Mission
– Fostering collaborations in the field of global communication that advance the mission of both institutions in research and teaching
– Advancing knowledge through field involvement in projects and consulting activities with both public institutions and private companies
– Raising both institutions’ visibility
– Shaping the future of the communication professions
Rationale
– The Emerson-Blanquerna Center for Global Communication is dedicated to advancing the partnership by fostering research and teaching collaborations, as well as projects and other knowledge based activities.
– The Center embodies in its virtual format, the spirit of creative and innovative collaboration in global communication, which includes projects in strategic diplomacy, public relations, public affairs, political communication, sports communication, digital media, among other shared areas of interest.
The origins of the Blanquerna-Emerson Partnership
The Emerson Barcelona connection begins with the Emerson 1992 Barcelona Olympics Trip. 15 Emerson grads and undergrads visit Barcelona Olympics and visit global and local sponsors. This was the idea of Javier Curtichs, Emerson MA student in Political Com, who worked with Prof. Gregory Payne, Chair of Communication Studies and Prof. Scott Ratzan to plan the trip and showcase his city. Prof. Antonio Noguero of University of Barcelona introduced the Emerson delegation to Prof. Enric Ordeix of Blanquerna.
Since 1992, and since the signing of the MOU, Prof. Noguero and Prof. Ordeix have sent students to Boston and the Los Angeles Program (Janice Payne’s program for international students once she retired from running BU LA Program, and the founding internship coordinator of the Emerson Los Angeles Program). Payne, Ordeix and Noguero have explored numerous collaborative public diplomacy projects involving students from Barcelona, Emerson as well as students from Catholic University of Chile, (Escola Superior de Comunicação Social of Lisbon, Elmira University, Lake Erie College of the USA, among others.
10 years prior to the MOU, (2005 – 2015) Payne and Ordeix organized Blanquerna’s summer program in Boston, New York and Washington, D.C. for the MA in Strategic Management in Global Communication Program. There were informal yearly visits of Emerson students and Blanquerna students to Boston and Barcelona, as well as Rosarito, Baja Mexico, Chile, Portugal, Iceland and Thailand.
Since then, annual summits have been organized between the two universities, and periodic collaborations have been carried out between the institutions, including student exchanges and participation in joint projects.