American Business Leadership Trainers Reach

UNCLAS CAIRO 000073 SIPDIS FOR IIP/T/ES (DURANT),IIP/G/NEA-SA (SCOTT),NEA/PPD AND NEA/ELA E.O. 12958: NA TAGS: KPAO OEXC OIIP EG SUBJECT: American Business Leadership Trainers Reach Out to Women Entrepreneurs REF: A) STATE 83422 B) 2004 STATE 261067 ¶1. SUMMARY: American business leadership trainers Kay Westerfield and Kathy Holland captivated audiences of Egyptian women entrepreneurs and other business people in workshops Dec. 8-15. The programs reached everyone from veteran businesswomen in Cairo and Alexandria to aspiring Minya entrepreneurs who could not read or write but who were anxious to develop their micro- enterprises. END SUMMARY. ¶2. Following paragraphs are formatted per reftels. ¶A. NAME OF SPEAKER AND DATE OF PROGRAM: Kay Westerfield, Business Programs Coordinator at the University of Oregon's American English Institute; and Kathy Holland, who operates the business advisory firm LongSherpa Design. Holland is former Divisional Head of New Products and Markets at Nike. The workshops were held Dec. 8-15. ¶B. SUMMARY OF TOPICS/VENUES/AUDIENCES: Topics included "Leadership Tools for Professional Communication" and "Entrepreneurship: Building Your Future." The 80 participants included grantees and organizations participating in micro-finance programs financed by the Ambassador's Self-Help Program and USAID microfinance programs, as well as other contacts of the Embassy, USAID, and American Center Alexandria. The workshops were held in the Embassy Information Resource Center, American Center, and at the Minya offices of the NGO "Better Life Association." Six USAID grantees from the city of Assiut Business Association traveled to Minya to participate. In Alexandria, participants represented 18 NGOs active in volunteer work. ¶C. EFFECTIVENESS OF THE SPEAKER: Westerfield and Holland have extensive professional experience and training abilities, but the key skills they demonstrated in these workshops were the patience, flexibility, enthusiasm, and good humor necessary to engage participants with widely varying skills and interests. Also key to the success of the program was the Egyptian translator, Rabab Zeineldin, who shared their enthusiasm for the subject and worked as a seamless part of the team. She translated their oral presentations as well as written material, which was also later used in Manama. ¶D. QUALITY OF IIP SUPPORT: Excellent. ¶E. IMMEDIATE RESULTS: It was clear from the participants' feedback after the workshops that Westerfield and Holland reached the minds and hearts of elite and non-elite alike, demonstrating a very positive side of America. They not only imparted useful business skills, they were able to help strengthen bonds between American and Egyptian people on personal and professional levels. Many participants requested follow-on training. We recommend them for future workshops in the region on entrepreneurship and leadership skills for a mixed group of men and women. We hope to expand their next visit to workshops in other governorates. ¶F. PRESS PLACEMENT: The local Minya television station participated in the workshop and filmed interviews afterward with participants and Embassy representatives. The Embassy did not have an opportunity to see the broadcast of the story. News bulletins on Alexandria television broadcast excerpts of the workshop. The Alexandria TV English program "In Focus" is scheduled to broadcast interviews with Westerfield and Holland on January 3, 2006. RICCIARDONE