Aly Z. Ramji
Consultants
Aly Z. Ramji is a trade and investment advisor and public diplomacy consultant. Mr. Ramji’s core competencies in image management, government branding and international public diplomacy has enabled him to work with government agencies, NGO’s and non-profits and international agencies in the areas of diplomacy, sustainable development and economic reconstruction in post-conflict areas.
Upon completing his graduate studies, Mr. Ramji worked as the Africa / Middle East Senior Analyst with AFA-Press in Washington DC. Part of his work involved conducting in-depth economic research, identifying trade opportunities and sourcing business trends in emerging markets. Mr. Ramji's research was used to write market profiles of various economic sectors of countries in Africa and the Middle East, focusing on banking, industry and telecommunications. He had the opportunity to interview various government officials including ministers of trade, ministers of finance, and state ambassadors.
Mr. Ramji has worked for a number of international agencies and NGO's in the area of development communications, monitoring and evaluation, institutional capacity building and public relations. At the United Nations Office of Internal Oversight Services in Geneva, Mr. Ramji undertook the program evaluation for the UN's Cultural Activities Program, assisting in developing new methods for the cultural department to promote efficient outreach and communication activities, and worked on various other UN audits. For the Government of Tanzania, he worked on a poverty reduction communications strategy designing material to educate local citizens on poverty awareness. At the International Institute for Sustainable Development, Mr. Ramji worked in the Knowledge Communications department where he focused on evaluating knowledge networks and determined how social influences in policy networks impact development growth in emerging markets. He has developed a media strategy for UNESCO's Eighth Conference of African Ministers of Education in Dar es Salaam, and created a communications program to promote sustainable tourism in East Africa for the agency's Slave Route program.
Mr. Ramji also worked for the Communications department for the Organization of African Unity (now the African Union), during two of its Heads of States meetings. In 2006, Mr. Ramji completed a consultancy with the Central Bank of Tanzania, assisting the Bank on public-private partnership development. In his capacity as a photojournalist, Mr. Ramji covered the South African Presidential Inauguration in 1999, and the 2001 and 2002 Heads of State meetings for the East African Community.
Education
· Master of Arts, International Relations The Maxwell School of Public Affairs, Syracuse University
· Master of Science, Public Relations S.I. Newhouse School of Communications, Syracuse University
· Bachelor of Arts, Economics - Finance & International Studies - University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON, Canada
· Financial Modeling & DCF Valuation, Wall Street Prep, George Washington University, Washington, D.C.
· Certificate of Advanced Study in Conflict Resolution –Syracuse University, New York
· Initiated and created the Graduate Program on Public Diplomacy – Syracuse University
Publications include:
Knowledge Networks: Guidelines for Assessment - Evaluation manual used for The World Conservation Union (IUCN)
Performance Measurement for ADR Professionals - Evaluation guide for state level Alternative Dispute Resolution programs
Audit of the UN Cultural Activities Program – Public Audit Report submitted to UN General Assembly September 2006