MEPI FUNDING REQUEST--JUNIOR ACHIEVEMENT AND WORK

1. Summary: Post requests MEPI funding for the establishment
of a Junior Achievement program in Kuwait, and MEPI funding
and ECA support in arranging a 4-6 week US work shadow
program for non-elite Kuwaiti youth in the 16-23 age range
during the summer of 2004. End summary.

Junior Achievement Program



2. PAS recently met with the managing director of a new
Kuwaiti NGO focused on improving job skills, work ethics and
civic awareness among male and female Kuwaiti youth ages 16-


23. Although less than a year old, the Lothan Youth
Achievement Center (LOYAC) has already completed several
internship programs and civic society projects for young
Kuwaitis that emphasize acquisition of real world job skills
and exercising civic consciousness and activism. Youth
participating in the LOYAC program do an internship in areas
of the economy that have traditionally been the province of
third country nationals, such as restaurant kitchen work,
press operator and other non-management slots, and lead
action committees that undertake various civic-oriented
projects.



3. The philosophy behind this program is to inculcate a
sense of work ethics and job skills among young Kuwaitis
through a process of civic awareness training and on-the-job
experience. Created as an alternative to Islamist-
oriented organizations that offer guidance and financial
assistance to non-elite Kuwaitis, LOYAC has distinguished
itself as a progressive and active organization with a
proven track record of fostering values of civil society and
hard work among that segment of the rapidly growing youth
population that comes from more conservative and less
affluent strata of society.



4. Junior Achievement International: We have noticed that
LOYAC's program is very similar in philosophy and approach
to that of Junior Achievement, the US-based international
NGO that fosters youth-oriented entrepreneurial and civic
society activities. LOYAC has expressed interest in using
the Junior Achievement program and taking the lead in
opening a Kuwait chapter of the organization. This would
have a number of advantages. It would provide an
established US model for youth-oriented civic activism for
an important local NGO and allow us to influence a key youth
demographic in Kuwait. It would also serve as a natural
vehicle for US private sector cooperation in Kuwait,
particularly companies in the energy and defense sectors,
which would have much to gain through high-profile
association with such a program here.



5. Post has been in contact with Junior Achievement
International, which has proposed sending one of its
representatives to Kuwait for a two-week period in February
to consult with LOYAC and other NGOs, government officials
and the business community to assess the viability of a JA
chapter. On completion of the visit, the JA rep would
produce a business plan, a three year budget, proposed staff
structure, necessary training of employees, and
recommendations for a board structure. Junior Achievement
International has provided us with the following budget for
this initial program:

ESTIMATED COSTS

Roundtrip airfare, Colorado Springs to Kuwait (Coach
COS to Chicago to JFK to Kuwait City - $2,306.
Business Class COS to Chicago to London to Kuwait City
$ 6,209) $6,209.00
US Government Per Diem for 14 days in Kuwait City @
$339/day
$4,746.00
Stipend @ $2000 per week, 2 weeks in country and 1 week
pre and
1 week Post follow up work. $8,000.00
Materials (includes shipping DHL/FedEx)
$3,200.00
Miscellaneous (Taxi/cab, parking, insurance, FedEx,
secretarial help etc.) $800.00
Sub Total - Direct Costs
$22,955.00
JAI Indirect Costs $4,591.00
TOTAL $27,546.00

Work Shadow Program



6. Post also requests ECA and MEPI support for a LOYAC-
sponsored work shadow program for 8-10 Kuwaiti men and women
in the 16-23 age range with US media institutions (including
smaller, local newspapers) and in the US Congress or state
legislatures. The British embassy in Kuwait has agreed to
undertake a similar program for LOYAC in the UK, placing 8-
10 young Kuwaitis in the House of Commons and with British
media institutions such as the BBC. The purpose of the
program is to introduce young Kuwaitis from non-elite,
conservative districts of the country to how media and
political institutions operate in a democratic society,
while giving them a sense of the skills, hard work, and
civic responsibility democratic institutions foster among
their citizens. Such a program would allow young Kuwaitis
to see themselves in such institutions and energize them to
pursue similar goals in their own society, and would also
serve to counter extremist propaganda that US media and
political institutions seek US domination of the Muslim
world.



7. Post believes that programs focusing on non-elite Arab
youth in Kuwait are crucial, and hopes that the initiatives
described above will be supported. Thanks and regards.