Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
05KUWAIT4144
2005-09-21 15:31:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Kuwait
Cable title:  

KUWAIT MEPIC II: INCREASING MEPI'S PUBLIC OUTREACH

Tags:  PREL PGOV KMPI KDEM ECON KWMN KU MEPI 
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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 KUWAIT 004144 

SIPDIS

FOR NEAR/PI, NEA/ARPI, NEA/PPD,IIP/G/NEA; ABU DHABI FOR MEPI

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/20/2015
TAGS: PREL PGOV KMPI KDEM ECON KWMN KU MEPI
SUBJECT: KUWAIT MEPIC II: INCREASING MEPI'S PUBLIC OUTREACH

REF: A. KUWAIT 4047: JUNIOR ACHIEVEMENT UPDATE

B. SECSTATE 163043: USPTO DECEMBER PROGRAM

C. SECSTATE 152168: RULE OF LAW CONFERENCE

D. SECSTATE 133351: DEMOCRACY ASSISTANCE DIALOGUE

E. SECSTATE 124591: BUSINESS INTERNSHIP PROGRAM

F. KUWAIT 2732: FIRST QUARTERLY MEPIC

G. SECSTATE 94876: USPTO PROGRAMS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 KUWAIT 004144

SIPDIS

FOR NEAR/PI, NEA/ARPI, NEA/PPD,IIP/G/NEA; ABU DHABI FOR MEPI

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/20/2015
TAGS: PREL PGOV KMPI KDEM ECON KWMN KU MEPI
SUBJECT: KUWAIT MEPIC II: INCREASING MEPI'S PUBLIC OUTREACH

REF: A. KUWAIT 4047: JUNIOR ACHIEVEMENT UPDATE

B. SECSTATE 163043: USPTO DECEMBER PROGRAM

C. SECSTATE 152168: RULE OF LAW CONFERENCE

D. SECSTATE 133351: DEMOCRACY ASSISTANCE DIALOGUE

E. SECSTATE 124591: BUSINESS INTERNSHIP PROGRAM

F. KUWAIT 2732: FIRST QUARTERLY MEPIC

G. SECSTATE 94876: USPTO PROGRAMS


1. (C) Summary: Ambassador chaired Post's September 14 MEPI
committee meeting -- with representatives from the Front
Office and Commercial, Economic, Political and Public Affairs
sections -- to review quarterly accomplishments and discuss
upcoming projects for inclusion in the quarterly report
(coined the MEPI epic or "MEPIc"). During the third quarter
(July-September),Embassy Kuwait: received approval for two
additional small grants, worked with on-going MEPI programs,
increased participation in public diplomacy initiatives,
invited Kuwaitis to an array of regional conferences, boosted
MEPI's public image through media coverage and responded to
project assessments, while meeting all deadlines. The
committee suggested targeting future program work on two
Freedom Agenda priorities: full political participation for
women and promotion of more responsible journalism. End
summary.

2Q05 Follow Up: Focus on Small Grants and PD Initiatives
-------------- --------------


2. (U) Post submitted five FY05 small grants proposals. Two
were approved during 3Q05 bringing the total to four
green-lighted projects. CineMagic's grant will provide
scholarship support for underprivileged youth to attend film
training courses with the goal of producing civic-minded
short movies for mass screening. Meanwhile, the Lothan Youth
Activities Center will conduct a summer civic education
program in 2006 to increase political awareness among the
largely apathetic Kuwaiti youth. The amount of committed FY05
small grants funds now totals $60,460, a 71% increase over
FY04.


3. (C) Two on-going programs made progress during the

quarter. INJAZ, the Amman-based Junior Achievement affiliate,
formed its board, appointed a local director and recruited
voluntary instructors to inaugurate its program this fall
(ref A). The National Democratic Institute (NDI) launched the
second phase of its women's political rights program, this
time focusing on campaign training, which supports the
Freedom Agenda goal of fully integrating women into the
political process. NDI representatives Kelley Jones and
Lynsey Kryzwick arrived in August to prepare the September
25-28 "Partners in Participation" conference, an event
designed for women to interact with colleagues from around
the region in workshops on campaign strategy, voter outreach
and media relations. Ambassador is slated to open the
conference with brief remarks. Also scheduled to attend are
Minister of Planning and Minister of State for Administrative
Development Dr. Ma'souma Al-Mubarak and U.S. Representative
Jane Harman (D-CA),among others. Ambassador will host a
September 26 reception for the participants.


4. (U) The Public Diplomacy initiative to translate the
"Journal of Democracy" into Arabic has been delayed since, as
Post understands, the National Endowment for Democracy (NED)
abandoned its translation effort in June. With MEPI
concurrence and funding, we would be prepared to approach an
experienced local translator to complete the project. Post
requested additional funding for the ACCESS microscholarship
program to increase the enrollment of non-elite Kuwaiti
youths in 2005-2006 to 200 from 105 the previous academic
year, a 90% increase. AMIDEAST is the local program
implementor and could only handle 180 due to space
limitations at their facility, thereby capping Post's
participation.

Quarterly Recap: Kuwaitis Attend Regional Events
-------------- ---


5. (U) Post invited Kuwaitis to a host of regional
conferences during the quarter. In addition to the names
provided by Washington, Post suggested three additional
candidates for the BMENA-related Democracy Assistance
Dialogue in Venice in July (ref D). Post received
confirmation of the attendance of one Kuwaiti, Dr. Rola
Dashti, who also spoke at the event. In response to a request
for U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) intellectual
property rights training candidates (ref G),we submitted the
names of two Kuwaiti judges for the August and September
programs in the U.S. The USDA held its September 13-16
"Global Trade" conference, a MEPI-funded technical assistance
workshop, in Kuwait in conjunction with the Public Authority
for Agricultural Affairs and Fish Resources. In response to
ref C, Post submitted the names of four Kuwaitis to attend
the September 26-27 BMENA-related rule of law conference in
Amman. For the December USPTO IPR academy (ref B),we
forwarded the names of three GOK officials. Post's
submissions met MEPI deadlines. We request that NEA/PI inform
us when invitations to Post-suggested candidates are sent so
we can encourage their participation as well.


6. (U) Kuwaitis have actively participated in regional
programs. Two students returned from the MEPI Study of the
U.S. Institutes held during the summer. Post participated on
the Business Internship Program (BIP) selection committee,
chaired by AMIDEAST, to identify local candidates (ref F).
During the September 14 selection meeting, two Kuwaiti women
were chosen from the 16 applicants. The candidates' names
were sent to Washington for final approval. Regarding the
2006 MEET-U.S. program, Post contacted a variety of GOK
ministries and private company representatives to solicit
applications and distributed program information, including
website links, to interested candidates. Application
information is posted on our internet site in both Arabic and
English to encourage widespread participation, particularly
among women.

Quarterly Recap: Successes with Public Outreach
-------------- --


7. (U) Public Affairs arranged media opportunities for MEPI
program participants, garnering significant press coverage. A
June 26 press roundtable for two Kuwaiti Study of the U.S.
Institutes participants received coverage from all of
Kuwait's eight daily newspapers, five Arabic and three
English. The roundtable included a meeting between
Ambassador, the students and their families. Soumaya
Al-Jassem, the 2004 BIP participant, appeared August 7 with
AMIDEAST, the local BIP administrator, at a media roundtable
and described her positive experiences in an effort to
generate interest in the 2005 program. Again, all eight
dailies featured the event prominently.


8. (U) Post encouraged media contacts to highlight MEPI
programs and facilitated the development of a potential media
event. Mohammed Al-Jassem, host of the weekly Gulf affairs
television program, "Al-Majlis," on Al-Hurra TV, approached
Public Affairs for an interlocutor to discuss MEPI programs
such as BIP. Post contacted MEPI Abu Dhabi and put Al-Jassem
and the Regional Office in contact; a program focusing on
MEPI is now in the works. (Note: Since Soumaya is Al-Jassem's
daughter, he preferred to invite a regional MEPI
representative on his program to avoid a conflict of
interest. End note.) Al-Jassem said that his goal is to
encourage participants of MEPI and other U.S. exchange and
training programs to speak publicly about their experiences
in an effort to remove a perceived, regionwide stigma against
U.S.-sponsored training.


9. (U) Ambassador hosted a September 12 reception for members
of the democracy and human rights communities. Post invited
several MEPI contacts including small grants recipients, a
visiting NDI representative and women's rights activists.
Ambassador addressed the gathering and highlighted MEPI's
involvement with democracy and women's issues.

Quarterly Recap: Project Proposal Assessments
--------------


10. (U) Post received four requests for project proposal
assessments during the quarter. The women's empowerment
review in July included two proposals incorporating Kuwait
from Freedom House and International Republican Institute
(IRI). We noted that the Freedom House program to compile
laws that discriminate against women mirrored one of the FY05
small grant projects as well as a proposed UNDP project. The
same month, Post reviewed six independent media proposals
focusing on advocacy, law, reform and training. Only one of
the political reform proposals in August, NED's political
participation workshops in 2006, pertained to Kuwait. Post
recommended in August that NDI's draft program on women's
political participation focus on coalition building. Again,
Post's submissions met all MEPI deadlines.

Future Planning: Supporting the Freedom Agenda
-------------- -


11. (C) NDI has mentioned interest in making its program
work, which supports our Freedom Agenda priority of full
political participation for Kuwaiti women, more long-term
rather than dependent on consultants. We support this idea,
which would help to prepare women for the 2007 legislative
elections, both as candidates and activists. PolChief is
scheduled to meet with Dr. Samar Al-Roomi regarding her ideas
for projects designed to incorporate more women into the
political process. Al-Roomi had previously met with NEA/PI in
January (ref F). She also is interested in female
participation in the media, which supports a second Freedom
Agenda goal of creating a more responsible media.


12. (C) To support the GOK initiative to reduce the number of
voting districts in a bid to combat electoral corruption, we
discussed approaching local universities' political science
departments regarding possible political geography and
polling projects. A related program could also compile
historical voting and public opinion trends for statistical
modeling purposes. We also suggested inviting experts from
the U.S. or holding a DVC between American and Kuwaiti
political analysts.

New MEPI Intranet Site, Post Coordinator
--------------


13. (U) The MEPI Committee launched an intranet site in
August to educate the entire mission about MEPI and provide a
resource for committee members. The website already provides
MEPI's history and objectives, an overview of BMENA in
addition to submitted small grants applications. Once
completed, users will be able to search regional conferences
and programs, past and present, including the names of
Kuwaiti participants.


14. (U) The role of post MEPI Coordinator will transition to
new PAO Tanya C. Anderson on October 1. Please include her on
all correspondence regarding small grants, conferences,
on-going programs and project proposal assessments. Her email
is andersontc@state.gov.

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LEBARON