GLOBAL REPOSITIONING - RESPONSE FROM AMBASSADOR LINDA

UNCLAS QUITO 000915 SIPDIS SIPDIS FROM AMBASSADOR JEWELL TO U/S BURNS AND U/S FORE E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: AMGT EC SUBJECT: GLOBAL REPOSITIONING - RESPONSE FROM AMBASSADOR LINDA JEWELL REFTEL: STATE 49440 ¶1. Summary: We are delighted to have been chosen as a Phase 1 country for the Secretary's Transformational Diplomacy initiative, and we are very pleased with the early returns on what the three new positions we gained have allowed us to do. Following are responses to questions posed in reftel as to how US Mission Ecuador has used the GRP positions on behalf of the Secretary's transformational agenda. ¶2. Response to Question A: In 2006 the Department designated Ecuador a transformational diplomacy (TD) post and added two new positions at Embassy Quito and one at Consulate General Guayaquil. The new positions have only been fully encumbered for a few months, but already the new officers have allowed us to substantially expand our transformational activities with new audiences and leverage much more outreach by the entire Mission. We've developed a National Outreach Strategy and are engaging a wider number of influential institutions and individuals - especially in provincial cities - to highlight the USG's many positive programs and put Mission officers and EFMs in direct contact with Ecuadorians, explaining more about who we are and what we do. We are also greatly increasing outreach to youth and disadvantaged groups, traditionally unreached audiences. We are bringing together Ecuadorians with U.S. experience into coherent groups that can influence public debate on Ecuador's future. While the Mission had a transformational agenda in place before receiving the GRP-I positions, and Mission offices were working to transform Ecuador via traditional tools and programs, the new officers have allowed us to establish TD as a separate activity at the entry to mid level and among EFMs, and helped the Mission's senior managers develop the ongoing transformational activities into part of a larger whole. ¶3. Response to Question B: The FS-03 Public Diplomacy Officer in Quito is the Mission's National Outreach Coordinator (NOC). He develops activities to explain USG interests and goals to Ecuadorians and to better engage institutions in and outside of Quito. He maintains a calendar of Embassy officers' official trips outside of Quito for reporting, ACS and other purposes and adds on outreach activities (speeches, lunches, interviews) to reach desired target audiences (universities, service organizations, chambers of �A;commerce) and plans his own trips to places we have not had time to visit adequately in the past. These trips have vastly expanded the number of Ecuadorians we're engaging, and focused the themes on U.S. assistance and long-term USG goals such as anti-corruption, counter-narcotics and trafficking in persons. The PDO has made it possible to reach high school audiences that we did not have resources to cover previously. The wide variety of topics, settings and types of schools is giving us a good insight into the best ways to convey our message to these future leaders and we find them eager for contact with us. Thanks as well to the new FSN supporting the position, we now have staff dedicated to developing outreach activities for all Mission officers, family members and Peace Corps Volunteers, allowing us to take much fuller advantage of the human capital at post than ever before. ¶4. The PDO has helped create several U.S. university alumni clubs in Ecuador, key to our efforts to create and encourage networks of change-minded individuals in Ecuador. For instance, he set up luncheons that I hosted for Georgetown and Harvard alumni, and other Mission officers and I attended a breakfast event for Fulbright alumni organized by the Fulbright Commission, and another for Michigan State alumni. Other university alumni efforts are in the works. These clubs create influential networks within Ecuador and with the U.S. to address issues of mutual interest. These are powerful multipliers and people who know us well. The PDO has been able to organize much more frequent programs with more universities, which are often centers of out-of-date leftist thinking. Direct contact dispels myths and provides new information to new audiences. The PDO and his FSNE established contact with the Universidad Central, Quito's public university and a source of anti-American rhetoric, which led to an invitation to participate in an on-campus open house for Embassies where they promoted the Fulbright program and other USG exchange programs, and distributed hundreds of IIP books and CD's to students. Over fifty new PAS Information Resource Center subscriptions were generated through this outreach event. In organizing community outreach events, the PDO leverages new contact by all Embassy sections with new audiences in creative programs that often generate media coverage as well. For instance, he coordinated the participation of African-American Mission officers and a Fulbright scholar to discuss the African-American experience with student audiences at the Quito City Museum's "Afrodescendents" exhibition, co-sponsored by the Embassy. ¶5. The FS-02 Economics Officer works on both TD and outreach activities. His transformational activities are focused on long term change and leadership. For instance, he is actively pursuing 212(f) corruption visa revocations and ineligibilities for "deserving" Ecuadorians, showing GOE and Ecuadorian public that we are an ally in the fight against corruption. He is developing strong working E relationships with new Under Secretaries in economics-related ministries to maintain productive, high-level dialogue with the current administration, and using contacts in ministries, with academics and in provincial capitals to identify future Ecuadorian leaders and to recommend them for USG-sponsored programs such as the International Visitors program. He is also searching for synergies with other agencies at Post like USAID (competitiveness) and FCS (anti-corruption) in order to complement each other's programs rather than duplicate them. In the area of outreach, he developed new themes and new audiences for our most important economic messages. For instance, he changed the core theme of the Economics outreach speech from "Free Trade Agreement" to "Competitiveness," to de-couple outreach from the more specific (and now stalled) FTA issue to a broader message that encourages Ecuadorians to develop consensus for reforms that promote market-based, open international economic engagement. He is increasing engagement with business and political leaders in Ecuador's provincial capitals in order to understand the challenges that exist outside of Quito and Guayaquil, and to examine how local leaders are responding at the municipal and provincial levels. During his recent trip to one provincial capital, for example, he met with university economists, gave the Economics outreach speech at a local university, and along with the FCS officer held a round table discussion with business leaders. ¶6. The FS-03 Public Diplomacy Officer in Guayaquil has re-opened Consulate outreach efforts to the entire consular district, re-engaging with audiences long neglected and reaching out to new ones. She is finding creative ways to engage university level audiences and faculty. For instance, she met with the Univ. of Guayaquil Dean of the Social Communications School, arranged a meeting between the post's English Language Specialist and the English language teaching staff, put the school's radio station on distribution for the Embassy's weekly radio program, and donated materials to the English Department's library. She uses the two U.S.-Ecuador bi-national centers in Guayaquil and Cuenca to maximum extent to expand the profile for USG speakers and programs. For instance, she oversees the PAS grant to the BNC Guayaquil to administer the WHA-sponsored College Horizons English language scholarship program for low-income Afro-Ecuadorian and indigenous students. The CEN contacted more than 60 public high schools and recruited 350 candidates for the 25 available slots, hosted an orientation session/reception for 125 public school officials, NGOs and private foundations, and an orientation/reception for parents and students. Future plans include visits by consulate staff to the high schools of our College Horizon students, a visit by the CH students to the Consulate, and a meeting with me. In her outreach efforts, she has been able to leverage all Consulate resources to engage new audiences in new ways, for instance when she helped the Consular officer coordinate the Guayaquil visit of a group of HBC Morehouse College officials who recruited Afro-Ecuadorian students for Morehouse, met with local Afro-Ecuadorian leaders and visited Afro-Ecuadorian communities to build leadership networks with them. ¶7. Response to Question C: The two PD positions are accomplishing exactly the work outlined for them, correcting misperceptions, countering misinformation and fostering better mutual understanding. The Econ position has been working on most of the issues outlined in the job description such as corruption and trade, but because the FTA faltered, the trade focus shifted to a broader agenda of economic reform, still well within the transformational parameters. After a few months experience with these new positions, seeing what works and what doesn't, we are now refining further the specific policy transformations that will be the top priorities in the political and economic areas. ¶8. Response to Question D: In addition to the fantastic work these additional officers have been doing, and the expanded reach and influence they have developed for the Mission, they have also helped enormously in my goal to have everyone in the Mission involved in outreach and TD activities in order to achieve the goals first outlined in Quito 2235 (2005),"Transforming Ecuador: Action Plan for Democracy and Stability." This plan emphasized the long-term nature of transformational activities such as education and exchange programs which, if carried out successfully in Ecuador, would mean that in twenty years the U.S. Mission would face a less daunting set of challenges than we face today and would do so in a much more cooperative environment. The new officers leverage their own work and get others actively involved in programs. We track progress in carrying out our TD agenda at monthly inter-agency TD meetings chaired by me and the PAO, supplemented by the work of other internal bodies such as our Democracy Working Group, our Anti-Corruption Working Group and our Expanded Economic Team meetings. ¶9. Lessons Learned: Hiring two new FSNEs to support the three GRP-I officers (one FSNE in Quito and one in Guayaquil) has made a critical contribution to our TD efforts nationwide - our efforts would have fallen short without that element. The FSNE in Quito works directly with the PDO Quito to find new audiences, suggest ideas for outreach, plan transformational activities, catalog the information gained through these activities, and follow up with new activities. This two-person team works full time to support the other two TD officers, as well as all Mission personnel involved in outreach and TD activities. Their combined effort is essential to the work of planning and conducting these activities, which requires a sustained effort and the "institutional memory" that a dedicated and energetic FSNE can provide. We would be even more successful if the positions came with a budget supplement that allowed us to increase travel funds. We are covering these new and extra costs out of our current budget levels, with some strain and tradeoffs. A final observation: language skill is critical to the success of these positions. ¶10. To prepare Mission employees for outreach activities, the Embassy Information Section conducted media training sessions for FSOs and FSNs to show them where to find information useful for their outreach activities (Embassy's Website, Fact Sheets and Talking Points),and to conduct mock interviews to improve their on-camera and on-air communication techniques. ¶11. Next Steps: After several months of experience conducting TD activities with our new officers, we are in the process of refining some of our TD goals and tying them more closely to desired political and economic policy outcomes. The TD officer in the Economics Section, for instance, is developing a TD matrix that will integrate the various Mission Sections' economic development activities (PL 480 programs, USAID job creation assistance, FCS programs) into a complementary package that has greater impact and is easier to explain to the public. The TD officer in PAS Quito participates in Political Section planning activities (and is reviewed by the Political Counselor) in order to help that section achieve its goals through TD activities. The PD officer in Guayaquil is identifying the mix of audiences and activities (university outreach, English Teaching assistance, speaking opportunities, cultural activities, assistance to U.S. volunteer missions) that will have the greatest transformational impact and writing those into updated work requirements. ¶12. POL and FCS have FY07 outreach plans in place and Consular and USAID will soon begin outreach activities outside of Quito. We have begun English teaching conversation tutoring in Quito high schools using EFMs and GSO officers. We are setting up activities for Peace Corps volunteers to explain USG efforts in health and environmental protection. We are looking for Americans outside the Mission (Fulbrighters and American college exchange students) to visit Quito high schools for English teaching. We will establish a "Volunteers" page on the Embassy website to highlight U.S. private-sector efforts to help Ecuadorians. We plan to bring together Ecuadorians who have benefited from USG TD efforts, such as IMET courses, PAS exchanges, NAS/DEA training, and USAID programs into meaningful, thematic groups where they can collectively have an impact. We have a structure in place to analyze Outreach progress and results. As we expand our activities, more and more Ecuadorian institutions are requesting programs, leading to a positive "snowball" effect of expanding audiences and opportunities. The transformation has just begun. JEWELL 2