REINVIGORATING PUBLIC DIPLOMACY CULTURAL AND SPORTS

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 COLOMBO 000057

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR R, ECA, IIP, SA/PD (SCHWARTZ, ROGERS, VAN DE VATE);

UNCLASSIFIED

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KPAO OIIP OEXC OPRC PREL SCUL CE
SUBJECT: REINVIGORATING PUBLIC DIPLOMACY CULTURAL AND SPORTS
PROGRAMS

REF: State 222516


1. (U) Post welcomes renewed attention by ECA to cultural and
sports diplomacy as important tools to support mission
objectives(reftel). Following responses are keyed to reftel
paragraph four.

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A: Which of your mission objectives benefits from cultural
programs or could be better supported by cultural and sports
programs?
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2. Just about all our mission objectives can be supported through
selected use of cultural and sports programming because they
enable us to reach new audiences and strengthen already
established contacts, publicize mission activities with regard to
promoting peace and tsunami recovery, and present a more
balanced, sophisticated view of U.S. society and policies. For
example, our Spring 2004 tour of Sri Lanka and the Maldives by a
Mississippi Blues quartet allowed us to highlight our assistance
to tsunami displaced people by bringing the performances directly
to the IDP camps and generating media coverage of the events.
Similarly, the recent performances in Sri Lanka of the New
Orleans Mardi Gras collective received widespread publicity and
were televised on national TV, thereby allowing us to emphasize
to a large audience the assistance we had provided to the country
after the tsunami, as well as our gratitude for Sri Lanka's aid
following Hurricane Katrina.


3. Our recent Alumni grant to support a program to promote fair
trials throughout the country supports our mission objective of
encouraging human rights, and our ACCESS grant for
underprivileged students to study English brought together
Sinhalese, Tamil and Muslim youth as a way of supporting the
mission's goal of fostering peace. A photography exhibit on
American architecture opened up new audiences of architects,
artists and designers in both Sri Lanka and the Maldives, just as
programming a "clean" American hip-hop DJ helped us reach the
younger elites and promoted a more balanced view of American
music than the prevalent Gangsta rap stereotype.


4. Sports programming could also be extremely helpful if more
were on offer. The basketball cultural envoys we programmed in
2004 connected with youth from all ethnic groups who normally
have no interaction with Americans. Sports programming might also
allow us to reach parts of the country we normally visit rarely.
For example, cricket completely dominates the sports scene in
most of Sri Lanka, but in the East, where many Muslims live,
soccer is equally popular. Bringing a good American university
soccer team to play matches in the East would help us connect
more with the Muslim community.

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B: What kind of specific cultural or sports programs or
initiatives are, or would be, most effective in supporting those
objectives?
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5. We have found that perhaps our least effective visual arts
programs are paper shows since we have noticed a tendency of
passersby to ignore them while proceeding to their destination.
Most paper shows are not large enough or visually striking enough
to be programmed as solo exhibits, but must be placed in
conjunction with conferences, seminars and other exhibits.


6. The most effective sports programming we could suggest would
be to send the U.S. cricket team to Sri Lanka for at least a week
to play a series of one day matches against local club teams
(playing the national team would be too much of a mismatch). Not
only would this generate huge publicity, but it would showcase
the multiethnic nature of American society. We would like to
propose a tour of Sri Lanka in May by USA Cricket in support of
our AID mission, which is planning 50th anniversary celebrations
this year. Proceeds from the matches would be allocated to
tsunami or war-affected schoolchildren in different parts of the

SIPDIS
country. Such a tour would have the added advantage of being
naturally attractive to private sector cost-sharing here, as Sri
Lankan companies regularly sponsor cricket matches and events.


7. As previously stated, sending good university level soccer
teams here and to the Maldives for a tour would also be
beneficial in reaching new audiences. Finally, there is a great
need in Sri Lanka and Maldives for high quality coaches in
swimming, track and field and basketball. For coaches to be
effective, however, they would need to be attached to a single
institution for at least three months.


8. Theater holds the potential to be highly effective in
reaching mixed audiences and in relaying messages that support
our mission objectives. For example, a country-wide tour of a
play such as West Side Story, or any play dealing with ethnic
strife or harmony, would resonate in support of peace building.
To be truly effective on a wide basis, however, the play would
have to be translated into Sinhala and Tamil and put on by local
actors in local languages. This has been done before with great
success in other countries, under the direction of an American
director provided with a good translator for the duration. An
American director should expect to spend at least 6 weeks working
with local troupes to put on an American play.


9. Film festivals offer vast possibilities for supporting
mission objectives since one can identify good films on almost
any topic that would align well with mission priorities.
However, for films to have broad impact, we must acquire rights
to showing 16 mm films in regular cinemas to audiences of several
hundred. Current MPA restrictions limit us to American Center
venues and small audiences.


10. Musical groups may also be very effective in cementing
positive relations with elite audiences. For example, high
quality jazz and blues and classical groups can enthrall local
elites with American artistry and creativity. We have found,
however, that programming successfully for much larger, broader
Sri Lankan audiences often requires "name" acts. Unfortunately,
sponsors here will only sign up for the performances if they
perceive that an elite, well-heeled audience will attend, not the
masses.


11. Institutional linkages can provide solid grounding for long-
term relationships with American artists and athletes. We
believe the best possibilities for such linkages lie in the
sports arena, especially in soccer and track and field and
swimming.

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C. What constraints does your mission face in effectively
utilizing cultural, arts, and sports programs?
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12. Our mission faces several constraints in programming arts
and sports. First, the ongoing violence in the North and East of
the country greatly limits our ability to program in those areas,
thereby cutting off a significant part of the Tamil population.
Second, outside of Colombo, English comprehension and fluency is
relatively low, so that any programming in the provinces must be
visual or aural in nature, not verbal. Third, most of the sports
in which Americans excel are not widely popular in Sri Lanka.
The sports mentioned above -- soccer, track and field and
swimming -- offer the best opportunities for programming,
although cricket overwhelms all other sports in popularity.
Fourth, enticing co-sponsors from the private sector can be
problematic since they are only interested in the narrow sector
of society that has ample disposable income. The middle class is
this small country is quite limited in its purchasing power.
Fifth, the PD staff is small compared to other countries, just
three American officers (PAO, IO and CAO) and two FSN cultural
specialists to cover two countries. We are slated to lose the CAO
slot next year since it is a DRI position.

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D. Have you been able to partner with the private sector in your
country to sponsor cultural / sports events or to overcome
resource constraints?
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13. We successfully partnered with the private sector on our
Mississippi blues program and on our Mardi Gras New Orleans
collective program. We offered logos on all tickets, posters and
banners to media companies in exchange for promotion of the
events on the air and in newspapers. This saved considerable
funds normally used for advertising and promotion. Art galleries
have offered us the use of their space at very reduced rates in
return for a certain number of invitations to the exhibit
openings. We have also partnered with the local AmCham to co-
sponsor events such as a performance by a Navy band. And we
regularly partner with local institutions to sponsor lectures and
seminars by visiting speakers or specialists such as the Arts in
Embassies artist we have currently visiting.


14. We believe there is some room to increase the scale of our
cultural programming in Sri Lanka and the Maldives, provided we
can attract co-sponsorship and maintain sufficient resources.
Particularly in sports programming, we think we could have a
larger influence beyond the traditional elites in the largest
cities.

Lunstead