The School of Social Sciences was pleased to welcome Ambassador Reuben E. Brigety, former US Ambassador to the African Union and current Dean of the School of International Affairs at George Washington University – the largest foreign affairs school in the US.
Ambassador Brigety gave a special motivational guest lecture to students and staff from the School of Social Science. Students that attended showcased the many diverse nationalities on our campus and represented about ten different countries from Uganda to Norway.
Ambassador Brigety shared insights and answered student questions on a wide range of topics including what students should be doing to become the kind of leaders that wil make a difference in their home countries, how to inspire people to change, how to achieve success in your international career as well as some tips on the basic art of diplomacy.
He stated that the most important virtue for a leader today is to possess courage and said: “Ask yourself, what have I done to be courageous today? Courage is a muscle, it gets stronger with practise. All other virtues follow from that.”
Dr Victoria Graham, Senior Lecturer and Section Head for International Studies and Political Studies said: “Our MSA students are future global leaders – this was a brilliant opportunity to host a current global leader so our students could see first-hand what it takes – hard work, humour, dedication, integrity and above all, passion!”
Ambassador Reuben E. Brigety II most recently served as the appointed Representative of the United States of America to the African Union and Permanent Representative of the United States to the UN Economic Commission for Africa. Prior to this appointment, Ambassador Brigety served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State in the Bureau of African Affairs with responsibility for Southern African and Regional Security Affairs.