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Dr. Tudor Vlad speaking at a program hosted by Qinghai Institute of Public Administration. |
Associate Director Participates In Public Administration And Communication Project In China
By using traditional and online media, local administration managers can give citizens the opportunity to be a part of the decision making process and to increase their civic engagement, a University of Georgia expert told a group of 110 Chinese faculty, students, journalists and local government representatives in Xining in September.
Dr. Tudor Vlad, associate director of the James M. Cox Jr. Center for International Mass Communication Training and Research, was speaking at a program hosted by the Qinghai Institute of Public Administration in the capital of the Qinghai Province in the northwest of China.
The visit was organized by the International Center of the Carl Vinson Institute of Government at the University of Georgia. The Carl Vinson Institute has developed a partnership with the Qinghai Institute of Public Administration to work on a research project on New Community Management Models in the Process of Urbanization for the Less-developed Areas.
The main goal of the project is to conduct in-depth research on the urbanization of the cities on the east of Xining, Haidong District.
For more than 85 years, the Institute of Government has worked with public officials throughout Georgia and around the world to improve governance and people's lives.
Dr. Vlad joined the program at the invitation of the Qinghai Institute to bring the Cox International Center expertise in mass communication issues related to the project, such as the relationship between local government and media, crisis communication and civic engagement.
The Cox International Center is a unit of the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Georgia.
The program included site visits, interviews with government officials and citizens, and three formal presentations by Dr. Vlad.
Mr. Fei Zhang, Carl Vinson Institute program coordinator, also participated in the program and addressed local public administration issues.
“We have enjoyed very much our partnership,” said Professor Li Guangbin, Chinese director of the project. “Our exchange of ideas and knowledge has been beneficial to both sides, and I see the potential for further and broader collaboration.”
“The strategy of our international programs in the Cox Center always has been to design them as real exchanges, where we don’t have trainers and trainees, but equal participants who bring their expertise to the table,” said Dr. Vlad during the final session. “I have learned a lot while being here and I hope that some of the topics that I have presented have been beneficial to the research project.”
While in Xining, Dr. Vlad and Mr. Zhang had meetings with two vice presidents of the Qinghai Institute, Professors Ma Hongbo and Mao Yujin.
Prior to traveling to Xining, Dr. Vlad made a stop in Shanghai for a three-day visit to the Shanghai International Studies University. He was a guest of the School of Journalism and Communication. Dr. Vlad had meetings with Professor Guo Ke, dean of the school, and Professor Chen Peiqin, director of the Center for Global Public Opinion Research in China.
During the visit, Dr. Vlad continued the discussions initiated by Dr. Lee Becker, Cox International Center Director, of dual or joint programs between the Grady College and the School of Journalism and Communication, and of future research projects involving the Center for Global Public Opinion and the Cox International Center.
