U.S. "MAROON" INTRODUCES SURINAME TO AMERICAN

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 PARAMARIBO 000132 SIPDIS SIPDIS WHA/PDA FOR CHAD WEST, WHA/CAR FOR JROSHOLT, ECA FOR BLAKENEY VASQUEZ, CAMILLE BARONE, PETER COZZENS, COLOMBIA BARROSSE, SANDRA ROUSE, AND JILL STAGGS, POSTS FOR PAOS/CAOS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: OPRC OEXC NS SUBJECT: U.S. "MAROON" INTRODUCES SURINAME TO AMERICAN DIVERSITY -- FOR FREE REF: A. PARAMARIBO 117 ¶B. PARAMARIBO 121 ¶1. (U) Summary: With PD resources for Fiscal Year (FY) 08 already nearly exhausted, Post has sought to maintain cultural and outreach programming through the use of "window of opportunity" speakers, and recently attracted the First Lady of Suriname with such a program. On March 12, taking advantage of the presence of U.S. university professor of American Studies Joyce Hope Scott, Post organized a lecture/discussion at Anton de Kom University of Suriname on the topic "Seminole Maroons: Unconquered People of the Americas." Scott, herself of maroon descent (maroons are descendants of escaped slaves),thrilled her audience by bringing to their attention the largely unknown history of U.S. maroons with a professional academic approach enlivened by photographic slides and the tie-in of her own personal history. The event drew 65 people despite heavy rains and flooding in town and continued to demonstrate the U.S. Embassy's commitment to strengthen cultural ties and promote mutual understanding, thus reinforcing the public diplomacy goals established in Post's Mission Strategic Plan (MSP). In addition, the "buzz" preceding Scott's lecture spread so far that the First Lady of Suriname showed up as a last-minute invited guest at a lunch in Scott,s honor at the DCM,s residence. Dr. Scott was one of four "no budget" Post programs (refs A, B, septel) in the space of eight days; as of mid-February, Post's budget for discretionary spending for the remainder of FY 2008 is $25. END SUMMARY ¶2. (U) Type of Program: Post-organized "Window of Opportunity" Speaker. MSP goal addressed: Goal No. 1: "Mutual U.S./Suriname appreciation and respect contributing to a more effective partnership." ¶3. (U) Background: The DCM met and befriended Dr. Joyce Hope Scott during her Fulbright year in Burkina Faso in the 1990s, and thought she might have an interest in Suriname; she came to visit the DCM and his family on a personal visit, as their guest. At the DCM's suggestion, Scott agreed to give a public lecture under the auspices of the Embassy. With our traditional conference site at the Cultural Center of Suriname still undergoing renovations, the DCM approached Robby Morroy, head of the Teachers, College at the Anton de Kom University of Suriname. As word spread about Scott and her topic, which is of direct interest to many Surinamers because of the maroon history here, the guest list for the DCM's lunch in Scott's honor expanded. A lunch originally intended for 22 became a lunch for 35, including First Lady of Suriname Liesbeth Venetiaan, who attended after hearing about Dr. Scott from the Ambassador at an International Women,s Day event. Given the program's humble and inexpensive origins, Post was particularly pleased with this demonstration of local confidence in the quality of Post cultural programming. ¶4. (U) Evaluation of the Speaker: Dr. Scott excited and inspired her audience. Murmurs went through the crowd when she mentioned her own maroon history, and the question period saw dozens of hands raised. Several members of the audience congratulated Scott on her lecture. Scott warmed the audience up by praising Suriname and Surinamers for the education and cultural information they had given her during her first few days in Suriname, and further stoked audience pride and a sense of camaraderie by eagerly discussing plans to return to Suriname to learn -- and research -- more. Scott, who could speak directly to a topic of relevance to the audience, was the perfect interlocutor for inward-directed Suriname, and the success of her program further demonstrated the value of personal links and on-the-ground knowledge in creating tailored programming. ¶5. (U) Program Coordination: Robby Morroy of the University was essential in providing the venue, reinforcing Post,s confidence in its growing ties with the University. Given the success of Scott,s lecture, Post is confident the University was gratified in its trust in Post to provide quality programming. Post was particularly pleased with the word-of-mouth generation of an audience and lunch guest list; Post developed a list of cultural contacts during 2007 and 2008 which bore significant fruit in this case. Much of the audience for Scott's lecture was Maroon. Post brought the program to their attention through its ties with the Cultural Center of Suriname, which has close contact with the Maroon Women's Network. ¶6. (U) Program Costs: Dr. Scott graciously accepted the PARAMARIBO 00000132 002 OF 002 speaking engagement, aware that Post had no funding for honorarium expenses. Post's only cost was a relatively small amount of audio/visual set-up overtime, and representation costs for the lunch. Hence, Post was pleased to present Dr. Scott as one of four "no budget," yet successful programs (refs A, B, septel) in the space of eight days. Post was advised in February that the PD budget for discretionary spending for the remainder of Fiscal Year 2008 is $25. ¶7. (U) Impact of the Program: Scott,s lecture provided the opportunity to further demonstrate the Embassy's ongoing commitment to promote mutual understanding through cultural dialogue. The Embassy's list of cultural contacts and intellectuals within Surinamese society continues to grow, providing additional opportunities to promote people-to-people diplomacy. In addition, by attracting the First Lady of Suriname, the Scott program helped raise the profile of Post's cultural programming. SCHREIBER HUGHES