AMERICAN CORNERS IN THE UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ABU DHABI 004793 SIPDIS STATE FOR IIP/G/IR-BCONATY; NEA/PPD-JDAVIES; VIENNA FOR RPO E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KIRC KPAO TC SUBJECT: AMERICAN CORNERS IN THE UNITED ARAB EMIRATES REF: (A) STATE 198601 (B) STATE 273900 ¶1. POST REQUESTS 3 (THREE) AMERICAN CORNER COLLECTIONS AND SUPPORTING EQUIPMENT TO BE HOSTED AT THREE UAE INSTITUTIONS LISTED BELOW. POST ESTIMATES THE COST OF EACH CORNER AT APPROXIMATELY USD 75,100. BASED ON MODULE COSTS PROVIDED BY IRO MENDELSOHN AND CURRENT PROCUREMENT COSTS OF EQUIPMENT AND SUPPLIES. ¶2. PAO HILARY OLSIN-WINDECKER AND IRO HENRY MENDELSOHN WILL PROVIDE OVERSIGHT FOR THIS PROJECT. ¶3. JUSTIFICATION: POST IS IN THE PROCESS OF ESTABLISHING THE FIRST AMERICAN CORNER AT THE UNITED ARAB EMIRATES UNIVERSITY IN THE CITY OF AL-AIN. WE ARE REQUESTING TWO NEW COLLECTIONS FOR TWO INSTITUTIONS IN THE NORTHERN EMIRATES, BACKWATERS IN THE POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC SPHERES AND SOCIALLY CONSERVATIVE, HOMES OF TWO OF THE 9/11 HIJACKERS. THE THIRD WILL BE IN ABU DHABI AT THE PUBLIC LIBRARY OF THE APEX CULTURAL CENTER OF THE CAPITAL. THE AMERICAN CORNERS WILL HELP SUPPORT MISSION GOALS AS DESCRIBED IN PARA 4. WE ARE REQUESTING MODULES AND MATERIALS TO STRENGTHEN CIVIL SOCIETY, AND HELP SUPPORT HIGHER EDUCATION, EDUCATIONAL ADVISING, ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING, AND UNDERSTANDING AMERICAN CULTURE AND VALUES. ¶3. THE THREE REQUESTED AMERICAN CORNERS ARE FOR THE FOLLOWING INSTITUTIONS: - "HAI'AT AL BAHTH WAL MUTABA'A", RESEARCH AND FOLLOW UP AUTHORITY, EMIRI DEWAN, RAS AL KHAIMAH: THE AMERICAN CORNER WILL BE PLACED AT THE PUBLIC LIBRARY OF THIS RESEARCH CENTER. IT WILL ENHANCE THE RESOURCES AVAILABLE IN THE POOR EMIRATE OF RAS AL KHAIMAH AND PROVIDE A PROGRAMMING VENUE IN THIS REMOTE LOCATION. THE CULTURAL/EDUCATIONAL ADVISOR TO THE CROWN PRINCE OF RAS AL KHAIMAH, DR. HASSAN ALKEEM, IS A POLITICAL SCIENTIST, FORMER FULBRIGHT SCHOLAR, AND ISLAMIC SCHOLAR. POST BELIEVES THIS IS AN OPPORTUNITY TO PROGRAM TO THE CONSERVATIVE ELITE OF THIS EMIRATE TO ENHANCE THEIR UNDERSTANDING OF AMERICAN VALUES AND PROMOTE A BILATERAL DIALOGUE ON ISSUES CRUCIAL TO REGIONAL STABILITY. THE CENTER WILL SERVE AS A RESOURCE FOR TWO PUBLIC TECHNICAL HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS, A PRIVATE UNIVERSITY AND THE GENERAL PUBLIC. - FUJEIRAH CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, INDUSTRY AND AGRICULTURE: THE SECOND AMERICAN CORNER WILL BE PLACED AT THE PUBLIC LIBRARY OF THE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE IN THE EMIRATE OF FUJEIRAH. THIS EMIRATE IS ON THE EASTERN COAST OF THE UAE ON THE SEA OF OMAN. IT IS ;ANOTHER ONE OF THE LESS ADVANTAGED EMIRATES OF THE UAE AT A DISTANCE OF 350 KILOMETERS FROM THE CAPITAL. THE AMERICAN CORNER WILL BE THE ONLY WESTERN REFERENCE COLLECTION IN THE EMIRATE AND WILL SERVE AS WELL AS A PROGRAMMING VENUE FOR PD PROGRAMS. IN THE PAST, POST USED ONE OF THE POORLY BUILT PUBLIC SCHOOLS TO CONDUCT A TEACHER TRAINING ENGLISH LANGUAGE WORKSHOP. - NATIONAL LIBRARY OF THE ABU DHABI CULTURAL FOUNDATION: THE CULTURAL FOUNDATION IS THE MOST PROMINENT CULTURAL CENTER IN THE CAPITAL CITY OF ABU DHABI. THE PUBLIC LIBRARY SERVES THE STUDENT COMMUNITY, PROFESSIONALS IN VARIOUS FIELDS, AS WELL AS GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS. POST WILL USE THE AMERICAN CORNER AS A VENUE FOR CONDUCTING TRAINING WORKSHOPS AND HOSTING SPEAKERS. ALTHOUGH THE ABU DHABI CULTURAL FOUNDATION HAS A MAGNIFICENT FACILITY, THE NATIONAL LIBRARY HAS NO AMERICAN REFERENCE MATERIALS. IN THE ABSENCE OF AN AMERICAN CULTURAL CENTER IN ABU DHABI, THE AMERICAN CORNER AT THE NATIONAL LIBRARY WILL ACT AS A PRIMARY PROGRAMMING VENUE. ¶4. ESTABLISHMENT OF AMERICAN CORNERS WILL SUPPORT TWO FY 2004 MPP STRATEGIES: REGIONAL STABILITY. PERFORMANCE GOAL # 2: RS.02 -- IN THE CONTEXT OF THE GLOBAL WAR ON TERRORISM AND THE ONGOING MIDDLE EAST CRISES, AMERICAN CORNERS WILL ENHANCE OUR OUTREACH TO EMIRATIS TO CONVEY BALANCED VIEWS OF THE U.S. STRATEGY # 3: FOSTER GREATER RESPECT FOR DEMOCRATIC PRINCIPLES AND THE RULE OF LAW. -- TACTICS: STRENGTHEN CIVIL SOCIETY: THROUGH SPEAKER PROGRAMS, INTERNATIONAL VISITORS AND CITIZENS' EXCHANGE GRANTS, STRENGTHEN DEVELOPMENT OF INSTITUTIONS (ACADEMIC, MEDIA AND NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS) AND WOMEN'S PARTICIPATION IN PUBLIC LIFE AND ENCOURAGE GREATER FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION. (PAO) SUPPORT FOR EDUCATION: EXPOSE EMIRATIS TO THE ELEMENTS OF A DEMOCRATIC SOCIETY THROUGH VIGOROUS SUPPORT FOR STUDY BY UAE NATIONALS IN THE US (PAO, USLO) ¶5. THE AMERICAN CORNERS WILL HELP STRENGTHEN CIVIL SOCIETY BY PROVIDING A WINDOW INTO AMERICAN LIFE AND CULTURE, PROVIDE BUSINESS RESOURCES FOR BOTH MEN AND WOMEN, AND PROVIDE A PLATFORM FOR US SPEAKERS AND VOLUNTARY SPEAKERS DRAWN FROM THE MANY AMERICANS LIVING IN THE UAE. THEY WILL PROVIDE SUPPORT FOR R EDUCATION BY PROVIDING EDUCATIONAL ADVISING MATERIALS AND ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING RESOURCES AND BY PROVIDING A PLATFORM FOR OUR EDUCATIONAL ADVISOR TO WORK OUTSIDE THE EMBASSY AND FOR AMERICANS TO GIVE TALKS TO LOCAL AUDIENCES TO HELP THEM UNDERSTAND A VARIETY OF AMERICAN VOICES, EXPERIENCES AND PERSPECTIVES. ¶6. WE ARE REQUESTING DVC EQUIPMENT IN ORDER TO FACILITATE THE HOST INSTITUTION TO ORGANIZE DVCS WITH AMERICAN INSTITUTIONS, SUCH AS SCHOOLS AND PUBLIC LIBRARIES, AND PCS TO FACILITATE ACCESSING THE INTERNET, ESPECIALLY US WEBSITES. ¶7. POST HAS ALREADY PURCHASED AN AMERICAN CORNER FOR THE UNITED ARAB EMIRATES UNIVERSITY IN THE CITY OF AL AIN. THIS FIRST AMERICAN CORNER IS ON SCHEDULE TO BE IMPLEMENTED IN THE UNITED ARAB EMIRATES UNIVERSITY BY MID WINTER AND WILL SERVE AS THE MODEL FOR THE ABOVE REQUESTED CORNERS. IF WE RECEIVE FUNDING FOR ALL THREE CORNERS WE WILL HAVE A TOTAL OF FOUR IN THE UAE, ONE IN THE CENTRALLY LOCATED CITY OF AL AIN, TWO IN THE STRATEGICALLY IMPORTANT NORTHERN EMIRATES AND ONE IN THE CAPITAL CITY IN THE APEX CULTURAL CENTER. ¶8. DETAILED BUDGET BREAKDOWN ESTIMATED PRICE FOR ONE AMERICAN CORNER IN THE UNITED ARAB EMIRATES: MODULE PRICE VOLUMES ADVISING REFERENCE $2,608.23 56 AMERICAN HISTORY I CORE $3362.35 49 AMERICAN HISTORY II NON CORE $1710.20 50 BIOGRAPHY $1711.74 70 BUSINESS AND ECONOMICS $72.00 3 BUSINESS INFORMATION $1,983.67 14 CD-ROMS $5,409.25 24 EDUCATIONAL INFORMATION $2,195.22 28 ENGLISH TEACHING $5,908.46 207 FICTION $1,573.50 114 NON-FICTION $2265.82 121 REFERENCE: CORE $6,902.97 91 VIDEOCASSETTES MODULE $4068.60 29 SUB-TOTAL: $39772.01 856 LIBRARY/MULTI-MEDIA RESOURCES: ADDITIONAL 250 VOLUMES $7,500.00 250 150 EDUCATIONAL/CULTURAL FILMS $4,000.00 150 (TO BE SPENT AT DISCRETION OF RECEIVING INSTITUTION) SUB-TOTAL: $11,500.00 1256 COMPUTER/MULTIMEDIA EQUIPMENT: FOUR-POINT POLYCOM DVC EQUIPMENT $9,400.00 34-INCH MULTI-SYSTEM TV MONITOR $800.00 4 MULTI-SYSTEM VCRS $1,000.00 3 DESKTOP PENTIUM COMPUTERS $6,000.00 1 LASER PRINTER $1,000.00 1 SCANNER $200.00 SUB-TOTAL: $17,400.00 SUB-TOTAL: $ 68672.01 ADD 5% FOR POSSIBLE PRICE INCREASE ON EQUIPMENT AND MATERIALS. 5%=$3422.5595. $ 68672.01 $ 3,422.55 COST OF FURNITURE AND SHELVING $ 3000 TOTAL: $ 75094.56 $75,094.56 X 3 AMERICAN CORNERS FOR THE UAE= $225,283.68 ALBRIGHT