News

January 31, 2013

Civic Initiative Director Hannahan Meets with Young Leaders in Pakistan

After bringing 63 Pakistani students over to the UMass Amherst campus for the past three summers as participants in the Pakistani Young Leaders program, political science professor Mike Hannahan traveled to Islamabad in January, where he oversaw a reunion of the program’s alumni. Then he embarked on a speaking tour of the country—a trip which coincided with President Obama’s second term inauguration and provided ample opportunity to discuss the U.S. government’s policies and practices.

As director of the Civic Initiative, a democracy education enterprise that brings educators and students from around the world to the UMass Amherst campus for summer courses in public policy, Hannahan regularly collaborates with the U.S. State Department to finance and administer programs designed to provoke international cooperation, foster tomorrow’s leaders and provide a deeper understanding of American civic values and processes.

Over 90% of the Pakistani Young Leaders alumni from the summer 2010, 2011, and 2012 programs attended the reunion at the Serena Hotel in Islamabad. Ambassador Richard Olson addressed the gathering, pledging to continue "the largest exchange program in the world.” Through various programs administered through the State Department’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, the U.S. has hosted nearly 12,000 Pakistani alumni, incorporating academic exchange into a strategy for maintaining a connection to a region critical to U.S. foreign policy.

Hannahan continued his visit in Karachi, where he spoke to 100 guests at the city’s US Consulate, just before President Obama's Inauguration Speech. Dr. Hannahan placed the Inaugural address in historical context, noting that “the greatest thing about the Inauguration is that it is regular and predictable -- that Democratic institutions sometimes need to be boring as government can't take too much excitement."

The trip was covered by JOSH radio of Karachi, the largest youth station in the city, in addition to several of Pakistan’s largest newspapers.

Initially, Hannahan was to be accompanied by five UMass Amherst political science majors who have worked with him on the Pakistan program each summer. The UMass students help coordinate and oversee all of the program’s logistics, in addition to helping participants navigate the area—both physically and culturally. Reports of political gatherings in Pakistan, which were believed to block access to Islamabad, caused the US Embassy to postpone the students’ trip. It is currently planned to take place in March.