US embassy cable - 05OTTAWA1503

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 OTTAWA 001503 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE 
 
SECSTATE FOR ECA/P - MERRIE BLOCKER, HILARY BRANDT and ALEX 
BROUGHTON; 
WHA/PDA - ROBERT BANKS AND JANE CARPENTER-ROCK; 
ECA/PE/V/R/W - ESSIE WILKES-SCOTT; 
ECA/A/E/WHA - CYNTHIA WOLLOCH and PEGGY BOND 
MONTREAL, TORONTO, CALGARY AND VANCOUVER FOR CGs and PAOs 
QUEBEC and HALIFAX for CGs 
CALGARY please pass to WINNIPEG 
AMEMBASSY MEXICO for CAO MARJ COFFIN 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KPAO, OEXC, SCUL, CA, Canada-US Exchange 
SUBJECT: CANADA-U.S. EXCHANGE ALUMNI CONFERENCE, APRIL 8-9, 
2005, VANCOUVER 
 
1.   SUMMARY:  In the first national conference of Canada- 
U.S. exchange alumni, a sense of common purpose and 
responsibility for contributing to the shape of the North 
American community emerged from a day and a half of 
lectures, discussions, and informal networking at 
Vancouver's Simon Fraser University.   Mission officers from 
Vancouver, Calgary and Ottawa, ECA/PE/V Essie Wilkes-Scott, 
and Canada-U.S. Fulbright Foundation staff and leadership 
gained invaluable opportunities for two-way dialogue with a 
select group of Canadians and Americans whose exchange 
experiences give them exceptional insights into bilateral 
(and broader) issues.   Post hopes that momentum from this 
initial conference will feed the development of more 
systematic networking among Canada-U.S. exchange alumni and 
fellow thinkers in the United States, Mexico and beyond. 
End Summary. 
 
2.  Proceedings: 
 
Public Policy Lecture:  The first Canada-U.S. Exchange 
Alumni Conference, "Building Strong Communities:  Fostering 
a Sustainable Future," held at the Simon Fraser University 
in Vancouver, opened Friday, April 8, with welcome messages 
from Simon Fraser University's President Michael Stevenson, 
U.S. Consul General Luis Arreaga and Executive Director of 
the Canada-U.S. Fulbright Program Michael Hawes.   The first 
speaker on the agenda, Demetrios Papademetriou, President of 
the Migration Policy Institute, addressed an audience of 
100+ Canada-U.S. exchange alumni, students, scholars, and 
interested members of the public on "Managing International 
Migration."  Papademetriou placed immigration policy in the 
context of economic globalization trends that pit economic 
players against each other to attract the most talented, 
creative, technologically and culturally astute minds. 
Immigration policies, he argued, need to accommodate 
international mobility to meet a country's human resource 
needs in an increasingly competitive world marketplace. 
(The Canada-U.S. Fulbright Program will publish Mr. 
Papademetriou's remarks in its occasional paper series.) 
 
3.  Networking reception:  A post-lecture Alumni reception 
offered alumni, Fulbright staff and U.S. Mission staff an 
opportunity to meet, discuss the impact of our exchange 
programs, and gauge viability of future project ideas. 
After the reception, Simon Fraser Chancellor Milton Wong 
hosted a dinner for Mr. Papademetriou, Simon Fraser 
administrators, Mission officers, Fulbright personnel, 
conference speakers, and community business and NGO partners 
of the Fulbright program in Vancouver. 
 
4.  Welcome and Introductions:  Canada Public Affairs 
Officer James Williams welcomed alumni to conference 
sessions on Saturday, April 9, emphasizing U.S. interest in 
facilitating networking among alumni and American 
counterparts.  The video greeting by Mr. Roger Noriega, 
Assistant Secretary of State, Bureau of Western Hemisphere 
Affairs, U.S. Department of State, underlined the importance 
the United States government places on exchange and the 
mutual understanding that grows from two-way dialogue. 
Western Hemisphere International Visitor Leadership Program 
Director Essie Wilkes-Scott offered remarks on the health of 
the program in the United States and her ongoing interest in 
the Canada program.  An introductory session, in which 
participants interviewed, then introduced, their neighbors, 
offered a sense of the diverse talents, expertise, and 
public voices of Canada-U.S. exchange alumni. 
 
5.  Sustaining Communities Panel:  Milton Wong, Chancellor 
of Simon Fraser University and Canada-U.S. Fulbright Board 
member, moderated a panel discussion on "Sustaining 
Communities:  Levels of Analysis," in which four alumni 
discussed rural, small-town, urban, and regional 
sustainability models.  Sheila Bassi-Kellett, a 2004 
International Visitor Leadership Program participant and 
Northwest Territories government official, discussed 
"Community and Economic Development Issues:  Northwest 
Territories and U.S. Approaches Compared."  John Watson, 
also a 2004 IV grantee, discussed "Local Economic 
Development - Comox Valley Economic Development 
Partnership."  Watson discussed U.S. models for public- 
private cooperation and U.S. softwares that he has adopted 
for use in tracking development priorities and progress. 
Mark Rus, a 2005 International Visitor grantee, discussed 
"The New Deal for Cities and Communities:  the Government of 
Canada's Agenda," and Naomi Pope, a Fulbright alumna with 
exchange experience in California, spoke on "Regional 
Connections:  From Vancouver to the Pacific Rim," looking at 
the intersections of cultural and trade interactions.   This 
panel session sought to stimulate thinking about the common 
community-building issues the U.S. and Canada face. 
 
6.  Break-out Groups:  In the afternoon, participants 
divided into smaller groups to discuss Economic Development 
and Communities, Protecting the Planet's Environment, 
Sustaining Urban Communities, Ensuring Security across 
Borders and Building Communities through Sport, Culture and 
the Arts.  Alumni acted as group facilitators and then 
reported on their groups' discussions in a plenary moderated 
by Fulbright alumnus Stuart Culbertson.  Groups imagined 
what joint security structures and harmonized regulations 
would look like, discussed pro's and con's of privatizing 
border control or establishing a common security perimeter, 
how governments might reward citizens and corporations for 
conserving energy and better protecting the environment, how 
culture and sport might be nurtured through public and 
private funding as essential "soft infrastructure," building 
greater capacity to deal with health, natural, or man-made 
disasters at home and abroad, and whether nations need to 
protect certain communities from the effects of 
globalization. 
 
7.  Alumni Feedback and Planning:  The day concluded with an 
open discussion on "The Alumni Community: Building a 
Network, Turning Ideas into Action."  Participants were 
asked to discuss in sub-groups a) whether ongoing alumni 
interaction was valuable to them; b) what worked at the 
first conference; and c) what kinds of future programs they 
would like to see/contribute to.  Nearly all expressed 
interest in participating in future alumni activities.  They 
liked the public policy focus of the first conference, but 
would have liked the topic narrowed and discussion papers 
circulated in advance to permit more in-depth discussion and 
conclusions.  They also would have liked  more American 
participants expressing American views, and some suggested 
including Mexican alumni in trilateral dialogue.  As for 
future activities, ideas ranged from fund-raising to support 
additional alumni-supported grants to policy fora charged 
with developing formal alumni recommendations to Canadian 
and American policymakers. 
 
8.  Awareness of ECA Programs:  Many expressed curiosity 
about the range of programs and people involved in State 
Department exchanges, and Embassy staff urged them to log 
into the State Alumni website to expand their networking 
with alumni around the world, as well as the Embassy- 
maintained page specific to Canada.  Publicity bookmarks and 
conference folders included respective urls. 
 
 
9.  Concluding Remarks:  Public Affairs Officer James 
Williams reiterated the interest of Mission officers at 
posts across the country in keeping in touch with alumni and 
enlisting their support in fostering understanding between 
our countries.  Fulbright Director Michael Hawes closed the 
conference, underlining the interest of the Embassy and the 
Fulbright Foundation in continued alumni dialogue and input 
into U.S.-Canada exchange and public discourse. 
 
10.  Results: 
 
This first national gathering of alumni of Canada-U.S. State 
Department-sponsored  exchanges alumni in Canada achieved 
three primary objectives.  It communicated U.S. government 
interest in ongoing exchange with alumni participants, who 
represent an important and informed voices in discourse on 
U.S.-Canada relations.  It introduced alumni to each other 
and to Mission officers, encouraging further sharing of 
views and resources as they further their interests in 
issues that matter to the U.S.-Canada relationship.  And it 
confirmed alumni interest in participating in substantive 
ways in the Canada-U.S. dialogue.  Beyond these benefits, 
the conference raised awareness of USG exchange programs 
(many Fulbrighters were unaware of the International Visitor 
Leadership Program and vice versa); publicized State 
Department projects to promote alumni networking; and 
nurtured interest in finding joint solutions to the 
challenges that face North America, the hemisphere, and the 
world.  The only disappointment was the late cancellation of 
a luncheon speaker from the Bill and Melinda Gates 
Foundation scheduled to talk about the Foundation's support 
for community building worldwide. 
 
10.  Future directions: 
 
Canada's ECA alumni, geographically dispersed and 
specialized in disciplines as discreet as airborne remote 
sensing, emergency preparedness, and health policy, share an 
interest in keeping abreast of the political, economic, and 
social developments that affect North Americans.  Many 
expressed interest in more in-depth discussions with fellow 
alumni, American officials and experts, and Mexican 
counterparts the public policy choices facing Canada, the 
United States, Mexico, and the rest of the world community. 
Their broad-ranging interests present both challenges, in 
finding topics relevant to all, and rewards, in bringing a 
diversity of viewpoints to the table.  Given their stature, 
public voices, and influence in shaping perceptions of the 
United States, exchange alumni provide an extraordinary 
conduit to broader Canadian publics.  While some of their 
desire for networking can be met by virtual meetings (e.g. 
online chats via the State Alumni site and 
videoconferences), the post hopes to capture the momentum of 
this initial conference with a second physical gathering of 
alumni in early 2006. 
 
11.  Logistical support: 
 
Conference participants gave the Canada-U.S. Fulbright 
Foundation and the mission alumni coordinator high marks for 
communications, selection of venues, and logistical support. 
The Fulbright Foundation acted as conference organizer under 
a U.S. Embassy grant, with Mission officers in Ottawa, 
Calgary and Vancouver involved in selecting the themes and 
recruiting speakers and panelists.  The U.S. Consulate in 
Vancouver provided superb logistical support for conference 
planning sessions, materials, flags, photography and 
computers.  Cultural Assistant Ottawa Sandra Weedmark 
oversaw communications with International Visitor alumni, 
design of folders, posters, and bookmarks, maintenance of 
the Canada Alumni web page, and distribution of materials to 
alumni.  Cost-sharing with Simon Fraser University's 
Chancellor, the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs, and 
the Fulbright Foundation made receptions and publication of 
the keynote speech possible. 
 
12.  Appreciation: 
 
This conference would not have been possible without the 
financial and moral support of the ECA Alumni Affairs Office 
and WHA/PDA.  Post particularly appreciates WHA/PDA's 
initiative in forwarding a video greeting from Assistant 
Secretary Noriega.  The post salutes the ECA Alumni Affairs 
 
SIPDIS 
team and WHA/PDA colleagues for assistance in tapping the 
extraordinary resource that the Canada-U.S. exchange alumni 
community represents. 
 
Dickson, Charg d'Affaires