SAO PAULO REACHES OUT TO UNIVERSITIES

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 SAO PAULO 001262

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: CVIS ECON CMGT BR
SUBJECT: SAO PAULO REACHES OUT TO UNIVERSITIES

REF: (A) SAO PAULO 1038; (B) SAO PAULO 1105; (C) Sao Paulo 862


1. SUMMARY: As a part of a Mission-wide initiative to reach out to
institutions that have historically had little contact with the USG,
Sao Paulo Consulate General's Entry Level Officers are visiting
universities and other organizations throughout its consular
district. The officers found students to be receptive and curious
about the full range of bilateral and multilateral issues and
exchange programs. Post will continue this initiative and
periodically report results. END SUMMARY.

SAO PAULO UNIVERSITY OUTREACH EVENTS


2. On October 5, Conoff Keith Gilges teamed up with two fellow vice
consuls from the Canadian and German consulates to discuss the
present and future of diplomacy at a local college. Gilges and
associates addressed over 300 students and faculty in standing-room
only accommodations at the Ipiranga University (Faculdades
Associadas Ipiranga em Centro Universitrio Assungco). The team
answered questions about diplomacy and its role given the advent of
email, the internet and twenty-four hour news coverage.


3. On November 23, Conoff Ory Abramowicz addressed approximately 25
students from Armando Alvares Penteado Foundation (FAAP),a
multi-disciplinary private university. Abramowicz spoke to business,
economics, and government relations students on an array of topics
that included U.S.-Brazilian environmental cooperation, the Kyoto
Protocol, the recent U.S. mid-term elections and its impact on USG's
Iraq policy, U.S. concerns regarding Venezuela, and anti-drug
trafficking efforts.


4. On December 7, Conoffs Christopher Rose and Sheila Carey fielded
questions from a small group of international relations students at
Sao Marcos University, a small liberal arts school founded in 1970
and officially recognized as a university in 1994. Its student body
numbers about 5,000 and includes many older students from lower and
middle class families who work during the day and attend classes at
night. The majority of the discussion centered on U.S.-Venezuela
and Bolivia relations, U.S. elections, and immigration reform.

OUTREACH IN SOUTHERN BRAZIL - PORTO ALEGRE


5. Conoffs Tomika Konditi and Andrew Witherspoon visited the Campo
do Tuca community and two top universities in Porto Alegre, capital
of the southern Brazilian state Rio Grande do Sul, from October 16
through 18, to conduct consular outreach. With a population of
almost 11 million, Rio Grande do Sul is the third largest state and
pool of visa applicants in Sao Paulo's consular district. As is
prevalent throughout the country, the visit revealed the wide gap
between the rich and poor and provided insight into the profile of
applicants from the state.


6. The Conoffs kicked off their trip with a visit to the Tuca
daycare center located in one of the city's poorest sections, Campo
do Tuca. Tuca is a daycare center for children from low-income
families that is subsidized by the government and supported by
corporate donations. Approximately 100 children, aged one to
fourteen, are guaranteed two meals and basic dental and nutritional
care at the facility. The center also teaches sewing and culinary
job skills to women in the community and offers counseling on
government-sponsored programs such as "Bolsa Familia" (REF A).


7. The community surrounding the center is impoverished. Homes with
no electricity, teenaged parents with limited education, and
unemployment are common. President Lula's Workers Party (Partido de
Trabalhadores - PT) (REFS B-C) has strong support in the area, as
evidenced by the party's logo painted on many modest and makeshift
homes. The pride of the community is the cooperative recycling
operation that provides subsistence income to roughly twenty
adults.


8. The community center personnel were eager to talk to consulate
representatives and outline ways the consulate could get involved
with the center, including encouraging large U.S. corporations like
Dell to donate computers and learning material. The center would be
an ideal organization for long-term and continued outreach efforts
with an American Presence Post (APP) in Porto Alegre. As of now, the
center's biggest donors are Brazilian banks, which provide
foodstuffs.


9. In stark contrast to the Conoffs' visit to Campo do Tuca was the
setting for their next outreach visit - the top private university
in the state, Pontifical Catholic ia University (PUC),and the
prestigious Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul. The majority
of students at these schools received a private secondary education
that prepared them for rigorous college entrance examinations. A
private high school education is usually affordable only to the

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upper-middle and upper classes of Brazil. Students at both
universities were interested in discussing exchange and study
opportunities and visa procedures.


10. COMMENT: Residents of Rio Grande do Sul frequently ask when the
USG will open a new Consulate in Porto Alegre to replace the one
closed in 1996. Many complain of the inconvenience of having to
travel to Sao Paulo for visa interviews. There will likely be
considerable interest in the proposed APP for the city when people
find out about it, and vocal demand for it to include a visa
component.


11. Future outreach activities will continue to broaden the range of
universities and expand to include more institutions that
historically have had little personal contact with the Consulate.
We have found that lower and middle class students at newer and
less-prestigious institutions are just as interested in the U.S. and
its policies as those attending more established universities. END
COMMENT.

WOLFE