Canadian Ambassador to Venezuela, Policy Fellow - CÉRIUM
A Canadian diplomat since 1993, Ben Rowswell has been Canada’s Ambassador to Venezuela since May 14, 2014. Previously, he served as Representative of Canada in Kandahar (2009-10), as deputy head mission in Kabul (2008-09) and as chargé d’affaires in Baghdad (2003-05). Mr. Rowswell has also worked at the Embassy of Canada in Cairo (1996-98), as well as at the Permanent Mission of Canada to the United Nations (1994).
During a sabbatical year in the Program on Liberation Technology at Stanford University in 2010-11, Ben began an in-depth exploration of the use of digital tools in foreign policy. As part of his efforts, he launched a research project called “Cloud to Street” with several Egyptian activists. This project resulted from a collaboration between Farhaan Ladhani, Shuvaloy Majumdar, and the Innovation Lounge – a network of innovators within the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada. His latest project – the Global Dialogue on the Future of Iran – was a collaboration with the University of Toronto’s Munk School of Global Affairs. It was initiated in May of 2013, and consists of an Internet discussion with some 1 200 000 Iranian men and women.
He has been co-author of the Direct Diplomacy blog since March 24, 2014.
Ben was the Pritzker International Fellow at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, DC, for 2003-2004. He has also served as a visiting fellow at the Université du Québec à Montréal, and is co-editor of the book Iraq: Preventing a New Generation of Conflict. He is a 2011 recipient of the Council for a Community of Democracies’ inaugural Palmer Prize for Diplomats.
Areas of expertise
Middle East; digital diplomacy
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