PD PROGRAMS ATTRACT YOUTH THROUGHOUT LEBANON

UNCLAS BEIRUT 000335 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: OEXC SCUL KPAO SUBJECT: PD PROGRAMS ATTRACT YOUTH THROUGHOUT LEBANON ¶1. (U) Summary: Youth from throughout Lebanon are increasingly interested in Public Diplomacy's (PD) student programs. Results from the Youth Exchange and Study (YES) and English Access Microscholarship programs indicate that PD's outreach includes students from all groups of Lebanon's diverse sectarian and geographic mix, while maintaining a gender balance. In addition, PD Beirut gauged the opinions of youth regarding education and emigration during the YES interview process. Many are committed to gaining skills but for the sole purpose of leaving the country. End summary. YES --- ¶2. (U) The Youth Exchange and Study (YES) Program, administered locally by partner organization AMIDEAST, is open to 14-16 year old high school students throughout Lebanon, specifically targeting public school pupils from outside of the capital. The full scholarship sends outstanding teenagers to live with American host families and study at high schools for an academic year. As a result of an aggressive outreach campaign (including television interviews, radio commercials, school visits and website postings) in November 2007 to promote the program, applications jumped by 42% versus last year's total. The North (primarily Sunni and Christian) experienced a 33% increase, the South (Shia and Sunni) 44%, the Bekaa Valley (Shia) 54% and Mount Lebanon (Druze and Christian) 86%. Contrary to assumptions, girls represented a majority of applicants (61%). ¶3. (SBU) Due to heightened Embassy security measures after an incident involving an Embassy vehicle, which occurred two days before the scheduled interviews to select the slate of 43 YES finalists for the 2008-09 program, PD held the four, day-long interview sessions on the Embassy compound rather than at AMIDEAST's downtown office, the annual venue. Initially, PD and AMIDEAST were concerned that the location might deter the YES candidates' families from attending. On the contrary, however, 109 students and their parents participated in the interview sessions. In fact, not a single student invited for an interview refused the offer because of the location. To accommodate rural families unfamiliar with greater Beirut, AMIDEAST arranged for a bus to shuttle interview participants between downtown parking and the Embassy. ¶4. (U) Throughout the three-part interview sessions, PD staff observed students' and parents' answers. Students were excited about the opportunities that YES offered. Many defined their motivation to participate as a chance to show Americans that Lebanese are not terrorists. Others wanted to experience life in the United States, the land of freedom, technology and prosperity, as they described it. Several teenagers stressed the importance of participating in YES to gain the skills necessary to work abroad after college. It was alarming that so many students, as young as 14, echoed the same sentiment. Given the prolonged political, economic and security instability in Lebanon, children have become conditioned to leave the country after watching their relatives, friends and neighbors search for stable jobs elsewhere. These comments signal that the brain drain may now be endemic among Lebanese youth. ¶5. (SBU) The parents revealed interesting insights as well. One Shia mother from the South mentioned that someone's opinion of U.S. policy should not affect how the American people are judged so she encouraged her son to participate in YES. Another Shia mother explained her hesitation to come to the Embassy but was willing to do whatever necessary for the sake of her daughter's education. In a third case, however, the mother of one of the highest ranked candidates said that family members and neighbors had discouraged her from allowing her daughter to participate. Living in a Hizballah-dominated neighborhood, she admitted that the pressure was too much, forcing her to terminate her daughter's candidacy. ¶6. (SBU) After compiling the interview results, the 43 selected finalists reflected the sectarian, geographic and gender diversity of the initial applicant pool. The sectarian mix mirrored Lebanon's unofficial confessional breakdown: three-fourths Muslim and the remainder Christian. While geographic distribution was fair among most regions, the one salient aberration was the under-representation of finalists (12% of total) from the North compared with the number of applicants (19% of total) from the region. The primary reasons for their underperformance included weakness in English language skills (the primary languages of instruction in the region are Arabic or French) and a general lack of sophistication, both factors inhibiting clear communication of thoughts and personality during the interviews. As for gender, female finalists were 47% of the total while comprising 55% of all candidates invited to interview. In addition, females comprised only 20% of North finalists versus 62% of the North's invited candidates. (Note: Embassy Beirut's PD programs increasingly target the North such as English Access and Teaching Women English, a post-designed project. End note.) Access -------------- ¶7. (U) The English Access Microscholarship Program, also administered by AMIDEAST, teaches English to high school students extra-curricularly in socio-economically disadvantaged areas while exposing them to civic education and American culture. This 2007-08 program includes 18 classrooms throughout the country. In fact, 96% of all participants, 64% of whom are girls, are from outside Beirut. The North represents the largest group (36% of Access students) followed by the South (28%) and the Bekaa (24%). The classrooms are intentionally placed in areas of greatest need, supporting Post's objective of focusing on countering radical behavior among susceptible populations. ¶8. (SBU) Comment: PD Beirut focuses on attracting program applicants from hard-to-reach and underserved communities, especially those outside of the capital. There is an increasing interest in programs because of PD's robust recruiting activities and the positive partnership with AMIDEAST. Program participants often stay in contact with both PD and AMIDEAST staff members, providing a natural youth alumni base for Lebanon. Program participants, including youth sports diplomacy participants, foster an environment encouraging other to apply for programs. In addition, PD staff stay in touch through email, phone calls, the Embassy websites and Facebook with those who were not successful applicants. Outreach is working in Lebanon because many tools are used to engender interest in the United States. End comment. SISON