BENIN: IRO VISIT TO POST

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 COTONOU 000106

DEPARTMENT FOR AF/PD (ANYASO, TITUS, LISENBY),AF/W (ACOOK)
DEPARTMENT FOR IIP/IR
PARIS FOR ARS (DWINTON)

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KIRC OIIP KPAO BN
SUBJECT: BENIN: IRO VISIT TO POST


1. SUMMARY: Regional Information Resource Officer (IRO) Myra Brown
visited the IRC in Cotonou on March 15 - 20, 2009 during her first
visit to Benin. The IRC Director Akodigna and the IRO took advantage
of the visit to conduct a three-day methodology workshop at the
University of Abomey-Calavi. During her visit to Benin, IRO Myra
Brown visited two American Corners and attended the signing ceremony
of the MOU renewal with American Corner of Grand Popo. She also held
interviews with media outlets in Benin. END SUMMARY.


2. DATE OF ACTIVITY: March 16-20; Second quarter, FY 09


3. PROGRAM JUSTIFICATION/OBJECTIVES: As part of her regular cycle of
Post visits, the IRO came to Benin to review the IRC operation in
Cotonou, meet with the DCM, PAO and staff, and conduct a methodology
seminar at the University of Abomey-Calavi as requested by Post at
the suggestion of the English Department at the University of
Abomey-Calavi. As a result of this seminar, students received
training that will enable them to state the topic of their
dissertation and can check for information using several Internet
resources.


4. MPP UMBRELLA THEMES AND AUDIENCE REACHED: Promotion of Education
and Mutual Understanding. The seminar attracted more than one
hundred students. They also watched the film "Ironed Jawed Angels"
which depicted the courage, determination and team work of
suffragists who fought for and obtained the passage of the 19th
Amendment. The event was extensively covered by the media. A
prominent TV station, Golfe TV, gave interviews to IRO Brown and
some workshop participants.


5. ACTIVITIES/IMPACT/RESULT: The workshop was initiated by IRC
Cotonou and the English Department of the University of
Abomey-Calavi as part of IRC Cotonou efforts regarding information
literacy. The seminar was attended by more than 100 students and
covered topics such as how to state a topic for a dissertation and
how to use both traditional and online resources for information
retrieval purposes. This workshop was also an opportunity for
students to learn about copyright issues, plagiarism and
procrastination. They were introduced to reference styles like APA
and MLA.


6. The first day of the seminar was devoted to how to state a
dissertation topic with advice regarding reading, working hard,
getting focused on assignments and how to be organized. Students
learned how to narrow a topic in order to focus on the most salient
points they need to cover according to their time frame, work load
and resources available.


7. On the second day, the IRO's presentation focused on copyright
issues and plagiarism. The Director of the "Campus Numerique
Francophone de Cotonou" allowed students to use his lab for
presentations and practice sessions. The room was too small for the
number of participants who came to learn, but the determination of
students to learn as much as possible was clearly evident as some of
them were obliged to follow the presentations while seated on the
floor or standing at the far back of the room.


8. On the third day of the practice sessions, the IRCD and IRO
introduced students to web directories such as the Internet Public
Library as well as search engines and databases. They were also
introduced to "Technorati," a website that lists most popular blogs
and "Zamzar," a site where they can download and convert video
files. IRO Brown's presentations took students through The
Washington Post, the Library of Congress website, Wikipedia and
other resources.


9. As a way to conclude the seminar with an educational theme that
brought focus on Women's History Month, the IRCD presented the DVD,
"Iron Jawed Angels," a film depicting the struggle of women who went
to jail in their efforts to secure passage of the 19th Amendment to
the Constitution which guarantees women the right to vote. At the
conclusion of the film, students commented on how much they
appreciated this initiative from the Public Affairs Section and the
lesson learned: how to be courageous and work with determination to
face challenges. One student commented that women and men are
partners for life. She said, "Women are our mothers, sisters and
spouses and for all these reasons it is not good to mistreat them or
to abuse them." Some other students pointed out the importance of
education in women's emancipation.


10. Participants expressed their appreciation for the American
Cultural Center's initiative in organizing the seminar and the film
show. Students were so appreciative that they requested another talk
for IRO Brown next visit. IRC staff also requested that the next
visit be devoted to a training related to social media and web 2.0.



11. On the fourth day of the IRO's visit, the PAO, IRO, and IRCD

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paid a visit on the Deputy Director of the National Library, Anne
Marie Honnougan, to discuss the logistics of transferring the
American Corner of Porto-Novo to this location. The delegation
visited the space where the American Corner is going to be located
and inspected the facilities to be used for program activities.


12. NON-USG SOURCES OF IN-COUNTRY FUNDING/IN KIND SUPPORT: In
cooperation with the English Department, the "Campus Numerique
Francophone de Cotonou" allowed students to use their lab of 40
workstations with Internet access.


13. QUALITY OF USG SUPPORT: Excellent. Kudos to IRO Myra Brown who
agreed to come and share her knowledge to empower young students.
The use of information technology, mixing visual materials with text
presentations, made the seminar more vivid and interactive.

BROWN