From halfway around the world, students at the University of Kansas discussed political issues face-to-face with students at the University of Baghdad on Sunday.

A two-part presentation called “Iraq: What next?” brought to light the different perspectives on the Middle East.

The panel brought journalism and political science students from the University of Kansas, Kansas State University, Northwest Missouri State University and Wichita State University together with their Iraqi counterparts from Baghdad University via a live, Internet-fed video conference. The second part of the presentation was an interview with officials from the military, the government of Iraq, the U.S. embassy and the U.S. multi-national force in Iraq, in which the officials discussed how the conflict in Iraq has changed and improved since it began. Bill Lacy, director of The Dole Institute, interviewed the officials about the security and economic development in Iraq and audience members asked the officials in Iraq questions.

The main themes of the conference centered on cultural differences in the media and speculation on what the democratic future for Iraq held.

Kyle Carter, Lawrence senior and panelist, said his biggest surprise during the conference was how different the two countries’ media cultures seemed.

“The nature of their questions and responses showed there’s this huge gap in the way we perceive media and the way we conduct ourselves in the media,” Carter said.

One difference highlighted was the American media’s role as a government watchdog versus Saddam Hussein’s loss of total control and censorship of the media.

Lamis Munir George, journalism senior at Baghdad University, said that although Iraqi media had been privatized after the fall of Hussein’s regime in 2003, factions of each media outlet were still controlled by political groups. Baghdad students questioned the American state’s role in news coverage and governmental support, and asked how various news organizations stayed objective.

Abed Al-Salam Ahmed, dean of the Baghdad Media College, said many Iraqis didn’t grasp the concept of media not being influenced by a political group, which was one thing he hoped would change in the coming years.

“There is an opinion that freedom of expression in the U.S. is a phantom,” Ahmed said.

Students from both ends of the conference theorized about the future of democracy and freedom in Iraq, and discussed how far the country’s media had come since the fall of the regime.

Suzie Gilbert, broadcast and political science junior from Northwest Missouri State University, emphasized the importance of the freedom of the press and how it would play a role in establishing democracy.

“If we feel like our government isn’t doing what we elected them to do, we are free to share our opinions about what we want to change,” Gilbert said.

The importance of media in democracy wasn’t the only theme in the discussion about the country’s democratic future.

The spokesmen for the military and government of Iraq discussed civilians’ improved quality of life. The officials said the security in the country had improved, allowing the people greater freedom of movement, confidence and hope for the future. They also said the security forces still needed the support of the multi-national forces present in Iraq.

The spokeswoman for the U.S. embassy also discussed Iraq’s economic development, including plans for Iraqi students to come to the U.S. to learn technical skills they would use to help develop Iraq.

The video conference provided live feedback that had never been attempted at the University of Kansas. The conference was held at 8 a.m. CDT because of the evening curfew placed on Baghdad citizens. Other technical difficulties included gaining access to the U.S. embassy in Baghdad and coordinating times and equipment. Preparation for this event began last December, and Tom Volek, associate dean for graduate studies and faculty development, said he was thrilled with how the day turned out.

“The fact that you have students sitting here talking to their counterparts halfway across the world is a big step,” Volek said. “We bridged the gap this morning, between Iraq and the Midwest.”

— — Edited by Grant Treaster