US embassy cable - 05KUWAIT5101

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KUWAIT 005101 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
R, NEA/PPD (CWHITTLESEY), ECA/A/S/A (MTHOMPSONJONES), 
ECA/A/L (JCONNERLY), IIP/G/NEA, IIP/T, NEA/PI, NEA/P 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: OEXC, KPAO, SCUL, OIIP, XF, KU 
SUBJECT: ENGAGING THOUSANDS - KUWAIT'S INTERNATIONAL BOOK 
FAIR 
 
 
1.  SUMMARY:  The Embassy participated in Kuwait's 30th 
International Book Fair, organized by the National Council 
of Culture, Arts and Letters, from November 24 to December 
2, 2005.  Most of the tens of thousands of visitors were 
conservative Muslims accompanied by family members.  Public 
Affairs staff and other Embassy Officers at the U.S. booth 
engaged Kuwaiti visitors by promoting study in the U.S., 
explaining American society, and offering tips on learning 
English.  Media criticism of the fair, specifically 
fingering the Information Ministry's banning of books, 
purportedly led to fewer customers this year compared to in 
2004, principally a lower turnout of liberals.  The only 
western mission represented, the U.S. booth sold nearly 600 
books, exceeding the prior year's sales, and increased 
public distribution of IIP materials.  END SUMMARY 
 
Small Footprint -- Great Presence 
--------------------------------- 
 
2.  The Embassy's three-meter square booth featured 
attractive displays of IIP books, brochures, InfoUSA CD- 
ROMs, "Hi" magazine and copies of e-Journals "See You in 
the U.S.A." and "College and University Education in the 
United States."  Arabic translations of American titles 
from Regional Book Offices (RBOs) in Amman and Cairo 
covered the walls.  Officers and FSNs handed visitors 
"Tsunami" brochures and Avian Flu fact sheets, or articles 
from the Washington File, while discussing pertinent U.S. 
policies.  Embassy staff also distributed locally produced 
bookmarks touting web sites for "Hi," Al Hurra, Radio Sawa, 
and USInfo.state.gov, along with Study in the U.S. 
brochures, and web resources cards.  English Teaching Forum 
magazine and other English teaching materials were also 
fast movers.  This year, the booth featured two attention- 
grabbing six-foot tall banners underscoring the "Study in 
the U.S." and "See You in the U.S." themes.  AMIDEAST also 
took part in the Embassy's booth, counseling students and 
distributing hundreds of educational advising materials. 
 
English and Arabic Best Sellers 
------------------------------- 
 
3.  The Embassy booth sold 588 books -- 111 books in 
English and 477 Arabic titles.  The top three best-selling 
books in English were: 
 1-"Outline of American History" 
 2-"Arts in America" 
 3-"An Early American Reader" 
 
The top-three selling Arabic books were: 
 1-"Outline of American History" 
 2-"Outline of American Government" 
 3-"Law 101 (U.S. Legal Systems)" 
 
IIP's "Outline" series on Economics and American Literature 
also were top sellers.  Staff handed out 200 copies (100 in 
English, 100 in Arabic) of "Muslim Life in America" and 
"Portrait of the U.S.A.," which were extremely popular. 
 
Winning over Target Audiences 
----------------------------- 
 
4.  Of the 30-40,000 visitors, hundreds were students from 
government schools who attended via morning field trips. 
While Radio Sawa played in the background, students perused 
titles, collected bookmarks, and sought educational 
counseling.  Teachers bought copies of "Outline of American 
History" for their classrooms.  One teacher stated that 
reading the book improved his idea of America and he wanted 
to share that with his students.  The fair proved to be the 
ideal environment for Public Affairs staff and EmbOffs to 
meet and potentially influence thousands of Kuwaitis. 
 
Embassy-wide Participation 
-------------------------- 
 
5.  Political and Economics Officers, AMIDEAST personnel, 
and the Senior English Language Fellow joined the Public 
Affairs Section at the fair, engaging visitors on topics 
ranging from English language study and visas to political 
parties and university campus life in the U.S.  A 
conspicuously placed PowerPoint presentation on Public 
Affairs and AMIDEAST programs ran on a loop during the 
event, publicizing Department initiatives active in Kuwait. 
In an environment heavily dominated by huge Persian and 
Arabic Islamic publishing houses dispensing mounds of 
religious and children's books, the humble U.S. booth was 
the only western mission represented at the fair.  The 
British and Canadian embassies, which had been present in 
 
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2004, shied away from this year's exhibition. 
 
Soft Opening 
------------ 
 
6.  Minister of Commerce and Industry, Abdullah Al-Taweel 
inaugurated Kuwait's 30th International Book Fair.  In 
2004, the ceremony featured the Minister of Information, 
who delivered a comprehensive speech on the importance of 
culture.  In 2005, the Minister of Commerce and Industry 
cut the ribbon with little fanfare, no speech, and a modest 
photo up, suggesting a diminished profile for the fair. 
 
"Hi" Magazine and Radio Sawa Outreach 
------------------------------------- 
 
7.  Free copies of "Hi" were broadly distributed to 
customers, many of whom were already fans.  "It's my 
favorite magazine" said a young Kuwaiti girl.  However, one 
woman, conservatively dressed in nikab [face covering], 
visited the booth with her husband and sharply criticized 
the fact that Lebanese singer Nancy Ajram graced the cover. 
She screamed at staff, "You are taking people away from 
their religion!"  The majority of visitors, however, were 
delighted to receive copies of "Hi," reporting that the 
Nancy Ajram issue was their favorite.  Throughout the fair, 
the U.S. booth greeted visitors with the music of Radio 
Sawa that played in the background to positive reviews. 
 
Media Objects to Banned Books 
----------------------------- 
 
8.  The book fair drew intense criticism from the Kuwaiti 
press corps.  Critics complained that book fairs in most 
other countries improve year over year, but this was not 
the case in Kuwait.  Detractors added that each year 
Kuwaiti authorities ban more books in deference to 
conservative Islamist pressures.  A cartoon in widely read 
Al-Watan Arabic daily, made fun of the draft press law 
currently under consideration, stating, "Now, the Ministry 
of Information will have more free time to ban children's 
book from the book fair."  [Note: Children's books are 
highly valued and sought after at the fair.  The Embassy 
has no data corroborating an increase in the banning of 
books other than the fact that two books from our 
collection were barred, as described below.] 
 
Two U.S. Titles Banned 
---------------------- 
 
9.  Two RBO Cairo selections were excluded: "Scuds or 
Butter?  The Political Economy of Arms Control in the 
Middle East" by Yahya Sadowsky, and "Point of No Return: 
The Deadly Struggle for Middle East Peace" by Geoffrey Kemp 
and Jeremy Pressman.  Presumably, the Ministry of 
Information censored them due to content about Israel. 
 
Press Coverage 
-------------- 
 
10.  The Embassy's booth was the only operation that 
received significant press coverage in Kuwait Times 
(11/23/05, English, p. 3, 1/4 page, 1 photo, circ. 35,000) 
as a result of the opening ceremony.  The photograph showed 
the Charg d'Affaires presenting a book during the grand 
opening to the Director General of the National Council, 
the Kuwaiti entity that organized the fair. 
 
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Visit Kuwait's Classified Website: 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/kuwait/ 
 
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LEBARON