MISSION BRAZIL PROPOSES SOUTH AMERICA ENTRY LEVEL OFFICER

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BRASILIA 001068 SIPDIS C O R R E C T E D C O P Y (TEXT PARA. 2, 3, 5) DEPARTMENT FOR HR/CDA/EL, WHA/EX, WHA/BSC SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: AMGT BR SUBJECT: MISSION BRAZIL PROPOSES SOUTH AMERICA ENTRY LEVEL OFFICER CONFERENCE FOR SEPTEMBER REFS: A) 2005 BRASILIA 3108, B) STATE 37685, C) STATE 27658 BRASILIA 00001068 001.2 OF 002 ¶1. Summary: Mission Brazil proposes hosting a conference in September 2006 for all Entry-Level (EL) officers posted in South America. Our proposal is based on our successful Mission-wide EL conference last year, and in line with Washington's recommendation to hold regular regional conferences and to promote the mentoring and career development of EL officers. The conference would be held in conjunction with Mission Brazil's consular fraud training conference. Depending on scheduling, it may also coincide with Assistant Secretary Maura Harty's trip to Brazil for regularly scheduled bilateral consular consultations. As the largest aviation hub in Latin America, we propose Sao Paulo as the perfect location for such a conference. Post seeks Washington's concurrence and support. End Summary. ¶2. Mission Brazil proposes hosting a September 20 - 22, 2006 conference in Sao Paulo, Brazil, for all State Department EL officers -- generalists and specialists -- in South America. We are pursuing this conference as follow-up to Brazil's successful Mission-wide conference in September 2005 (ref A). This initiative is also in line with the Department's recommendation to "hold more regional EL conferences" (ref B), and Washington's encouragement to pursue more opportunities for "professional mentoring and the career development" of EL officers (ref C). ¶3. The EL conference could last for two-days and include the following sessions: -- Integrating public diplomacy into everyone's work -- Career Development Program requirements -- DVC with WHA A/S Shannon -- Consular training provided by CA -- Promotion panels for generalist and specialists -- Bidding process with mid-CDO focus on undirected tours -- Cable writing: What is Washington looking for? -- Balance between work and life -- Panel of exemplary EL officer outreach efforts -- Panels on various career tracks -- Changing roles of FSNs versus FSOs -- Mission budget management Additional suggestions on issues to be covered during the EL conference are very welcome from Washington, HR/CDA/EL, and the other South American Missions. ¶4. To meet the objectives above, we hope to attract the participation of senior officials in Washington, including from WHA and Consular Affairs. As a cost-saving measure, Mission Brazil has already made the commitment to conduct its consular fraud training in conjunction with this EL conference in order to off-set the travel expenses for a large number of the EL officers who would attend. CA is also invited to provide additional training to a large number of officers all at once. In September, A/S Maura Harty may be in Brazil for bilateral consular consultations. These consultations are held annually, have traditionally always taken place in September, and are slated to be in Brazil this year. If A/S Harty's visit were to coincide with the conference, it would allow her to address a large number of EL officers. Also to reduce costs, we propose that the conference be held in Sao Paulo because it is the largest aviation hub in Latin America with direct flights to most capitals in the region. ¶5. In sum, an EL conference provides unique career enrichment and excellent training and mentoring opportunities for officers, and we believe that a conference in Sao Paulo on September 20 - 22, 2006 would attract EL officers from all South American posts. I ask that WHA and CA take this proposal seriously as a way of investing in the career development of a large number of EL officers. To make it a reality, we suggest that the other South American posts already block off these dates from regularly scheduled consular interviews, as we have already done. ¶6. This cable was cleared and coordinated with Consulates General BRASILIA 00001068 002.2 OF 002 Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo, and Consulate Recife. CHICOLA