IRPO PUBLIC DIPLOMACY: YEAR ONE - A PROMISING START

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 IRAN RPO DUBAI 000070 SIPDIS SIPDIS NEA PLEASE PASS ECA/FO FOR DAS ROMANOWSKI, DAS FARRELL E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/27/2017 TAGS: OEXC OIIP PHUM PINR SUBJECT: IRPO PUBLIC DIPLOMACY: YEAR ONE - A PROMISING START RPO DUBAI 00000070 001.2 OF 002 CLASSIFIED BY: Ramin Asgard, Acting Director, Iran Regional Presence Office, Dubai. REASON: 1.4 (b),(d) ¶1. (C) Summary: One of IRPO's primary mandates upon commencing operations in August 2006 was the revival of US-Iran public diplomacy programming - which focused largely on supporting US-Iran educational and cultural exchanges. In this three-part report on IRPO Year One PD programming, part I will look back on the past year's public diplomacy programs, part II will focus on Iranian reactions to the programs, and part III will look forward to the coming year and beyond. In our first year, IRPO PAO helped send roughly 120 Iranians resident in Iran to the US on various exchange programs. We welcomed five visiting official speakers provided through the IIP bureau, established two small grants in the UAE to advance USG public outreach to Iran, and helped support ECA efforts to establish student advising services for Iranians, and to bring Farsi instructors to the US. Our first year saw many challenges. Perhaps the most daunting was the Iranian government's increasing suspicion about our activities and their efforts to undermine our programs. As we move into our second year, many challenges remain, but the foundation is in place for continued expansion of our outreach to the Iranian people through a growing range of public diplomacy programs. End summary. ¶2. (C) International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP): In November 2006, 16 Iranian medical professions visited the US on an IVLP program. This courageous group represented the first Iranian exchange visitors from within Iran since 1979. Over the course of the year, 104 Iran-based IVLPs visited the US, touring key institutions, meeting with American peers, and immersing themselves in American culture. Ten of the IVLP programs were Iran country specific program, and two were multi-regional programs with Iranian programs. Program topics included Disaster Management, Visual Arts, Rule of Law, Documentary Filmmaking, Music, Substance Abuse Treatment, Women's Entrepreneurship, and Teaching English as a Second Language. (Note: Our colleagues in London and Berlin arranged 10 additional Iranian IVLP participants from among the European Iranian expatriate community. End note.) ¶3. (C) The Iranian government response to the IVLP program varied, depending on the program topic, sponsoring US partners, relevant Iranian ministries, and level of media attention. In general, the IRIG was skeptical of the intentions of all official exchange programs, but only started to take active measures to disrupt the programs later in the year (to be detailed septel). Participants were overwhelmingly positive in describing their experience, and some positive institutional and civil society relationships were established. A comprehensive review and analysis of Iranian government, participant, and institutional responses to the IVLP and other exchange programs will follow septel. ¶4. (C) Official Speaker Program: The IRPO welcomed five speakers to Dubai (and the UAE) as part of the official speaker program. Speaker themes included: Women and Science, Entrepreneurship, Documentary Film and Media Issues, and US Elections. Because we currently maintain no institutional links with Iranian cultural and educational organizations based in Dubai, we broadened speaker focus to issues and programs of general interest. The Abu Dhabi and Dubai PAO offices were a great source of programming and media relations support in this regard. ¶5. (C) Student Advising: As of September 2007, ECA had finalized its grant agreement with AMIDEAST to provide student advising for Iranians exploring higher educational opportunities in the US. The final AMIDEAST grant envisioned most of the advising performed via online contact between prospective students and AMIDEAST Washington through online services. In addition, the AMIDEAST student advising office in Dubai is planning to provide public outreach and advising services by appointment through a resident student advisor based in Dubai. ¶6. (C) Grants: IRPO PD provided two grants in FY2007. The first was to the Dubai Community Theatre and Arts Center (DUCTAC) to provide local venue, logistical, and personnel support for staging a documentary film festival. The IIP Bureau is providing a separate supporting grant to the US-based Artistic Director, Anisa Mehdi. The film festival, scheduled for April 2008, will feature US, Iranian, and Persian Gulf films and filmmakers and serve as a foundation for establishing a permanent film society in Dubai. The second IRPO PD grant in FY2007 was to George Mason University - Ras Al Khaimah's English RPO DUBAI 00000070 002.2 OF 002 Language Program to conduct a residential TESOL training course in RAK for Iranian TESOL instructors. Two separate two-week courses are currently planned for winter and spring 2008. ¶7. (C) Interaction with Media: Based upon IRPO's location in Dubai, and press and Iranian government speculation about our activities, the UAEG on occasion shared its concerns about the profile and scope of IRPO operations with Embassy Abu Dhabi. In general, our operating guidance was to maintain a low profile. This meant limiting our interaction with local and international media based in Dubai. At the outset, the media wanted to discuss IRPO specifically, which would be problematic for the UAEG, and consequently the US-UAE bilateral relationship. As the year passed, media attention to the novelty of and policy motivations for IRPO's presence in Dubai abated. ¶8. (C) Foreign Language Teaching Assistant (Program): In coordination with the ECA bureau and the Institute for International Education (IIE),IRPO PD supported 16 FLTA program participants during FY2007. This valuable program brought English-speaking language instructors to American universities to teach Farsi, a language specifically targeted under the National Security Language Initiative. While participants faced some Iranian government pressures, out of the 23 originally approved for the program, 16 eventually were able to attend. ¶9. (C) Comment: Given the conditions attendant to conducting Iran Public Diplomacy activities from Dubai, IRPO PD was often obliged to carefully calibrate our programming to local and policy realities. IRPO was a start-up attempting to revive exchanges after a 27 year hiatus. Given this, we were obliged to learn through trial and error at times. One IVLP alumnus offered a telling analogy on this point, suggesting that navigating any form of US engagement with Iran - even if limited to educational and cultural exchanges - was like navigating a mine field. Even one mistake can be disastrous. Having cleared at least part of this minefield intact through our first year of operations, we learned many lessons. We will comment on Iranian reactions in part II of our review, and Part III will outline lessons learned and some suggestions as we move forward. End comment. ASGARD