AMB WAYNE MEETS WITH OUTGOING EDUCATION MINISTER (AND

UNCLAS BUENOS AIRES 002309 SIPDIS STATE FOR R, F, ECA, IIP, WHA/BSC, WHA/EX, WHA/PDA SIPDIS E.O. 12958:N/A TAGS: KPAO OEXC SCUL AR SUBJECT: AMB WAYNE MEETS WITH OUTGOING EDUCATION MINISTER (AND SENATOR ELECT) DANIEL FILMUS ¶1. Summary: In a November 29 meeting with outgoing Education Minister Daniel Filmus, Ambassador outlined ongoing US Embassy-sponsored educational programs, thanked Filmus for MOE cooperation on the Youth Ambassador Program, and reviewed future areas for collaboration. Filmus said he was in the process of finalizing a decree to increase funding to the Fulbright program and identified English training and science exchanges as areas for enhanced cooperation. He will become the Chairman of the Senate's Environment Committee and continue to advise President Fernandez de Kirchner on educational issues. Filmus said that the new Minister of Education, the current Vice Minister of Education Juan Carlos Tedesco, shares Filmus' priority on English teacher training and increased science and technology exchanges and will be a good partner for the U.S. End Summary. ¶2. Ambassador Wayne met with outgoing Education Minister Daniel Filmus November 29 to thank him for his cooperation on educational issues generally and the Youth Ambassador Program in particular. Ambassador Wayne noted that, as part of the US government's investment in Argentine youth (over $6 million from FY 04-07),the number of Youth Ambassadors would double this year from 5 to 10 participants. The embassy is also doubling the number of micro scholarships for disadvantaged youth, so that 120 students will study English at bi-national centers this year. Among other initiatives, the embassy has sent 33 English teachers to the US for intensive training over the past two years and will continue this important training opportunity in 2008. ¶3. The Ambassador noted the overall decline in the number of Argentine students studying in the US despite the global upward trend. He and the Senator-elect discussed ways of increasing the number of educational exchanges including private-public partnerships. They praised programs such as Inte's Education Initiative that has had enormous impact in training almost 40,000 teachers to date in 14 provinces and donating damage-resistant computers to students. Filmus noted the particular need for exchanges in science and technology since the Argentine educational system is weak in this area. ¶4. As a first step toward increased exchanges, Ambassador Wayne mentioned the importance of GOA compliance with the Argentine-US agreement by which Argentina is obligated to provide US $200,000 in funding each year for the bi-national Fulbright Commission. During the economic crisis Argentina's contribution fell to US $68,000 annually and has remained there since. The outgoing Minister responded that he had received a letter from Fulbright board member and president of La Nacion newspaper, Julio Saguier, to the same effect, and with a draft decree in hand for his signature, stated that he was prepared to increase Argentina's contribution to $100,000 this year, "as an indication of our intent to increase funding to the full level next year." Ambassador Wayne thanked him and expressed hope that GOA funding would be restored next year to the agreed upon amount in view of the importance of providing Argentine youth more opportunities to study in the US. Ambassador described the new ten-year Fulbright program in Chile and the increased number of doctoral candidates sent by Brazil under Fulbright. ¶5. Minister Filmus reiterated the importance of teacher training as in the Intel program so that technology is properly integrated into classroom instruction. He noted the large number of US students in Argentina (some 4,000) and gave the Ambassador a copy of "Study In Argentina: A Guide for International Students," which identifies Argentine universities for graduate studies, semester abroad programs, and Spanish studies. ¶6. The outgoing Minister also underscored the vital importance of improving English teaching so that Argentina can compete in the global market. "These students need English to fully take advantage of these exchange opportunities and to study the science and technology skills Argentina needs," he said. He referred to the urgent need for English teacher training and identified three priorities: teacher training at the Ministry's new teacher institute; use of national educational TV channel "Encuentro" for English instruction; and the need for more English books for public schools and other libraries. He said his Ministry would be particularly interested in any English teaching TV program that Argentine public TV could utilize. ¶7. The Ambassador offered to explore assistance in these areas: the possibility of extending English studies to over 68 Globe Schools that are participating in a US-sponsored science and technology program for climate monitoring, and using visiting American science and technology experts to address groups of teachers at the national training institute. In closing, the Senator-elect reiterated the strong interest of his successor - Vice Minister Juan Carlos Tedesco -- in these same areas, and of his own intention to continue working in the field of education as a key advisor to the new President -elect to make these additional exchange possibilities happen. He predicted that Tedesco would be a good partner for the U.S. 8 Comment: The meeting with Filmus was cordial and productive. Not only was he forthcoming with more cash for Fulbright, but he also identified several areas where the Embassy and the MOE could cooperate going forward. Moreover, he said that he would continue to be involved in educational affairs from his perch in the Senate and that the incoming minister was predisposed to work with us in the same spirit of cooperation. End comment. KELLY