US embassy cable - 05AMMAN4659

UNCLAS AMMAN 004659 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EB/CBA - N. SMITH-NISSLEY 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: BEXP, EINV, ELAB, ETRD, SENV, KSEP, JO 
SUBJECT: SECRETARY'S AWARD FOR CORPORATE EXCELLENCE: CISCO 
SYSTEMS MAKES ITS MARK IN JORDAN 
 
REF: STATE 66434 
 
1.  Embassy Amman nominates Cisco Systems, Inc. of San Jose, 
California, for the Secretary's Award for Corporate 
Excellence.  Since the joint announcement of the Jordan 
Education Initiative at the World Economic Forum in 2003, 
Cisco Systems has shown a deep commitment to King Abdullah's 
vision for the growth and development of Jordan with a 
knowledge-based economy that can compete in the global 
marketplace.  Cisco is an excellent corporate citizen with an 
exemplary record.  But Cisco Systems in Jordan has gone far 
beyond what might be considered to be a "community 
involvement" project to invest in the very foundations of 
Jordanian society by devoting diverse efforts to the 
education of Jordan's youth. 
 
2.  The scope of roll-up-your-sleeves projects that Cisco has 
accomplished in less than two years is phenomenal.  Cisco 
joined other firms to link schools to the internet and the 
outside world.  Cisco has trained hundreds of young women in 
information technology skills at twelve special Cisco 
Academies in Jordan.  Cisco also took the lead in supporting 
the development of an innovative math e-learning module in 
Jordan for primary and secondary school students, part of a 
broader e-curriculum development project devoted to 
interactive, computer-based education. 
 
3.  The Cisco initiative is rooted in a challenge posed by 
Cisco CEO John Chambers at the 2003 World Economic Forum held 
at Davos to produce a public-private partnership devoted to 
reforming education and expanding the opportunities of 
education to all members of Jordanian society.  One goal that 
sets this initiative apart is its ambitious aspiration to 
build the Jordan education system and e-learning network so 
that it can serve as a model for other countries in the 
Middle East and in the world. 
 
4.  Cisco has helped Jordan to move well down the path to 
becoming a world model for education-based economic growth 
and development.  Leading alongside other internationally 
recognized software and hardware firms, Cisco is building the 
backbone for an internet network linked to 100 Discovery 
Schools -- schools that will "enable the act of discovery" 
for students and teachers by adopting new approaches to 
learning for the knowledge economy.  This will be part of an 
even more ambitious national learning and research network, a 
nationwide high-speed broadband network connecting all of 
Jordan's public schools, universities, community colleges and 
community access centers reaching 1.5 million learners by 
2006.  Jordan's Discovery Schools program will be the 
platform for this network-based curriculum reform, teaching 
reform, and infrastructure that affects 50,000 students and 
2,300 teachers.  The program also draws on the work of 
Jordan's already advanced IT industry (and develops that 
sector) for infrastructure, e-learning, and computerized 
applications. 
 
5.  At the core of the Jordan Education Initiative (JEI) is 
the development of computer-based learning modules that 
combine the best international standards for classroom 
practice and teacher development with the best technology. 
As part of JEI, Cisco systems partnered with and supported 
Rubicon, a company based in Jordan, to create a web-based, 
interactive, multimedia e-mathematics curriculum already 
being used in grades K-12 of about half the Discovery 
Schools. 
 
6.  Outside the regular education system, Cisco has partnered 
with USAID and the United Nations Development Fund for Women 
(UNIFEM) to develop 12 Cisco Academies in different parts of 
Jordan to train mainly young women aged 18-30 the basics of 
information technology with an eye toward their continued 
employment after training in the high tech job market.  To 
date, the Cisco Academies have graduated over 600 persons, 
mostly women and an expanded job placement component is 
introducing them to the job market.  For some rural areas of 
Jordan, the Cisco Academies are at the forefront of social 
and economic development. 
 
7.  Cisco is not alone in its support of this dynamic attempt 
to raise the educational level of Jordan's people and to 
raise its standard of living (now with a per capita GDP of 
$2030).  However, Cisco Systems stands out for its 
advancement of a knowledge-based economy through IT-driven 
solutions.  Cisco is clearly a world leader in the new 
public-private partnership to advance critical social issues 
with innovative solutions.  For these reasons, we highly 
recommend Cisco Systems for the Secretary's Award for 
Corporate Excellence. 
HALE