THE SARG CAN'T KEEP US DOWN: PERSEVERING WITH

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 DAMASCUS 000829 SIPDIS FOR NEA/FO, NEA/ELA, AND NEA/PPD PAGNEW, INFO ECA AND IIP E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/19/2018 TAGS: PREL KPAO SCUL SY SUBJECT: THE SARG CAN'T KEEP US DOWN: PERSEVERING WITH PUBLIC DIPLOMACY IN SYRIA REF: DAMASCUS 803 Classified By: CDA Maura Connelly for reasons 1.4 b and d ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: The SARG requested the closure of the American Cultural Center (ACC) and American Language Center (ALC) in Damascus on October 28. While these closures have led to a significant reduction in public programming, public diplomacy (PD) activity continues here on many levels. We are still engaging with a wide range of Syrian individuals and institutions and carrying out numerous PD activities behind the scenes. Our goal remains to provide Syrians an alternative viewpoint to that conveyed by SARG propaganda. In a hostile policy climate, it is more important than ever to convey accurate information on U.S. foreign policy and society, maintain people-to-people relationships, and preserve our links to Syrian society and institutions. This cable provides a snapshot of the robust PD programming still underway at this Post. END SUMMARY. -------------- Conveying Information -------------- ¶2. (SBU) The Syrian public and media are subject to a steady diet of tightly-controlled propaganda on both domestic and international issues. The Press Section of the U.S. Embassy in Damascus provides an alternative source of information and a counterpoint to the overactive rumor mill by backgrounding journalists, responding to press inquiries, and maintaining our newly-overhauled website. A daily press briefing and regular media reaction reports give officers at Post and in Washington a window on the Syrian press -- print, broadcast, and web-based. ¶3. (SBU) Post's Information Resource Center (IRC) is now closed to the public, but the IRC has undertaken an aggressive program of outreach by phone, e-mail, and the Internet, including a presence on the social networking site Facebook. The virtual "American Cultural Center" is open for business and accessible to the thousands of Syrians who use Facebook. PD Damascus is using the closure as an opportunity to overhaul and renovate the IRC to attract larger numbers of Syrian students and function as a resource center for Syrian English teachers once we reopen. ¶4. (SBU) Post has reached out to local and international institutions interested in hosting an American Corner and has received positive responses to follow up on. The three collections of books and DVDs on American history, society, values, and literature now in storage will soon be made available to the Syrian public via Syrian institutions. -------------- Building a Successor Generation -------------- ¶5. (C) Cultural and educational exchange programs have long been Post's principal tool for engaging with young Syrians and identifying future leaders from academia, business, and civil society. Around 100 Syrians participate in such programs annually. Our exchange programs continue uninterrupted by recent events. The head of Syria's National HIV/AIDS Program departed to the States on an International Visitor Program (IVP) on November 11. Another 25 Syrians are scheduled to participate in International Visitor Programs on issues as diverse as English teaching, cultural preservation, journalism, youth, women's economic leadership, Qivil society development during FY2009. Our nominees assure us that they remain committed to traveling. ¶6. (C) Fulbright is the Department's and Post's flagship educational exchange program. Post is currently accepting applications for multiple Fulbright programs and continues to record a high level of interest from Syrian students and academics. The competition for the 2010-2011 Fulbright Masters degree scholarship will open in January as planned. A Syrian professor will spend six weeks in February-March 2009 at a university in Oklahoma under the Fulbright Visiting Specialist Program. Ten American students are in Syria on Fulbright grants for the 2008-2009 academic year; none experienced problems with Syrian immigration either before or after the events at the end of October. ¶7. (C) The next generation of Syrian leadership will speak English, helping them to receive information from and communicate with the world at large. Even with the ALC closed, PD Damascus continues to play a significant role in improving English language teaching in Syria. Post's English DAMASCUS 00000829 002 OF 002 Language Fellow (ELF) for 2008-2009 remains in country and is using her numerous contacts among Syrian English teachers to conduct training in Damascus and country-wide. She has forged alliances with the Aga Khan Development Network and the United Nations that will hopefully enable her to continue working absent an ACC or ALC affiliation. Another English Language Specialist will visit Post for four days in February to assist the ELF with curriculum development. ¶8. (C) The academic year 2007-2008 saw an 11.9 percent increase in the number of Syrian students studying in the United States. This figure is in no small part due to the efforts of Post's Educational Advising and Testing Office -- two Amideast employees who work out of an office in the ACC. This office continues to advise students on study in the U.S. via the Internet, e-mail, phone and fax. It also oversees the provision of required tests such as the SAT, TOEFL, and GRE. While we cannot now use the ALC (our usual testing site) for large groups of test takers, we will continue to use it as a venue for some of the smaller tests. Until an alternate Damascus test center can be identified, the testing center at the ICARDA International School of Aleppo will take in test takers from all over Syria. ¶9. (C) PD Damascus pursues a strong program of follow-up with all USG alumni. We regularly hold small representational events and other programs for alumni; none have been canceled. The nine Syrian students who participated in the MEPI Summer Institutes during summer 2008 will have dinner with the PAO and CAO on November 20; a Humphrey alumni event is planned for early December, and IVP alumni are scheduled to speak publicly about their U.S. experience. CAO and A/IO made a trip to Aleppo November 16-17 to meet with alumni, and PD Damascus plans to intensify travel around the country in the coming months. A comprehensive alumni database is under construction. When completed in mid-2009, it will contain up-to-date contact and bio data on the 1000-plus Syrian alumni of USG exchanges over the last 20 years. -------------- Supporting Institutions -------------- ¶10. (SBU) PD Damascus oversees a number of ongoing grant projects, including five grants under the Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation in partnership with the Syrian Directorate of Antiquities, and two separate grants to American archaeological dig teams to conduct public education and outreach programs that publicize the key role American scholars play in helping Syria study and make use of its rich archaeological history. Other grants to a local publisher are supporting projects to promote reading, freedom of expression, and other components of civil society. ¶11. (SBU) The Syrian cultural and performing arts community remains engaged with the U.S. Embassy and interested in support from American programs. Ten Syrian dancers and actors have applied to Kennedy Center programs for the coming year; two dancers are already accepted to a February 2009 program. The same holds true for the business community; Post plans to bring an expert in developing economies and stock markets to Syria in February 2009 to speak with Syrian businesspeople engaged in the launch of their own stock market. Additional speaker programs for FY2009 may support Syrian civil society; e.g., organizations to help the disabled and environmental associations. ¶12. (SBU) A large number of American and international organizations are interested in cooperation and partnership with their Syrian counterparts. Post supports such initiatives either financially, logistically, or simply with advice. These include a creative writing workshop between the University of Iowa and the Syrian Ministry of Education planned for December 2008, an interfaith women's conference planned for early 2009, a scholarship program for Iraqi refugee students, and private visits by American students, academics, and NGOs. ¶13. (C) COMMENT: From the closed, unmarked door of the ACC it may appear to the SARG that it has succeeded in stopping all American cultural or educational programs in Syria; however, within its four walls the ACC remains a hub of activity. Post appreciates the Department's support in maintaining and developing these critical programs. END COMMENT. CONNELLY