UNESCO AND RICKY MARTIN PARTNERSHIP

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 PARIS 003255

SIPDIS

FROM USMISSION UNESCO PARIS

SENSITIVE

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KPAO EAID UNESCO
SUBJECT: UNESCO AND RICKY MARTIN PARTNERSHIP



1. (U) SUMMARY: The Ricky Martin Foundation (RMF),whose
President, Puerto Rican singer and humanitarian Ricky Martin, was
named a hero against trafficking in persons (TIP) by the U.S.
Department of State in 2005 for his work to promote awareness and
protect children from trafficking, has joined forces with UNESCO on
a global initiative aimed at safeguarding children against
exploitation and abuse. UNESCO will use its network of Associated
Schools in Latin America and the Caribbean to distribute educational
materials featuring Martin from the "Navega Protegido" campaign
(launched by the RMF and Microsoft) in order to promote child safety
online and secure children from dangers such as child pornography,
sex predators and identity theft. UNESCO's Children in Need program
will also develop a project for Puerto Rico, Mr.. Martin's
birthplace, to help reach youth at risk through artistic education.
A signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the two
partners, attended by the U.S. Deputy Chief of Mission to UNESCO,
Andrew Koss, took place on May 5. END SUMMARY.

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NAVEGA PROTEGIDO:
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2. (U) Angel Saltos, President of the RMF, (COMMENT: Saltos stated
before joining the RMF, he worked as a consultant on development
projects, including information and communication interconnectivity
in Latin America for Compaq and other companies. END COMMENT.)
stated that RMF is now "co branding" with Microsoft to make videos
to create awareness on the dangers that the Internet can pose to
children. The main message of the videos, Saltos stated, is that
the internet is a fantastic tool, but kids have to be safe. Martin,
he added, has taped several spots telling kids to be careful, not to
chat with anyone they do not know. The spots are in post-production
and their introduction will be timed with the beginning of the
school year in Latin America. UNESCO will now join the partnership
and lend its network of Associated Schools in Latin America and the
Caribbean to distribute the spots. UNESCO could also potentially
help shape future content and provide access its worldwide network
of NATCOMs and Education Ministries. It could also provide greater
distribution of other informational materials Martin has produced in
the past.

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UNESCO's CHILDREN IN NEED PROGRAM:
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3. (SBU) The Ricky Martin Foundation had been in discussions with
UNESCO since meeting the head specialist of its Children in Need
Program, Francoise Pinzon-Gil program at a conference on trafficking
in persons in Athens last January. Saltos stated that they both saw
a lot of synergies between the two organizations because of UNESCO's
educational network and its neutral platform in the developing
world. Pinzon Gil, whose program since 1992 has been financed by
the German UNESCO Special Ambassador for the Education of Children
in Need, Ute-Henriette Ohoven, sought to increase the program's
visibility through partnership with Martin. To finance the program,
Ohoven organizes an annual gala in Dusseldorf, which attracts
celebrities and raises approximately 2 million Euros per year.
Pinzon Gil works with UNESCO field offices to distribute the funds
in small grants to NGOs focused on children's issues. The program
has had several audits and enjoys a solid reputation within UNESCO,
even if nobody is sure which of UNESCO's mandate it addresses. It
was housed in the education sector (and provides many grants in this
realm) until a few years ago and it is now housed in the Social and
Human Sciences sector.

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RMF's OTHER PROJECTS:
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4. (SBU) Saltos stated that the SMF realized it alone could not
protect children by fighting abuse, exploitation (child pornography
on the internet) and trafficking. He stated that RMF is looking for
partnerships at the governmental, institutional and corporate level
and outlined several other RMF partnerships including one with the
Organization on Migration (OIM) to make 2 videos on trafficking in
persons for Puerto Rico. These are being customized for other
countries by adding on local hotline numbers and are now being used
in Columbia and Ecuador. RMF met President Bush in February and has
partnered with HHS to get a trafficking information hotline number
in the U.S. It plans to introduce trafficking hotlines in Central
America as well. RMF is also working with the Inter American
Development Bank (IDB) and filmed 3 more public service
announcements on human trafficking, which are currently in
post-production. These are expected to premiere in Peru this month
on television stations and then will be introduced in Costa Rica.
When asked about whether RMF has specific initiatives in Mexico,
Saltos stated that these videos could potentially be used there with
a local hotline number. Martin has also completed a 25-minute video
of 4 segments (an introduction on TIP, prevention, protection and
prosecution) using real stories from Argentina, Colombia and
Guatemala. Potentially, all of these information tools could be
distributed through UNESCO's network if the partnership takes off.


5. (SBU) COMMENT: Mission found the occasion of the partnership
as a good opportunity to showcase U.S. and Puerto Rican
philanthropy, and gained a useful readout on the RMF's progress on
protecting children from the dangers of TIP and cyberspace. Martin
and his interlocutors seemed genuinely concerned about making a
difference on these issues and sincere in their commitment to
preventing them. END COMMENT.

Oliver