, press play!On this episode you will learn: How coming of age in D.C. shaped Clysree's career path. Clysree's work with D.C. Greens and how it impacted her profession. Education for modern translators and interpreters and all it entails. Clysree's experience as she worked through her Graduate Studies in Interpreting and Translation (GSIT) program. More about Cylsree's decision to move from translation and interpreting to localization. Keep Up with Clysree and Smartling!Clysree Brown's LinkedInSmartling's siteGet a Smartling demoFull Transcript *that almost certainly has typos* (forgive us!)Announcer:You're listening to The Loc Show presented by Smartling.Adrian Cohn:Hello everyone and welcome back to The Loc Show. I'm your host Adrian cone with Smartling It's great to have you back here. We made this show for a couple of reasons. Number one, we want you to become an expert in translation and localization. So every week we are bringing you interviews with people who have done some pretty incredible things at companies like FedEx, and GoCardless, and King and Procore. It's been so much fun doing this show. Today, we have a really interesting guest because she has not quite yet cracked into the localization space in her post-graduate life. Her name is Clysree Brown. She is unbelievable. I think this interview is just going to give you such an awesome background on who she is and what she's learned. And frankly, I learned a lot because I didn't realize that there was a master's program for Translation and Localization Project Management. So hey, I hope you enjoy the episode. A massive shout out and thank you to Clysree for being on the show. Let's get right to it. Hey Clysree welcome to The Loc Show how are you?Clysree Brown:Hi, Adrian. I'm doing fine. How are you?Adrian Cohn:I'm doing great. It's so nice to sit down with you. We've just been chatting for a few minutes getting to know one another. It's Tuesday evening, it's five o'clock. We've both had long days in the office but I'm still quite excited about what we have to talk about today. Because you are someone who we're bringing onto the show that is new to the industry simply because you are younger and you have just come out of a series of higher education and I'm really looking forward to hearing about what your perspectives are and where you're at in this journey. And yeah, I'm excited to dive into everything. So maybe we should just start a little bit with what's your background? Where are you from?Clysree Brown:Okay, so for a little background on me I grew up in Washington D.C. in southeast.Adrian Cohn:Which town? Is it southeast the town?Clysree Brown:No, southeast Washington D.C. because the city is broken up into four quadrants.Adrian Cohn:Sure. Okay. So, if I pull up Google maps and I look, because I know Georgetown is on the west side, right?Clysree Brown:Northwest.Adrian Cohn:Northwest okay. So I'm on the complete wrong side. All right. Keep talking. I'm going to look at the map.Clysree Brown:Yeah so four different quadrants of the city and I grew up in southeast and southeast DC it has a bit of a reputation of being the part where most of the poor people live and admittedly I did see people around me grow up poor but I personally didn't grow up poor. It's been something that I realize is... I guess the way that I should say this is that I realize that I have privilege and I think that it's my duty as a person who has privilege to like give back. So that's why I've always managed to find ways to give back even through my career for example is what inspired me to become a medical interpreter and even help out with food access with D.C. Greens because I have helped out in southeast around the Eastern Market area where they would give out the checks for D.C. Greens for people to get healthy fruits and vegetables. And I've also done work in Columbia Heights too at their food market and Columbia Heights is where they have a larger amount of the Latino population and some of the Mandarin speaking population of the city.Adrian Cohn:You said that you realized that you had privilege. Is that the word that you used?Clysree Brown:Yeah.Adrian Cohn:When did you first realize that? What was the moment in your life where you're like, "All right, I've got an advantage here."Clysree Brown:It will come to me in several little moments in my life. It's like that thing that I just read it last night in Michelle Obama's book Becoming. She said, "We were similar but of two different worlds." So a way of explaining that would be like if I'm just going to the Metro before COVID someone will come up to me and then we'd have a conversation and this person will be about my age and we might get off at the same stop. And then they're like, "So, where are you from?" And that's when I was like, "I'm from around here. I live not too far from here." And they would be like, "Really? You don't seem like it."Clysree Brown:And I never really knew how to necessarily take that growing up but I mean in a way it did make a lot of sense because I never went to public school in D.C. I always went to private schools and then for high school I went to a Catholic school out in Maryland. So it was that thing where I know that my mom wanted to give me the best education, the best chance in life so that's why I did go to private schools. But if you actually go to a certain public schools though you do have a good shot in D.C. but in order to get into a good public school unfortunately there's a lottery system that you've got to go through. So, unfortunately not every kid has access to the best of the best education.Adrian Cohn:How did you take on this privilege when you were in... It sounds like you realized this when you were in your teens if you're traveling on the Metro. How did you onboard all of this? And you talked a little bit about the volunteer experiences you had but how did you channel the energy and what were some of the first things that you did?Clysree Brown:Some of the first things I did actually was just take a good solid look at my life. Because sometimes when you're living your life so closely you don't stop and look around and think like, "Hey, I'm a little bit different." And it was that moment where I realized that yeah I was different and it was time to just actually put it to words. So when I did take into account I was like, "Yeah I did go to private school my whole life and that my mom is financially stable." Then I realized that, "Okay yeah, I do have the privilege of knowing that I will be taken care of financially and then education ways." So I decided that it was definitely important to start looking for ways to give back.Clysree Brown:And fast forward to when I was in college and we had our capstone project which was our project that we had to do in conjunction with a paper so that we could graduate I decided to tackle the problem with food access in Washington, D.C. Because Washington D.C. is a food desert and that means that there aren't too many grocery stores that are accessible to the people who need them the most. So, they'll usually settle on unhealthy options and that's why the organization that I volunteered with, D.C. Greens, they would hand out checks at farmer's markets so that families could afford healthy fruits and vegetables.Adrian Cohn:Wow. So fast forward to now, I mean you've come quite a long way. Tell us a little bit about where you are now in terms of your career and some of the achievements that you've had to date.Clysree Brown:So in terms of my career I've just graduated. I'm a May, 2020 graduate from the Graduate Studies in Interpreting and Translation program, or GSIT, from the University of Maryland, College Park.Adrian Cohn:Congratulations.Clysree Brown:Thank you.Adrian Cohn:You are newly minted. And before the University of Maryland you also were at Howard University.Clysree Brown:Yup.Adrian Cohn:So tell us a little bit about your trajectory in higher education.Clysree Brown:You mean more so how I chose my career path that led me to localization or in general?Adrian Cohn:Well, I understand that Howard University had a pretty substantial impression on your life. It helped to provide you with some identity. Tell us more about that.Clysree Brown:Oh, so particularly about Howard University it's a HBCU so it's a Historically Black College or University. I want to say that it's something that's hard to put into words and you have to live it to know it but it's such a great feeling knowing that you can be around a bunch of people who you identify with and you can learn your history and culture a lot deeper than you did in school. And that for me was just something that I will always remember and cherish. So, Howard University did have a lot to do with me finding pride in being Afro-American because beforehand it was simply like it was just a fact of life. And then afterwards, after being at Howard, it felt like something to definitely take deep pride in.Adrian Cohn:Wow. Do you still have good friends from Howard?Clysree Brown:I do. I still hang out with a few of my Howard friends.Adrian Cohn:That's cool. Yeah. I've been out of school now for a little bit and my friends are all over the country which is really hard. I have a friend in California, a friend in Oregon, friends in Tennessee, probably a couple in New York, but they're spread out. And it's really hard to see everybody, obviously things like Zoom or FaceTime and text messaging helps keep us together but it's not the same as having the ability to go down the hallway. I remember my college years, I remember them and I remember them fondly.Clysree Brown:Yeah. And luckily for me a few of my friends still do live in this area. Some of them did go back to where they were from though.Adrian Cohn:And so, it was at some point when you were at Howard that you went to a conference and started to do some interpretation work?Clysree Brown:So, at Howard University they had this interpretation program and I did three semesters there. And every year there would be a field trip, not every year but I mean every semester there would be a field trip and they would take us to the African Union Mission in Georgetown and we'd have a chance to show the ambassador our interpretation skills. And it was a very nice thing to do because we would be able to go into a real interpretation booth and use the equipment and I thought that was really cool.Adrian Cohn:I love doing field work. It definitely makes me feel alive so I can see you doing this right now and that's a nice picture that I have. So was the real beginning into your interest in the field of language and the possibility of what you might be able to do in terms of a longterm career in the field of communication and language and translation?Clysree Brown:Well, I would say that my interest in language went a little bit further back because in high school I was always in honors Spanish. So I decided since that [inaudible 00:13:17] were my highest grades I was like, "Why not become a Spanish major and a photography minor?" I mean, I eventually became an English minor but I decided that I wanted to be a Spanish major because it felt like it just made the most sense to me. But I was not really thinking too far ahead as to how would that necessarily help or benefit me further on. And then later I started looking through the course catalog the semester, I think it was second semester of my sophomore year and I saw interpretation was going to be offered. So I was just like, "Why not just dive in and take it?"Clysree Brown:So I just didn't really know too much about the whole language services industry so I was like, "Okay interpretation, maybe I want to be an interpreter." So, I did three semesters of that. It was very fun. I definitely bonded with my professor Dr. [inaudible 00:14:12] She's amazing. And after that I was talking to the head of the department of world languages and cultures, which my major is listed under, and she told me about the University of Maryland GSIT program and she said, "I think that if you really want to be an interpreter you should go to GSIT." So that's when I applied. And I applied to GSIT originally wanting to be an interpreter but they got back to me and said they liked my translations better and they thought that I should really foster that. So, I went in on the translation track.Adrian Cohn:Tell us a little bit more about the GSIT program because I'm not sure how many folks who are listening have heard about it.Clysree Brown:Well, the GSIT program, or Graduate Studies in Interpreting and Translation program, was founded around 2016 by Dr. David B. Sawyer and he actually is still one of the professors in the program. He is a very great professor. He has for over 10 years been the chief of European languages branch of interpretation at the state department. And he's a very good source of information. He shows us the ins and outs of this industry that I wouldn't have even guessed were there. And I just say that you have to actually be in class to experience it because he really goes in depth. He leaves nothing unanswered.Adrian Cohn:Wow. You sound excited about the leadership that he brought to this program.Clysree Brown:YupAdrian Cohn:So, give us details. What was the makeup of the class and what interests did other classmates of yours have? Tell us more about the program and the people.Clysree Brown:So the people in the program, there were about 15 in my cohort. Some of them were diplomats, some had already been translators for about 10 years and decided to get their masters then, some had been removed from or graduated from undergrad and were just deciding to come back for their master's. What else? Oh, and there was one person who was actually a former teacher in high school well a former high school teacher.Adrian Cohn:That's a pretty wide range of people who were in your group. You may even have just labeled 15 categories and there were 15 people in the class. When you say cohort, do you mean that was the number of people who graduated the year that you were there or the two years rather? Okay. That's an intimate program so it gives you a lot of opportunity to get to know the people.Clysree Brown:Definitely.Adrian Cohn:What were some of the classes like? What were the titles of the classes?Clysree Brown:So we have some courses in public speaking, translation for specific markets, translation for specific domains. And then we had intensive writing both directions. Because this program they definitely focus on if you're on a translation track they'll definitely focus on translation and the whole art of it and writing, just simply writing in both languages or if you're doing three tracks in all three languages. Because it's really critical to just separate translation and writing at a certain point because sometimes it's easy to get distracted by the fact of translating that you just get sloppy with the art form of writing. So, it's something that the program is really good at.Adrian Cohn:Awesome. So, you said that you had one class that was called How to Translate in Different Markets, what'd you learn?Clysree Brown:So for a translation into specific markets we learned certain phrasing that is appropriate for certain times. So for example, if we are doing an advertisement versus the language that we would use for doing a treaty or even a recipe book. So we learned how to translate a variety of texts.Adrian Cohn:So it was how to effectively translate different types of content in a particular market?Clysree Brown:Yep. And there was one course where we spoke about translation theory or I think it was maybe two or three courses where we talked about different translation theories but the translation for specific markets it was definitely hands on. So it was like every class we had to turn in an assignment that was an actual translation. So I think that they're very thorough with making sure that you understand the heart of the translation itself as well as actually giving you a chance to really apply yourself. Because sometimes it could be a thing where you focus so much on learning about doing it that you don't end up doing it but this program gives you an ample opportunity to just learn it as well as do it.Adrian Cohn:So could it be that one of your homework assignments would be, "Take this recipe and translate it into Spanish for Spain, see ya Monday." Would that be one of the assignments?Clysree Brown:Yeah, that definitely would be something that would be one of the assignments.Adrian Cohn:So what was the training to help you be successful? Because I know that I definitely had some professors who just gave you homework and didn't really care if you did well. I hate to admit it but I think that's true. But I had most of my professors were just so deeply invested in my success and they would provide great training in the classes that teed me up for a really good assignment that would be due the next week for example. What were some of the lessons that your professors imparted upon you that stood out that were helping you to complete assignments well or that you feel have shaped who you are today?Clysree Brown:Well I mean, one of the best pieces of advice one of my translation teachers gave me was to actually think about it or it might start sounding like translaterese where it's just like a person who's a native speaker will look at that and say, "That works but it's a little awkward." Versus something that sounds like it was actually written in that language. So, taking a moment and really thinking about it. And then with my translation technology course one thing that one of the professors said to me that stood out was, "Master technology before it masters you." So, that means make sure that you definitely say on top of new technology that's coming out and don't be afraid of technology. See technology as your friend because you will just have to either adapt or simply be replaced.Adrian Cohn:Right. So I mean, the degree was Translation and Localization Project Management. Clearly you had classes in translation. You had, Let's make sure you are effective at translating content and you understand the differences between different content types. You had a technology class that presumably was giving you some insight and visibility into what the technologies are and how to use them. Tell us a little bit about the localization project management side. What did you learn about localization project management from this course, from this degree?Clysree Brown:So there were two courses in localization that stood out to me, Localization Business Fundamentals and Localization Project Management. So, with the business fundamentals we were playing a game and we were pretending at certain points to be an SLV, an ROV, MLV, client side, buyer side. We were just trying it all and even coming up with budgets and assigning certain people in our team's roles such as the DTP specialists or the person who is the head of the company. And it was just fun to see all the different sides of this and how complex it all really is. Because first coming in especially because I didn't know much about localization or the translation industry before coming into this program I just thought that it was just interpreter, translator, simple, but I saw in the Localization Business Fundamentals Course that there was a lot more to it. And I felt like it was really in depth especially for it to just be fundamentals. But I think that it was very eyeopening and very amazing.Adrian Cohn:So, what were some of the things that you learned about in the field of localization project management that stood out to you as being so in depth that surprised you?Clysree Brown:Well, I found out because we got really deep into math and I didn't expect to really go into math again. Because admittedly math is not one of my favorite subjects even though I am striving to get better at it. But I was just really surprised at all the complicated formulas that we were getting. I was like, "Wow, this feels like we're living a real life algebra problem."Adrian Cohn:So what was the math? What was the problem to solve?Clysree Brown:Okay. So one day our professor pulled up a website and it was random. It was some website that sold mostly ties and handkerchiefs and he was just like, "So extrapolate how much you're going to charge to just localize all this content. And I was just like, "What?" I'm not just looking at it like this whole webpage and I'm just like, "Where do I even start? Am I doing word count? Am I counting images? I don't even know." But it was something where he was just like he wanted us to just really get creative and think out of the box.Adrian Cohn:Yeah. That's a cool problems to solve. How did you solve it? What did you do?Clysree Brown:It was like luckily we had a person on our team who was already in the translation and localization industry. So he came up with I can't remember in detail what he did but he came up with his own way of solving it. And then that's when he gave us the rest of the group members the equation that we were going to work on and then we solved it.Adrian Cohn:Yeah. I love the problem because it's actually a real life problem it's not just a fake one and you've said a few times already that the program was meaningful, it had real world scenarios that you had to solve. And we get questions at Smartling every day of like, "What is it going to cost?" And then our response is, "Well, how much content do you have?" And they're like, "Well, we don't know." I mean sometimes that's what happens. Other times it's as simple as the customer providing us with a file and then we can immediately tell them how many words it is and what the fuzzy match will be and how they'll save money doing these five things. So, you can use technology to help solve that problem but I think it's cool that they gamed that out in your master's program.Clysree Brown:That's definitely true and within the last year of the program I actually switched over from being a translation concentration or major to localization.Adrian Cohn:Why'd you make the leap?Clysree Brown:Well, because I had a feeling that localization would be another challenge for me because I did like translation a lot but I felt like I was having some sort of mastery over it. Because I don't really think that I could ever have full mastery over translation because a side note I am a creative story writer. So I do write short stories and stuff so I never believe that there's any such thing as a perfect story. So I always strive to write better stories and stuff. So I don't ever think I could fully master translation but I felt like I was having a level of mastery that I was comfortable with. So I decided to tackle localization because I decided why not. Because during this program I've done interpreting, conference interpreting, community interpreting when I was a medical interpreter for about seven months as my practicum. And then I did translation in this program so I decided why not branch out and do localization because it felt adventurous and I felt like I could do it.Adrian Cohn:That's good reasons. I think it is an adventurous discipline. I certainly had the great pleasure of speaking to and working with many people who are in localization and the responsibility set varies so much from company to company. In large organizations with thousands and thousands of people there may be large teams of localization managers maybe that are dedicated to specific countries. And then in small companies or companies that are newer to translation maybe it's a person's halftime job. And I think that spectrum is really quite interesting and challenging for people to navigate whether they are on the client side or the customer side, sorry the vendor side. And I think you've pinpointed some interesting takeaways there.Adrian Cohn:What are you hoping to do next? You've got your undergraduate degree in Spanish language and literature from Howard. You have a master's degree in Translation and Localization Project Management. Where do you see yourself next? What are you trying to achieve now?Clysree Brown:Well, I would like to get a junior project manager position or a quality assurance position because I feel like I have an eye for attention to detail and I think that project management is something that is definitely very stable. And I am a well organized person so I think that global project manager would suit me.Adrian Cohn:Well, you guys heard it here first, Clysree is ready and willing and able. And I think that if there's anything I've learned on today's call, Clysree, it's that you are one bright star, a rising star in the industry. You're super awesome to hop on the podcast with me. You've been following SmartLink for a number of months now. I've seen your name pop up in our events that we've had and you and I have had some dialogue on LinkedIn and in email. And you come across as someone who is incredibly intelligent and someone who's accomplished a lot in your short life.Clysree Brown:Well, thank you so much and I hope that I'm going to accomplish a lot more because already I have as you said accomplished so much.Adrian Cohn:Well, you've got plenty of time and use it wisely and use it in good health.Clysree Brown:Thank you.Adrian Cohn:Thank you. Thank you. Thank you Clysree Brown for being on The Loc Show. I thoroughly enjoyed this conversation. You are going places. Everybody take note. Find her on LinkedIn, make a connection with her. She is an awesome rising star. Thank you also for listening to The Loc Show. This show has been so much fun to produce and if you are learning from it, if you're enjoying it, do me one small favor, it would make my day, head on over to the podcast player and give this show a six star review. And if you're so inclined leave a comment. If you'd like to be featured on The Loc Show send me an email, locshow@smartling.com. See you next time.

When the local belligerents are still willing to fight and they've not stopped the war, dropping peacekeeping forces in the middle of that is not a recipe for immediate success. A BETTER PEACE welcomes Dr. Paul Williams from the Elliot School of International Affairs at the George Washington University. Williams, an academic expert and consultant in the politics and effectiveness of peace operations, joins podcast editor Ron Granieri to discuss the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM.) Created in 2007, the multi-national peacekeeping task force is a study in political relations, matters of trust, and regional cooperation in the face of a terrorist threat.     Dr. Paul Williams is Professor of International Affairs in the Elliot School of International Affairs at the George Washinton University and associate director of the Security Policies Studies MA Program. Ron Granieri is an Associate Professor of History at the U.S. Army War College and the Editor of A BETTER PEACE. The views expressed in this presentation are those of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect those of the U.S. Army War College, U.S. Army, or Department of Defense. Photo Description: A member of the Uganda People’s Defence Force assists in parking a convoy of armored troop carrying vehicles provided by the U.S. Department of Defense and Department of State as they are driven into the UPDF compound, Mogadishu International Airport, Somalia, Sept. 25, 2017. The contribution comes with spare parts for the vehicles and a maintenance team assigned to train personnel for timely repairs Photo Credit: U.S. Air National Guard photo by Tech. Sgt. Andria Allmond

Professor Paul Williams, the author of “Fighting for Peace in Somalia,” explains the history of the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) and their fight against terrorist group Al-Shabaab.

Listen to the Sun. Dec. 23, 2018 special edition of the Pan-African Journal: Worldwide Radio Broadcast hosted by Abayomi Azikiwe, editor of the Pan-African News Wire. We will bring to you our regular PANW segment featuring dispatches on the continuing military struggle surrounding the control of the strategic port of Hodeidah in the Middle Eastern state of Yemen; Madagascar is awaiting for the final results of the runoff presidential elections held several days ago; Ethiopia is dealing with ethnic strife in the southern regions of the Horn of Africa state due to fighting between the Oromo and Somali people; and Burundi has objected to the ordered withdrawal of its troops from Somalia as part of the downsizing of forces by the African Union Mission to Somalia (AMISOM). In the second hour we remember the legacy of the martyred Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. leading up to the 90th anniversary of his birth. In the final segments we look back at the 73rd United Nations General Assembly through addresses delivered by the leaders of South Africa, Cuba and Venezuela.

The rapprochement between Ethiopia and Eritrea has repercussions that go beyond diplomacy on the Horn of Africa. A recent investigation shows that while Eritrea is no longer isolated, Djibouti is emerging as the new regional arms trafficking hub. The small strategically located state acts as a transit location for weapons trafficking between Yemen and northern Somalia through the AMISOM mission among others actors in the trade. The findings are the result of an investigation carried out by EXX Africa (specialist intelligence company that delivers forecasts on African political and economic risk to businesses) in illegal weapons trade on the Horn of Africa. In its research, the results of which are contained in the report titled The Arms Trade In The Horn Of Africa (the report has been partially published on EXX Africa website behind a paywall and is available upon request), the UK based company states that many Djibouti -based companies engaged in the country’s thriving marine sector have been implicated in the illegal weapons trade. Djibouti's growing economy Djibouti is one of the world's fastest growing economies and opens onto one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes. It is strategically located on the Horn of Africa with access to both the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean. Djibouti is only 32 kilometers away from Yemen and shares borders with Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somaliland and Somalia. The country also hosts a number of foreign military bases - France has its largest African military base there, the US military base there caters for some four thousand troops and can act as a launch pad for operations in Yemen and Somalia, while Japan, Italy, Germany and China also have a military presence in Djibouti. According to EXX Africa’s executive director, Robert Besseling, most of the weapons appear to be coming from Houthi controlled territory in Yemen - the Khokha district of Hodeidah province - shipped in the direction of Djiboutian ports from where they are passed to armed groups in northern Somalia supported by the government in Djibouti. Besseling added that his team uncovered evidence of some of these weapons reaching armed groups in Sudan, South Sudan and Ethiopia. However, he said he has no evidence that Djibouti is directly arming the Al-Shabab terrorist organisation. The investigation also shows that the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) is involved in supplying illegal weapons to armed groups in northern Somalia. “The Djibouti contingent deployed to AMISOM which is allowed to take weapons to Somalia, under very strict arms embargo, has been shipping some of those weapons to armed groups previously and still currently supported by Djibouti’s government,” Besseling says. Djibouti fills in the gap left by Eritrea The rapprochement between Eritrea and Ethiopia and the Eritrean peace overtures towards foreign countries (diplomatic ties restored with Somalia and Djibouti)  is not only reshaping the region’s geo-politics, but is also likely to shift the dynamics of arms trafficking in the region. During its years of isolation, Eritrea turned to illicit arms trafficking that “facilitat[ed] shipments of weapons to embargoed destinations like Sudan, South Sudan and Somalia," the report reads. The report also claims that Eritrea has also been involved in “arming and training Al-Shabaab militants as well as Ethiopian rebel groups like the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) and the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF).” Now that Eritrea is emerging from decades of isolation, it is likely to reduce its “central role in arms trafficking in the Horn of Africa," Besseling says. He adds that such a situation “would open up a vacuum in arms trafficking into which Djibouti could step into”. The EXX report states that senior Djiboutian military officials, government officials and heads of state-owned enterprises have ties with companies involved in the funding and facilitation of arms trafficking into the Horn of Africa. Besseling adds: “Based on that evidence, it would seem very conceivable that the Djiboutian government is aware of its position in arms trafficking and that it is, indeed, actively encouraging it.” The foreign military powers in Djibouti do not appear to be concerned with the arms trafficking happening under their nose. “It would not be in these countries’ interests to reprimand Djibouti or to impose punitive sanctions given that many of these countries are UN Security Council members (NB: France, USA, China). They would be fearful of losing their leases over their military bases in Djibouti,” says Besseling. This explains why there has been no concerted action by the United Nations or by these Western and Asian governments to try and curtail the arms trade in the country. Besseling warns about the risks of a blowback due to this absence of action to address the illegal weapons trade in Djibouti. He says that armed criminal activity is on the rise, fuelled by a proliferation of small arms in the country. Furthermore, there is the added risk of armed local insurgency because of clan divisions and political repression. And the terrorism threat remains; it already happened in May 2014 and the presence of thousands of Westerners still makes Djibouti a target for terrorist attacks. Follow Robert Besseling on Twitter @ExxAfrica Follow Zeenat Hansrod on Twitter @zxnt

Listen to the Sun. Sept. 24, 2017 special edition of the Pan-African Journal: Worldwide Radio Broadcast hosted by Abayomi Azikiwe, editor of the Pan-African News Wire. The program features our regular PANW report with dispatches on the African Union Mission to Somalia (AMISOM) which has conducted a training session for security forces in Mogadishu; the leader of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), President Joseph Kabila, has addressed the United Nations General Assembly on the future of the political situation inside this Central African state; the Zambian National Education Coalition has condemned the proposal to reintroduce corporal punishment to the school system; and the Zimbabwe Sunday Mail has criticized the work of Global Witness in relationship to the diamond industry inside this Southern African state. In the second and third hours we listen to some of the speeches delivered at the United Nations General Assembly 72nd Session last week. This segment reviews the addresses from the DPRK, Kenya and Cuba. 

Listen to this edition of the Pan-African Journal hosted by Abayomi Azikiwe, editor of the Pan-African News Wire. We will feature our regular PANW reports with dispatches on events involving the United States supported and coordinated occupation of Somalia by the African Union Mission to Somalia (AMISOM) where a base was overrun recently killing AU troops and capturing Ugandan soldiers; the British media has finally exposed the role of their government in the ongoing bombing and ground operations aimed at taking control of Yemen from the Ansurallah movement and its allies; the European migration crisis is a direct result of imperialist militarism in Africa, the Middle East and Asia illustrating the racist character of immigration policy and the horrendous treatment being meted out to migrants in Hungary; and the Black Lives Matter movement is being targeted for intelligence and law-enforcement disruption inside the U.S. while the number of deaths at the hands of the police has reached astronomical proportions despite Washington's "human rights" rhetoric around the world. In the second and third hours we focus on our month-long examination of the history of race relations in the U.S. and internationally. The program highlights an interview with long-held American Indian Movement political prisoner Leonard Peltier and an historical account of the role of the Black Seminoles in the fight against U.S. imperialist expansionism in the North American southeast. Finally we look back at the Attica Rebellion some 44 years later and the worsening problems of the prison-industrial-complex and its role in the national oppression of African Americans.

Listen to this edtion of the Pan-African Journal hosted by Abayomi Azikiwe, editor of the Pan-African News Wire. We bring to you our regular PANW dispatches with reports on the continuing war in Somalia where the Al-Shabaab movement has overrun an African Union Mission to Somalia (AMISOM) base and retaken two towns from the United States backed forces within AMISOM and the federal government; an attack in the Egyptian Sinai has resulted in the wounding of six people including two Americans; Yemen resistance forces among the Ansurallah (Houthis) have killed over 50 soliders from the US-backed Saudi-GCC Coalition coming from the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, two of Washington's outpost in the Persian Gulf; and the Russian government has enhanced its support for the Syrian people by sending additional military advisers and a further exposure of the use of chemical weapons by ISIS and other counter-revolutionary forces backed by the imperialists inside the Middle Eastern state. In the second and third hours we begin a month-long focus on the history of race relations in the US with a rare archival audio file of the coverage of the funeral of Dr. W.E.B. Du Bois in Accra, Ghana in Aug. 1963 by the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation. Finally we rebroadcast a roundtable discussion on the much hidden 150th anniversary of the conclusion of the US Civil War and the beginning of the efforts to construct a democratic political system.

Listen to this edition of the Pan-African Journal hosted by Abayomi Azikiwe, editor of the Pan-African News Wire. This program features our regular PANW reports with dispatches on events surrounding the continuing Boko Haram attacks coupled with the ruling party crisis in Nigeria; a retreat from several towns by the African Union Mission to Somalia (AMISOM) troops in Somalia due to Al-Shabaab attacks; a national governmental campaign against illicit alcohol consumption in Kenya along with efforts to increase regional economic cooperation with Zambia and the development of wind energy technology in partnership with the People's Republic of China; and the role of the military in Lesotho where the Southern African Development Community (SADC) has deployed South African Vice-President Cyril Ramaphosa in response to the assassination of a former military commander last week. The third hour continues the month-long focus on the literary contributions of African people with a rare archival radio interview with African American poet and activist Sonia Sanchez from 1974 discussing her evolution as a writer. In the previous hour we began with a presentation of an archived 1981 lecture by Johnetta Cole discussing racist violence and gender oppression during this time period.