RETAINING THE KATHMANDU AMERICAN CENTER

UNCLAS KATHMANDU 002660 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR R, M, DS, OBO DEPT FOR DS/IP/SCA DEPT FOR SCA FOR A/S BOUCHER DEPT FOR SCA/EX FOR NED ALFORD AND TERI LEECH DEPT FOR SCA/PPD FOR GREGG SULLIVAN DEPT FOR SCA/INS FOR DAVID RICHELSOPH DEPT FOR R/PPR FOR GRETCHEN WELCH DEPT FOR IIP FOR JEREMY CURTIN FROM THE AMBASSADOR E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: OEXC SCUL ABLD AMGT ASEC ACOA OPRC KPAO NP SUBJECT: RETAINING THE KATHMANDU AMERICAN CENTER LIBRARY REF: KATHMANDU 1381 SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. During consultations October 12-13, the Ambassador looks forward to learning Washington?s reaction to our recommendation that the American Center Library remain in its present location and not/not be relocated to the New Embassy Compound. Reftel spells out in detail our reason for recommending this step: to retain an effective platform to reach the Nepali public during a crucial phase of the Maoist insurgency. Embassy Kathmandu has not yet received a response to reftel, transmitted in early June. End summary. THE LIBRARY IS THE HEART OF PUBLIC DIPLOMACY -------------- ¶2. The Kathmandu American Center Library, a circulating library since 2005, is a successful and active U.S. public diplomacy venue, helping Nepalis particularly student-aged Nepalis to learn more about the United States. In the process, the Center promotes lifelong interest in and a positive view of the United States and its people and an awareness of its foreign policies. The Center is a vital element of our public diplomacy program, focused on promoting a peaceful, prosperous and democratic Nepal in the face of a brutal Maoist insurgency. WHY AMERICAN-NEPAL RELATIONS NEED AN OPEN-ACCESS LIBRARY -------------- -------------- -- ¶3. Then-Assistant Secretary Christina Rocca opened the ?new? circulating American Library in the Yak & Yeti in May 2005. The American Center library is the Mission?s only open, public American space, providing our target audience of young people a place to come back to again and again at their own convenience, without an invitation. Middle-aged contacts continually tell us that when they were younger, they gathered at the old USIS library. This contact base feels a strong, positive, personal connection to the United States (even if they have never been there) because of the library. CRITICAL LIBRARY-UNIVERSITY LINKAGES -------------- ¶4. The current relationship between the library and local universities is strong, providing an avenue to reach university students, the future leaders of a democratic Nepal. Although library staff stopped reaching out to students in the mid-1990s, professors remained in the target audience. Library staff resumed student outreach programs in 2005, methodically inviting classes to visit and providing orientation programs. The library develops ongoing relationships with young people, the nature of which changes as the individual advances through university and becomes a young professional. MEETING THE YOUTH BULGE -------------- ¶5. If the library were kept at its downtown Yak & Yeti Hotel location, while most of PAS moves to the NEC, including American staff, the library also could be expanded in future years. Nepal's demographic trends are such that increasing numbers of students would benefit from continued access to the library for years to come. Nearly 40 percent of Nepalis are under 14 years old. Recent poll data indicates that those under 18 are particularly disenfranchised and susceptible to exploitation by Maoist extremist ideology. The American Center?s location close to Kathmandu?s principal universities maximizes the likelihood that our public diplomacy messages will continue to reach the next generation of Nepalis. STATISTICS TO PROVE IT -------------- ¶6. Circulation services were restarted in 2005 after a gap of ten years and, within a year, the library had 723 members. More than 30,000 visitors have visited the library since the resumption of open stacks and circulation services. Library members have checked out 6,800 books. 2,734 reference queries have been answered. 676 movies have been screened to library patrons, and more than 400 library contacts received article alerts, bibliographies and specialized articles this year. During ?bandhs? (general strikes),which shut down the entire city, students from Tribhuvan University, Kirtipur (11 kms from the American Center) have walked all the way to the library to access its resources for their studies. WHY IT MATTERS -------------- ¶7. The current Kathmandu American Center provides the United States with an effective, open public diplomacy platform, contributing crucially to the debate among Nepalis on the future shape of their society. The American Center transmits American values and culture, core beliefs in peace, democracy and prosperity that are at the center of the struggle with the Maoist insurgency. MORIARTY 2