UNESCO: GUIDANCE REQUEST ON INVITATION TO

UNCLAS PARIS 000137 SIPDIS FROM USMISSION UNESCO PARIS STATE FOR IO/UNESCO DOUGLAS ROHN E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: TPHY SENV TSPL EAID UNESCO KSI SUBJECT: UNESCO: GUIDANCE REQUEST ON INVITATION TO U.S. OFFICIAL TO LECTURE ON HURRICANE KATRINA ¶1. This is guidance request, see paragraph three. ¶2. The UNESCO Secretariat has asked permission via letter to Ambassador, to invite U.S. official Eugene Stakhiv (Army Corps of Engineers) to deliver a public lecture at the 8th Kovacs Colloquium. The Kovacs colloquium, entitled "Frontiers in Flood Research", will take place at UNESCO Paris June 30-July 1 2005; it will be organized jointly by the International Association of Hydrological Sciences (IAHS) and UNESCO. According to the letter, signed by Water Sciences Director Andras Szollosi-Nagy, Dr. Stakhiv would be asked use his lecture to "present the case of the Katrina Hurricane and its consequences." The letter was delivered to the Charge by a Water Sciences Division staffer, who stressed the "non-political" nature of the colloquium and the lecture. ¶3. Post wants to confirm previous email message from IO/UNESCO that UNESCO is welcome to invite Dr. Stakhiv to deliver a public lecture at the June 30-July 1 Kovacs Colloquium on the consequences of Hurricane Katrina. OLIVER