SECRETARY'S AWARD FOR CORPORATE EXCELLENCE: CISCO

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