Eager Malian Audiences Learn about U.S. Civil Rights from

UNCLAS BAMAKO 000234 PARIS FOR ARS (DWINTON, LCOWHER) DEPARTMENT FOR AF/PD (TITUS, LISENBY),AF/W (NARKIS),IIP/G/AF (MURPHY) POSTS FOR PAO E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KDEM PGOV PHUM KPAO ML SUBJECT: Eager Malian Audiences Learn about U.S. Civil Rights from ARS/IIP Speaker Austin ¶1. Summary. From March 22 - 27, ARS/IIP Speaker Sheldon Austin delighted Malian audiences with lectures on the American Civil Rights movement from the early days of slavery through the inauguration of President Obama. Whether part of an audience of 600 students or at a roundtable of journalists, interlocutors were fascinated by this aspect of U.S. society and eager to apply the American experience to Malian reality. This speaker's program successfully encouraged open and honest debate on issues such as rule of law, modern day slavery in Mali, and the importance of non-violence. Such a review of American history gave the positive message that change was possible and reinforced the hopeful feeling engendered in Malian minds by the election of President Obama, ensuring a positive atmosphere throughout the program. Austin's excellent grasp of the subject, his fluent French, and his down to earth and open nature further amplified the messages of hope and tolerance that pervaded all of his programs. End Summary. ¶2. Venues: On March 23, Austin lectured over 600 university students on the topic of African American History and Achievements of the Black Community. American Fulbright professor Rosemary Traore, who teaches at the university, praised the effectiveness of the program, noting that it was rare for so many students to sit through a 2 hour program without people getting up and leaving for other classes. The students were clearly taken with Austin's broad, but informative, overview of U.S. civil rights history. Those English students who had a strong background in American history asked pointed questions about the role of militant groups such as the Black Panthers in this process. Austin used this opportunity to highlight the success of non-violence in the civil rights movement, an important message on a university campus that recently witnessed violence in connection with student government elections. Austin repeated these same themes at the higher faculty later that day to an audience of over 100 Malian professors and masters students. While the first lecture was in French, the second one was in English. On March 24, Austin addressed a crowd of 100 Malian intellectuals and elites, many of them alumni of USG exchange programs, on the Civil Rights movement in the United States. The audience was equally enthusiastic in their response and raised issues such as slavery in Mali and the importance of the rule of law in creating an environment suitable for positive societal change. Coverage of this debate was aired on Malian national television that reaches close to 2 million Malians. On March 25, Austin participated in a round table discussion with nine Malian radio journalists on President Obama's book Dreams From My Father. As all of the participants had received copies of the book prior to the program, they were able to participate in an animated discussion of the messages and themes of the book. The program was so successful that two of the journalists subsequently invited Austin to appear as guests on their shows. Later that afternoon, Austin repeated his lecture on African American history to a group of 100 students at a local study center. On March 27, Austin participated in a television interview on regional satellite channel AFRICABLE (which reaches 300 million viewers throughout francophone Africa) on President Obama's book Dreams From My Father. He later hosted an intimate discussion with LES colleagues at the U.S. Embassy on the topic of the civil rights movement in America. ¶4. Effectiveness of the Speaker: Sheldon Austin is an engaging and polished speaker. He knows his subject and is talented in his ability to speak fluent French. Perhaps most importantly, he is extremely flexible and gracious - characteristics that are particularly valued in West Africa. While he had originally prepared to do his first lecture in English, he was sensitive to the fact that non-English speakers had crowded into the room to listen and, without missing a beat, moved to the French version of his presentation. Whether accepting late-breaking changes in his interview time with AFRICABLE or readily accepting new invitations on Malian radio stations, Austin was a professional in every sense of the word. ¶5. Quality of ARS/IIP Support: IIP was generous in its response to this program request, and ARS provided its usual outstanding level of support. In addition to facilitating communications and planning prior to the speaker's departure, ARS laid a great foundation for the program by regularly sending materials in support of programming related to President Obama. ¶6. Immediate Results/Impact: This program received very positive reviews from participants in all of the events. In addition to further reinforcing positive Malian impressions of American society, this program served an important opening in engaging Malian university students on key issues of civic education and tolerance. We hope to build on the program with more targeted outreach on youth participation in the democratic process. ¶7. Media attention: As noted, Malian national television covered Austin's lecture on March 24, and he participated in an interview on AFRICABLE on March 27. Austin also participated in two interviews on Malian radio stations, including one on an important Islamic radio in Bamako. Leonard