Advertising professor and students create short films exploring elements of diplomacy.
BYU advertising professor Jeff Sheets’ film project for the state department launched at the “Diplomacy is Our Mission” exhibit in the National Museum of American Diplomacy in Washington, DC on November 8th.
The museum — a partnership between the State Department and the Diplomacy Center Foundation — provides visitors with a unique look into the diplomatic history of the United States. Attendees partake in an interactive experience with access to videos, artifacts and immersive simulations to discover how diplomacy has shaped the United States.
Sheets and his students created short videos focused on four essential aspects of diplomacy: peace, prosperity, development and democracy.
“Perhaps today, more than ever, the need for diplomacy is of paramount importance,” Sheets said.
The creation of these films provided a special experience for students to learn about diplomacy throughout the world and understand its effect on various countries.
“It was a remarkable experience to help my students find, develop and create these stories of what diplomacy can achieve. We showcased the reality of how it affects the lives of people all across the world,” Sheets said. “When BYU says ‘the world is our campus,’ it is a very real thing.”
This experience — which was made possible through BYU Inspiring Learning funding — helped students in their understanding of the role of the United States throughout the world.
“The Laycock Center and Kennedy Center at BYU were critical to helping provide these experiences for the students,” Sheets said.
The four films “Peace in Estonia,” “Prosperity in Rwanda and Mauritius,” “Development in Cambodia” and “Democracy in Peru” can be viewed on youtube.com.