US embassy cable - 05CAIRO3066

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 CAIRO 003066 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR NEA/PPD; ALSO FOR NEA/ELA, IIP/SC AND ECA/P 
 
E.O. 12958: NA 
TAGS: SCUL, OEXC, KPAO, EG, KIIP 
SUBJECT: EGYPT PUBLIC DIPLOMACY RESULTS AND ACTIVITIES 
(03/31/05-04/20/05) 
 
REF: CAIRO 2736 
 
Public Diplomacy programming in Egypt for this 
reporting period continued to address the full range of 
Post's MPP themes.  This programming included Earth Day 
lectures, a lecture series on U.S. foreign policy, a 
DVC on Islam in America, and the launching of a new 
book/film series.  Post also recorded positive results 
from its exchange program participants and its support 
for a local English language conference.  Summary 
reports follow. Reftel is post's most recent prior 
submission for NEA/PPD reporting and IIP's PD results 
database. 
 
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RESULTS 
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(04/18/05) EGYPTIAN IVL GRANTEES RETURN WITH BIG PLANS 
 
Three recent Egyptian participants in the International 
Visitor Leadership (IVL) Program have come home full of 
ambitious plans for expanded U.S.-Egypt cross-cultural 
cooperation, and they already are taking steps to put 
those plans into action.  A journalist, whose IVL 
program theme was conflict resolution, is working to 
establish a conflict resolution center within a major 
government-run think tank, with his supervisor's 
support.  Since his return, this journalist has also 
published three positive commentaries about his IVL 
experience.  Another recent IVL grantee, whose program 
theme was the Performing Arts in America, has already 
been in to the Embassy to propose collaboration on new 
translations of American plays and their subsequent 
staging in Egypt. Among her ideas: an all-woman 
performance of American monologues in Arabic.  A third 
grantee, an academic who had never before traveled to 
the U.S. is now working to create an American Studies 
Association for Egypt and a new American Studies 
Institute. 
 
MPP GOAL: MUTUAL UNDERSTANDING 
 
(04/12 - 04/13/05) CAIRO RELO SUPPORTS ENGLISH 
TEACHING CONFERENCE, NEW ON-LINE ENGLISH COURSES 
 
The Embassy's Regional English Language Office (RELO) 
supported Ain Shams University's 25th National CDELT 
Symposium (Current Developments in English Language 
Teaching), providing speakers and support materials. 
The Cairo RELO sponsored two American speakers on 
"English of Young Children in Egypt" and "Creating 
More Successful Readers and Writers," as well as a 
talk by five alumni of the ECA-funded "E-Teacher" 
program, who described their online English learning 
experiences with American universities.  RELO staff 
gave all conference participants a copy of the "Young 
Learners" issue of ECA's "English Teaching FORUM" 
magazine, along with Cairo IRC-prepared materials. 
The Egyptian E-Teachers announced that they will be 
launching two on-line English teaching courses for 
Egyptian educators at the end of June 2005: English 
for Young Learners and Business English. 
 
MPP GOAL: MUTUAL UNDERSTANDING 
 
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ACTIVITIES 
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(04/12 - 04/19/05) EMBASSY PROGRAMS SELF-PROCLAIMED 
"NEO-CON," SPARKING LIVELY DEBATES 
 
Responding quickly to the availability of a prominent 
foreign policy analyst and self-proclaimed neo- 
conservative from the American Enterprise Institute, 
the Embassy arranged program appearances for him, in 
both Cairo and Alexandria, before professional groups 
(Al Ahram Strategic Center, Egypt's Council on Foreign 
Relations, and Cairo U's American Studies Center), as 
well as media appearances (press roundtable, radio 
interview, and live TV debate). The well-attended 
lectures covered a wide range of foreign policy 
topics, with audiences expressing appreciation for the 
speaker's candor. The media appearances enabled a much 
wider audience to hear directly from an articulate 
spokesman for a controversial segment of the U.S. 
political spectrum. 
 
MPP GOAL: REGIONAL STABILITY 
 
(04/09/05) WITH EMBASSY SUPPORT, FULBRIGHT SCHOLAR 
INSPIRES EGYPTIAN YOUTH TO PROTECT THE ENVIRONMENT 
In celebration of Earth Day, the Embassy sponsored 
lectures by a visiting Fulbright scholar and U.S. 
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) attorney, who 
discussed the history of environmental conversation 
and awareness in the U.S.  The lectures, in both Cairo 
and Alexandria, primarily targeted non-English 
speaking environmental activists, journalists, and 
students/youth club members.  The latter were 
particularly keen to hear how they might help protect 
Egypt's environment.  The Embassy worked with Egypt's 
National Environmental Protection Society to present 
these programs, highlighted an area in which Egyptians 
and Americans are successfully cooperating. 
 
MPP GOAL: ECONOMIC PROSPERITY 
(04/20/05) DVC PREPS YES GRANTEES FOR YEAR IN AMERICA 
To help prepare 40 Egyptian students selected for YES 
grants (the Department's Partnerships for Learning, 
Youth Exchange and Study Program) to study for one 
year in the U.S., the Embassy organized a digital 
video conference (DVC) with a leading Arab-American 
Imam to discuss Muslim life in America.  Over 100 
attended, including new grantees and their parents, as 
well as alumni.  The DVC covered cultural differences 
and tactics for adjusting to life in the U.S. 
 
MPP GOAL: MUTUAL UNDERSTANDING 
 
(04/13) AMERICAN CENTER IN ALEXANDRIA DRAWS HEAVILY ON 
IIP MATERIALS, RBO TITLES TO CELEBRATE EARTH DAY 
 
The American Center in Alexandria (ACA) contributed to 
Alexandria University's Earth Day celebration with a 
booth exhibiting environmental books in Arabic from 
the Cairo Regional Book Office (RBO), the IIP 
publication: "Focus on Desertification," relevant 
English language books from the ACA's Information 
Resource Center (IRC), IIP Earth Day posters, and the 
IIP-produced paper show "Environmental Action in 
America." Visitors to the ACA booth received an 
information packet including articles on the 
environment reproduced from IIP's Washington File and 
the U.S.  Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) 
website, as well as the IIP Electronic Journal "Shared 
Oceans, Shared Future."  In all, over 500 RBO books, 
100 IRC information packets, and 480 presentation 
copies of IIP's Hi Magazines were distributed. 
 
MPP GOAL: ECONOMIC PROSPERITY 
 
(04/11) AMERICAN CENTER LAUNCHES LITERARY FORUM 
 
The American Center in Alexandria (ACA) launched a new 
monthly "Literary Forum" with a film showing and a 
book discussion of Anne Tyler's "The Accidental 
Tourist."  ACA staff chose the book to commemorate 
National Women's History month in March. An 
enthusiastic audience included professors and graduate 
and undergraduate students participating in a 
discussion of Tyler and American women's writing 
generally. The ACA's Information Resource Center (IRC) 
provided reviews of Tyler's books, as well as articles 
by and about her, including a biography. 
 
MPP GOAL: MUTUAL UNDERSTANDING 
 
GRAY