Latest news with #Spiro
Campaign ME
3 days ago
- Business
- Campaign ME
Podcast: Spiro's Virginia Ocampo: ‘Move from planned events to strategic experiences'
On the latest episode of Campaign Middle East's On The Record podcast, Virginia Ocampo, the Director of Global Strategy at Spiro, discusses how to build meaningful, experiential strategies, ensuring cultural relevance, brand safety and consistency in global brand positioning while leaning into data analytics and AI-led consumer behaviour insights. Beginning the conversation, Ocampo said, 'Artificial intelligence and LLMs are just tools that permit us to derive insights from raw data. Those insights then inform a strategy that guides the direction of specific brand experiences. We don't jump into tactics, because tactics without strategy are an expensive noise. That's why we always take the route of data, insights, strategy and then look into the creative direction of that experience. What this ensures is that connections – between brands and consumers – will have a higher impact.' Ocampo also breaks the myth that it's hard to prove return-on-investment (ROI) within experiential marketing while discussing ways to quantify the effectiveness of experiential marketing on long-term brand equity. 'We need to stop viewing experiential as a cost and start viewing it as a strategic investment into brand equity. For this, we need the right metrics to have a measurable experience – in a way that speaks to impact. This goes beyond return-on-investment (ROI) to include what is the return on the objectives, on the experience and on the community that impacts your brand on that activation,' Ocampo said. She added, 'The time has to move away from planning events to designing experiences. If you could forget about everything you know about events, do it, and then take this new approach. It's time to rethink how we design experiences. We have the tools, strategies and frameworks that can guide this process to create impactful experiences,' Calling for a strategic approach to experiential marketing, Ocampo says that it's time for brands to define clear key performance indicators (KPIs) and clear objectives, without which any efforts put into it are wasted. 'We have tools such as the Gravity Index, which breaks down seven drivers in audiences that helps brands be more accurate in the design of their experiences. This definitely results in higher impact and engagement with your audience,' Ocampo explained. She also goes on to explain the need for marketers to embrace training programmes and cross-disciplinary workshops to ensure that brands develop effective experiential strategists within their teams. Spiro recently conducted several such workshops for brands and partners in the Middle East. 'Even if brands have been in the market for 30 years, it's never too late to assess where they are it in terms of their portfolio of events; the way they communicate; and the consistency of their messaging, especially in big industries where they have different business units that have different audiences and require curated messages for each audience,' she added. For more insights from a very intriguing conversation, watch the full video above. CREDITS: Guest: Virginia Ocampo, the Director of Global Strategy, Spiro Host: Anup Oommen, Editor, Campaign Middle East Production: Surajit Dutta, Content Production Manager, Motivate Media Group Videography: Mark Mathew, Creative Content Producer, Motivate Media Group Studio: Ahmed Abdelwahab, Studio Manager, Motivate Media Group Editing: John Melencion, Content Producer, Motivate Media Group
Los Angeles Times
27-05-2025
- Politics
- Los Angeles Times
Can Pope Leo remain a U.S. citizen now that he's a foreign head of state?
Pope Leo XIV's election as the first U.S.-born leader of the Catholic Church elevated him to the extremely rare, and legally thorny, position of being an American citizen who now is also a foreign head of state. Born in Chicago as Robert Prevost in 1955, the new pope for the past decade has held dual citizenship in the U.S. and Peru, where he spent time as a missionary and bishop. As pope, Leo serves as leader of both the Holy See, the governing body of the Catholic Church, and Vatican City, an independent state. Can the pope remain a U.S. citizen while leading a foreign government? Here are things to know about Leo's citizenship. In addition to being the spiritual leader for what the church says is roughly 1.4 billion Catholics worldwide, Leo is also the head of what's recognized as the world's smallest nation. Vatican City covers just 0.17 square miles and has a population of a few hundred people. It became an independent state in 1929 under a treaty between Italy and the Holy See. Americans working for foreign governments aren't automatically at risk of forfeiting their U.S. citizenship. But the U.S. State Department says on its website that it may 'actively review' the citizenship status of Americans who 'serve as a foreign head of state, foreign head of government, or foreign minister.' 'Such cases raise complex questions of international law, including issues related to the level of immunity from U.S. jurisdiction that the person so serving may be afforded,' the policy states. The State Department declined to comment on the pope's status. A spokesperson said the department doesn't discuss the citizenship of individuals. The core issue is whether foreign leaders should hold American citizenship when they also enjoy broad immunity from U.S. laws, said Peter Spiro, a Temple University law professor and expert on citizenship law. Such immunity clashes with the constitutional principle that no U.S. citizen should be above the law. However, the U.S. Supreme Court in a 1980 decision ruled that Americans can't be stripped of their citizenship unless they intentionally renounce it. 'The State Department never assumes that you intend to lose your citizenship unless you specifically say so through the renunciation process,' Spiro said. He said it would be hard to argue that Leo, by becoming pope, demonstrated an intent to give up being a U.S. citizen. 'I think it's highly unlikely that the U.S. moves to terminate the pope's citizenship,' Spiro said. Peruvian law has no conflict with Pope Leo remaining a citizen, said Jorge Puch, deputy director of registry archives at Peru's National Registry of Identification and Civil Status. Leo was granted Peruvian citizenship in August 2015, the month before Pope Francis appointed him bishop of Chiclayo in the South American country's northern region. To qualify, he had to live in Peru for at least two years and pass a civics test. 'It is the most praiseworthy thing our beloved supreme pontiff could have done: Wanting to have Peruvian nationality without having been Peruvian by birth,' Puch said. All adult Peruvians, including naturalized citizens, are required to vote in elections through age 69. Voting in Peru's presidential election next April won't be mandatory for Leo. He turns 70 in September. It's not clear what happened to the citizenship status of Leo's predecessors once they became pope. That's not information the Vatican discloses. Pope Francis renewed his passport in his home country of Argentina in 2014, the year after he became pope. German-born Pope Benedict XVI and Pope John Paul II, a native of Poland, never publicly relinquished citizenship in their home countries. John Paul was the first non-Italian pope in 455 years. Margaret Susan Thompson, a Syracuse University history professor and expert on American Catholicism, said she doubts Leo would renounce his U.S. citizenship. But she believes the new pope was sending a message when he delivered his first speech in Italian and Spanish without using English. 'I think he wants to stress that he is the pope of the universal Catholic Church,' Thompson said, 'and not an American holding that position.' Yes. Here are a few notable examples. Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was born in New York to British parents in 1964. He left the U.S. as a young boy and renounced his American citizenship in 2016 while serving as the U.K.'s foreign secretary. Johnson became prime minister three years later. Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed was an American citizen when he was elected president of Somalia in 2017. Born in Somalia, he moved to the U.S. in 1985 and became a citizen in the 1990s. Mohamed gave up his U.S. citizenship two years into his presidency. Valdas Adamkus became a U.S. citizen after his family fled Lithuania to escape Soviet occupation. He returned to win Lithuania's presidency in 1998, years after the Soviet Union collapsed. He relinquished his American citizenship after being elected. Bynum writes for the Associated Press. AP reporter Regina Garcia Cano in Mexico City contributed to this story.
Vancouver Sun
25-05-2025
- Politics
- Vancouver Sun
The pontiff's passport: Can the U.S. strip Pope Leo XIV of his citizenship?
Pope Leo XIV's election as the first U.S.-born leader of the Catholic Church elevated him to the extremely rare, and legally thorny, position of being an American citizen who now is also a foreign head of state. Born in Chicago as Robert Prevost in 1955, the new pope for the past decade has held dual citizenship in the U.S. and Peru, where he spent time as a missionary and bishop. As pope, Leo serves as leader of both the Holy See, the governing body of the Catholic Church, and Vatican City, an independent state. Start your day with a roundup of B.C.-focused news and opinion. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Sunrise will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. Can the pope remain a U.S. citizen while leading a foreign government? Here are things to know about Leo's citizenship. In addition to being the spiritual leader for what the church says is roughly 1.4 billion Catholics worldwide, Leo is also the head of what's recognized as the world's smallest nation. Vatican City covers just 0.17 square miles (0.44 square kilometres) and has a population of a few hundred people. It became an independent state in 1929 under a treaty between Italy and the Holy See. Americans working for foreign governments aren't automatically at risk of forfeiting their U.S. citizenship. But the U.S. State Department says on its website that it may 'actively review' the citizenship status of Americans who 'serve as a foreign head of state, foreign head of government, or foreign minister.' 'Such cases raise complex questions of international law, including issues related to the level of immunity from U.S. jurisdiction that the person so serving may be afforded,' the policy states. The State Department declined to comment on the pope's status. A spokesperson said the department doesn't discuss the citizenship of individuals. The core issue is whether foreign leaders should hold American citizenship when they also enjoy broad immunity from U.S. laws, said Peter Spiro, a Temple University law professor and an expert on citizenship law. Such immunity clashes with the constitutional principle that no U.S. citizen should be above the law. However, the U.S. Supreme Court in a 1980 decision ruled that Americans can't be stripped of their citizenship unless they intentionally renounce it. 'The State Department never assumes that you intend to lose your citizenship unless you specifically say so through the renunciation process,' Spiro said. He said it would be hard to argue that Leo, by becoming pope, demonstrated an intent to give up being a U.S. citizen. 'I think it's highly unlikely that the U.S. moves to terminate the pope's citizenship,' Spiro said. Peruvian law has no conflict with Pope Leo remaining a citizen, said Jorge Puch, deputy director of registry archives at Peru's National Registry of Identification and Civil Status. Leo was granted Peruvian citizenship in August 2015, the month before Pope Francis appointed him bishop of Chiclayo in the South American country's northern region. To qualify, he had to live in Peru for at least two years and pass a civics test. 'It is the most praiseworthy thing our beloved supreme pontiff could have done: Wanting to have Peruvian nationality without having been Peruvian by birth,' Puch said. All adult Peruvians, including naturalized citizens, are required to vote in elections through age 69. Voting in Peru's presidential election next April won't be mandatory for Leo. He turns 70 in September. It's not clear what happened to the citizenship status of Leo's predecessors once they became pope. That's not information the Vatican discloses. Pope Francis renewed his passport in his home country of Argentina in 2014, the year after he became pope. German-born Pope Benedict XVI and Pope John Paul II, a native of Poland, never publicly relinquished citizenship in their home countries. John Paul was the first non-Italian pope in 455 years. Margaret Susan Thompson, a Syracuse University history professor and expert on American Catholicism, said she doubts Leo would renounce his U.S. citizenship. But she believes the new pope was sending a message when he delivered his first speech in Italian and Spanish without using English. 'I think he wants to stress that he is the pope of the universal Catholic Church,' Thompson said, 'and not an American holding that position.' Yes. Here are a few notable examples. Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was born in New York to British parents in 1964. He left the U.S. as a young boy and renounced his American citizenship in 2016 while serving as the U.K.'s foreign secretary. Johnson became prime minister three years later. Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed was an American citizen when he was elected president of Somalia in 2017. Born in Somalia, he moved to the U.S. in 1985 and became a citizen in the 1990s. Mohamed gave up his U.S. citizenship two years into his presidency. Valdas Adamkus became a U.S. citizen after his family fled Lithuania to escape Soviet occupation. He returned to win Lithuania's presidency in 1998, years after the Soviet Union collapsed. He relinquished his American citizenship after being elected. — AP reporter Regina Garcia Cano in Mexico City contributed to this story. Bynum reported from Savannah, Georgia. Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark and sign up for our newsletters here .
25-05-2025
- Politics
Can Pope Leo remain a US citizen now that he's a foreign head of state?
Pope Leo XIV's election as the first U.S.-born leader of the Catholic Church elevated him to the extremely rare, and legally thorny, position of being an American citizen who now is also a foreign head of state. Born in Chicago as Robert Prevost in 1955, the new pope for the past decade has held dual citizenship in the U.S. and Peru, where he spent time as a missionary and bishop. As pope, Leo serves as leader of both the Holy See, the governing body of the Catholic Church, and Vatican City, an independent state. Can the pope remain a U.S. citizen while leading a foreign government? Here are things to know about Leo's citizenship. In addition to being the spiritual leader for what the church says is roughly 1.4 billion Catholics worldwide, Leo is also the head of what's recognized as the world's smallest nation. Vatican City covers just 0.17 square miles (0.44 square kilometers) and has a population of a few hundred people. It became an independent state in 1929 under a treaty between Italy and the Holy See. Americans working for foreign governments aren't automatically at risk of forfeiting their U.S. citizenship. But the U.S. State Department says on its website that it may 'actively review' the citizenship status of Americans who 'serve as a foreign head of state, foreign head of government, or foreign minister.' 'Such cases raise complex questions of international law, including issues related to the level of immunity from U.S. jurisdiction that the person so serving may be afforded,' the policy states. The State Department declined to comment on the pope's status. A spokesperson said the department doesn't discuss the citizenship of individuals. The core issue is whether foreign leaders should hold American citizenship when they also enjoy broad immunity from U.S. laws, said Peter Spiro, a Temple University law professor and an expert on citizenship law. Such immunity clashes with the constitutional principle that no U.S. citizen should be above the law. However, the U.S. Supreme Court in a 1980 decision ruled that Americans can't be stripped of their citizenship unless they intentionally renounce it. 'The State Department never assumes that you intend to lose your citizenship unless you specifically say so through the renunciation process,' Spiro said. He said it would be hard to argue that Leo, by becoming pope, demonstrated an intent to give up being a U.S. citizen. 'I think it's highly unlikely that the U.S. moves to terminate the pope's citizenship,' Spiro said. Peruvian law has no conflict with Pope Leo remaining a citizen, said Jorge Puch, deputy director of registry archives at Peru's National Registry of Identification and Civil Status. Leo was granted Peruvian citizenship in August 2015, the month before Pope Francis appointed him bishop of Chiclayo in the South American country's northern region. To qualify, he had to live in Peru for at least two years and pass a civics test. 'It is the most praiseworthy thing our beloved supreme pontiff could have done: Wanting to have Peruvian nationality without having been Peruvian by birth,' Puch said. All adult Peruvians, including naturalized citizens, are required to vote in elections through age 69. Voting in Peru's presidential election next April won't be mandatory for Leo. He turns 70 in September. It's not clear what happened to the citizenship status of Leo's predecessors once they became pope. That's not information the Vatican discloses. Pope Francis renewed his passport in his home country of Argentina in 2014, the year after he became pope. German-born Pope Benedict XVI and Pope John Paul II, a native of Poland, never publicly relinquished citizenship in their home countries. John Paul was the first non-Italian pope in 455 years. Margaret Susan Thompson, a Syracuse University history professor and expert on American Catholicism, said she doubts Leo would renounce his U.S. citizenship. But she believes the new pope was sending a message when he delivered his first speech in Italian and Spanish without using English. 'I think he wants to stress that he is the pope of the universal Catholic Church,' Thompson said, 'and not an American holding that position.' Yes. Here are a few notable examples. Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was born in New York to British parents in 1964. He left the U.S. as a young boy and renounced his American citizenship in 2016 while serving as the U.K.'s foreign secretary. Johnson became prime minister three years later. Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed was an American citizen when he was elected president of Somalia in 2017. Born in Somalia, he moved to the U.S. in 1985 and became a citizen in the 1990s. Mohamed gave up his U.S. citizenship two years into his presidency. Valdas Adamkus became a U.S. citizen after his family fled Lithuania to escape Soviet occupation. He returned to win Lithuania's presidency in 1998, years after the Soviet Union collapsed. He relinquished his American citizenship after being elected. ___
Hamilton Spectator
25-05-2025
- Politics
- Hamilton Spectator
Can Pope Leo remain a U.S. citizen now that he's a foreign head of state?
Pope Leo XIV's election as the first U.S.-born leader of the Catholic Church elevated him to the extremely rare, and legally thorny, position of being an American citizen who now is also a foreign head of state. Born in Chicago as Robert Prevost in 1955, the new pope for the past decade has held dual citizenship in the U.S. and Peru, where he spent time as a missionary and bishop. As pope, Leo serves as leader of both the Holy See, the governing body of the Catholic Church, and Vatican City, an independent state. Can the pope remain a U.S. citizen while leading a foreign government? Here are things to know about Leo's citizenship. Is the Vatican considered a sovereign nation? In addition to being the spiritual leader for what the church says is roughly 1.4 billion Catholics worldwide, Leo is also the head of what's recognized as the world's smallest nation. Vatican City covers just 0.17 square miles (0.44 square kilometers) and has a population of a few hundred people. It became an independent state in 1929 under a treaty between Italy and the Holy See. Could Leo be stripped of his U.S. citizenship? Americans working for foreign governments aren't automatically at risk of forfeiting their U.S. citizenship. But the U.S. State Department says on its website that it may 'actively review' the citizenship status of Americans who 'serve as a foreign head of state, foreign head of government, or foreign minister.' 'Such cases raise complex questions of international law, including issues related to the level of immunity from U.S. jurisdiction that the person so serving may be afforded,' the policy states. The State Department declined to comment on the pope's status. A spokesperson said the department doesn't discuss the citizenship of individuals. The core issue is whether foreign leaders should hold American citizenship when they also enjoy broad immunity from U.S. laws, said Peter Spiro, a Temple University law professor and an expert on citizenship law. Such immunity clashes with the constitutional principle that no U.S. citizen should be above the law. However, the U.S. Supreme Court in a 1980 decision ruled that Americans can't be stripped of their citizenship unless they intentionally renounce it. 'The State Department never assumes that you intend to lose your citizenship unless you specifically say so through the renunciation process,' Spiro said. He said it would be hard to argue that Leo, by becoming pope, demonstrated an intent to give up being a U.S. citizen. 'I think it's highly unlikely that the U.S. moves to terminate the pope's citizenship,' Spiro said. Can the pope remain a citizen of Peru? Peruvian law has no conflict with Pope Leo remaining a citizen, said Jorge Puch, deputy director of registry archives at Peru's National Registry of Identification and Civil Status. Leo was granted Peruvian citizenship in August 2015, the month before Pope Francis appointed him bishop of Chiclayo in the South American country's northern region. To qualify, he had to live in Peru for at least two years and pass a civics test. 'It is the most praiseworthy thing our beloved supreme pontiff could have done: Wanting to have Peruvian nationality without having been Peruvian by birth,' Puch said. All adult Peruvians, including naturalized citizens, are required to vote in elections through age 69. Voting in Peru's presidential election next April won't be mandatory for Leo. He turns 70 in September. Did prior popes retain citizenship in their home countries? It's not clear what happened to the citizenship status of Leo's predecessors once they became pope. That's not information the Vatican discloses. Pope Francis renewed his passport in his home country of Argentina in 2014, the year after he became pope. German-born Pope Benedict XVI and Pope John Paul II, a native of Poland, never publicly relinquished citizenship in their home countries. John Paul was the first non-Italian pope in 455 years. Margaret Susan Thompson, a Syracuse University history professor and expert on American Catholicism, said she doubts Leo would renounce his U.S. citizenship. But she believes the new pope was sending a message when he delivered his first speech in Italian and Spanish without using English. 'I think he wants to stress that he is the pope of the universal Catholic Church,' Thompson said, 'and not an American holding that position.' Have other US citizens served as leaders of a foreign government? Yes. Here are a few notable examples. Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was born in New York to British parents in 1964. He left the U.S. as a young boy and renounced his American citizenship in 2016 while serving as the U.K.'s foreign secretary. Johnson became prime minister three years later. Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed was an American citizen when he was elected president of Somalia in 2017. Born in Somalia, he moved to the U.S. in 1985 and became a citizen in the 1990s. Mohamed gave up his U.S. citizenship two years into his presidency. Valdas Adamkus became a U.S. citizen after his family fled Lithuania to escape Soviet occupation. He returned to win Lithuania's presidency in 1998, years after the Soviet Union collapsed. He relinquished his American citizenship after being elected. ___ AP reporter Regina Garcia Cano in Mexico City contributed to this story. Bynum reported from Savannah, Georgia. ___ Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP's collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
