US embassy cable - 05ABUDHABI964

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ABU DHABI 000964 
 
SIPDIS 
 
NEA/PPD; NEA/ARP; ECA/P:PIVES 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KPAO, TC, SCUL, CVIS 
SUBJECT: UAE:  INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION WEEK ACTIVITIES 
 
 
1. (U) Summary: PAO Abu Dhabi postponed International 
Education Week activities due to the mourning period 
following the death of UAE President Sheikh Zayed.  PAO 
subsequently spread the activities out over several weeks in 
November and December.  Public Affairs Officers and 
Education Advisors visited a number of schools throughout 
the UAE, spoke with students about the value of studying in 
the U.S. and addressed concerns about the U.S. educational 
experience.  It remains challenging to persuade Emirati 
families to send their children to study in the U.S. due to 
misperceptions and fear about the visa process and homeland 
security measures. End summary. 
 
2. (U) PAO initially planned to conduct IEW activities for 
the week of November 15-19, but postponed them due to the 
passing of President Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan al-Nahyan on 
November 2, and the resulting mourning period.  PAO 
eventually spread out IEW events over the course of four 
weeks, from November 23 to December 19, with follow-up 
activities occurring February 5-6. 
 
3. (U) The mission included the International Education Week 
(IEW) as part of its on-going efforts to reach out to 
students and parents in the UAE to promote study in the U.S. 
Post has experienced a  drastic decline in the numbers of 
students from the UAE pursuing educational opportunities in 
the U.S. after 9/11.  In the past year there has been an 
uptick in the numbers of student visa applications, but 
there is a long way to go to re-coup the pre-9/11 levels. 
In CY 2003, we issued only 124 student/exchange visitor 
visas to Emiratis; in CY 2004, that number jumped to 248. 
While this is a 100% improvement, we have a long way to go 
to reach the 2001 student/exchange visitor level of 657. 
 
4. (U) Besides describing the overall benefits of a US 
education, our outreach efforts have included de-mystifying 
the visa application procedure in order to present a more 
positive and accurate picture about the process, as well as 
to dispel the prevalent fear that the U.S. is a dangerous 
destination for Arabs and Muslims.  These outreach efforts 
have required close cooperation between the Consular and 
Public Affairs sections, resulting in the incorporation of 
material on the visa application process into press kits, 
conducting joint presentations and placing information on 
emergency/medical travel on the public website. 
 
5. (U) Occurring in a variety of venues, the mission 
followed a similar format in presenting IEW activities.  The 
PA officer and educational advisor spoke on the advantages 
of studying in the U.S. including the following key points: 
--Prestige of an American degree 
--State-of-the-art U.S. technology and facilities 
--Care and attention given to the needs of international 
students 
--Flexibility in areas of academic specialization 
--Unique U.S. pedagogical style that emphasizes student 
ownership of learning. 
The presentation included information on filling out college 
applications, procedures for seeking financial aid, and how 
to navigate the visa process.  All presentations stressed 
the value of a U.S. college degree, and addressed perceived 
anti-Arab bias in the U.S.  The presenters also provided 
students with materials published by EducationUSA, and 
provided instructions on contacting the Educational Advising 
Center for more information and individual help. 
 
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ABU DHABI 
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6. (U) PA Abu Dhabi kicked off International Education Week 
on November 23 by holding a DVC with the ECA Educational 
Advising Office for 40 UAE students interested in U.S. 
educational opportunities.  Although the program experienced 
technical difficulties, the educational advisor was able to 
turn it into an interactive session between the 
participants.  They asked questions about U.S. visa policy, 
services for Muslims on U.S. campuses, current attitudes of 
Americans toward Arabs and Muslims and other topics. 
Educational Advisor Abu Dhabi is conducting a second DVC on 
February 22 due to the interest and demand generated from 
this event. 
 
7. (U) On November 28, Educational Advisor Abu Dhabi 
conducted two U.S. education outreach sessions at Zayed 
University in Abu Dhabi and UAE University in Al Ain, in 
conjunction with the consular section.  PAO used these 
venues to provide information about graduate study, UAE 
student visa application procedures and USG educational 
exchange program opportunities to Emirati national students. 
On December 12 the Educational Advisor conducted a third 
outreach session at the 1st annual UAE University 
Mathematical Sciences Conference. 
 
8. (U) On November 29-30 the Public Affairs Section invited 
the 50 Abu Dhabi emirate microscholarship high school 
students to the embassy for sessions on the history of U.S. 
immigration, tour of the embassy and lunch. Four (4) 
officers from the embassy assisted in facilitating the 
discussion.  The background of the officers (consisting of 
junior and mid-level officers including a young single 
female, a woman married to a Sudanese Muslim, a military 
officer, and a first generation Muslim-American born in 
Kabul) provided the boys and girls with examples of the 
diverse nature of America. The students toured the embassy 
to learn about the building's cutting-edge environmental 
features and had lunch in the cafeteria. A few days after 
the event, post received a package of thank you cards and 
posters from each of the school groups.  APAO Abu Dhabi 
followed up this session with a presentation on U.S. 
immigration to the 25 male Abu Dhabi emirate 
microscholarship high school students on February 5 and the 
Abu Dhabi Educational Advisor gave the same presentation to 
the 25 female Abu Dhabi emirate microscholarship high school 
students on February 6. 
 
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DUBAI 
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9. (U) On November 28, PA Dubai held a presentation at the 
U.S. Consulate for 12 student advisors and career counselors 
from schools across Dubai and the Northern Emirates.  CONOFF 
Dubai provided information on the visa application process. 
BPAO Dubai scheduled follow up visits to the schools 
represented. 
 
10. (U) BPAO Dubai gave an IEW presentation at Zayed 
University on November 29, followed by a meeting with 
faculty and staff at Dubai Men's College to plan a DMC study 
tour to the U.S., which was subsequently planned for March. 
On December 5, BPAO Dubai and Fulbright scholar Nadia Rahman 
visited the Higher Colleges of Technology in Fujeirah where 
Ms. Rahman gave a presentation on her experiences as an Arab- 
American and as a journalist working for BBC and Al-Jazeera 
in the West Bank, and described her Fulbright project on 
oral history in the UAE.  BPAO Dubai and Ms. Rahman 
conducted a second presentation at the American Corner in 
the Fujeirah Women's College. 
 
11. (U) On December 9, BPAO Dubai gave a presentation on 
options for studying in the U.S. to an assembly of over 250 
students at the Indian High School Career Fair.  PA Dubai 
also placed an information booth at the fair, which was 
visited by over 50 students and parents.  On December 18 and 
19, BPAO Dubai and Educational Advisors from both Abu Dhabi 
and Dubai attended "Career Day" events at Dubai National 
School and Ittihad School, gave presentations and 
distributed relevant material to over 200 students. 
 
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COMMENT 
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12. (U) The IEW presentations were well received by the 
targeted audiences, indicating positive feelings among 
Emiratis about the American people and respect for American 
educational institutions.  However, fostering educational 
exchange among Emiratis continues to be a great challenge. 
The UAE is a conservative society with families that are 
reluctant to send their children (especially daughters) to 
study overseas.  These concerns are further reinforced by 
widespread misperceptions about the hostile environment for 
Arabs and Muslims in the U.S., which is reinforced daily by 
television and print news reports.  However, successfully 
promoting U.S. educational opportunities to Emiratis can 
counter this effect, as anecdotal and poll results (Zogby 
International - June 2004) indicate a significant increase 
in Emirati favorable opinion of the American people if they 
have visited the U.S. 
 
SISON