Foreign Press Association Celebrating Diversity And Its 90th Year

The U.S. Foreign Press Association is the oldest organization of its kind and recently celebrated 90 years of its presence in the United States. More importantly, this association has been celebrating diversity since its inception in 1918. It currently has a roster of over 400 members from over 50 countries.

In 1993, they took diversity a step further by honoring journalism students in graduate programs from diverse countries and ethnicities. Suzanne Adams, Director of the U.S. Foreign Press Association created the FPA’s Scholarship Fund in celebration of the organization’s 75th anniversary. The purpose of this fund is to encourage foreign students enrolled in Graduate School of Journalism Programs to pursue careers on international affairs. This year marked 15 years of the scholarship fund’s existence and the current winners represent the finest in journalism as well as the diversity of the world we live in. Global Advertising Strategies and EthnicEvent.com were humbled, and honored, to be sharing in this year’s celebration of these brilliant young journalists from all over the globe. Each one told a story of triumph and most of all courage. Sharing their stories of battling for journalistic freedom, and the price of life many others pay to move their countries and people forward provides hope in an ever-shrinking world. For that we thank and wish these young journalists luck in all of their endeavors:

Anup Kaphle - Nepal
Mariwan Hama-Saeed – Iraq
Vinod K. Jose – India
Adeola Eunice Oladele - Nigeria
Lam Thuy Vo – Germany of Vietnamese Parents

As they help to bridge the gaps of cultural understandings through their voice and writings, this wonderful program also allows us to better understand the issues people face within the home countries of the scholarship recipients. It is our responsibility as business leaders to ensure that these voices are heard. This is not just a social responsibility issue it is also just good business.

As these global markets open up it is essential for our success to better understand the issues and opportunities these growing markets face and represent, whether in Europe, Africa, Asia, or South Asia.