ALUMNI RECEPTION COTONOU REPORT

UNCLAS COTONOU 000460 DEPT FOR AF/PD (ANYASO, TITUS, LISENBY),AF/W (ACOOK) ECA/P/A MKirsch, PARIS FOR ARS (DWINTON) AF/W Akuna Cook SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: OEXC KPAO SCUL BN SUBJECT: ALUMNI RECEPTION COTONOU REPORT ¶1. DESCRIPTION OF ACTIVITY: On September 18, 2008, PAS Cotonou hosted an Alumni reception at the American Cultural Center. This event was the second gathering held since the successful alumni day project in September 2008. Alumni from various programs took part in this program which was divided into three presentations: the introduction of the State Alumni Website; the presentation of a water and sanitation project of a Humphrey alumnus in the village of Taneka Beri in the North of Benin; and the presentation of ideas for a community project in response to President Obama's call for volunteerism gathered by the dinner's brainstorming groups. ¶2. DATE: September 18 2009; FY09; Fourth Quarter. ¶3. JUSTIFICATION /OBJECTIVE: The goal of the program was to bring alumni together, raise awareness about their roles and responsibilities and the contributions they can make to their communities, and evaluate their impact on their communities. ¶4. MSP UMBRELLA THEME AND AUDIENCE REACHED: Subject program meets Post's objectives in promoting Democracy, Education, Mutual Understanding and Investing in People. Thirty alumni representing various programs such as, Fulbright, Humphrey, International Visitors, and Summer Institutes attended the event. ¶5. Activities/Result/Impact: Bienvenu Olory, the Chairman of the Association of Humphrey and Fulbright Alumni first thanked the American Embassy for providing them with another opportunity to gather, welcomed the alumni and invited them to join him so that they can invigorate the association. A/PAO Christina Day gave an overview of the significant role that former Exchange Alumni play in the world. She pointed out the importance of the impact, the Alumni, as privileged people are expected to make on their own lives as well as on their communities. ¶6. After the speeches, the Cultural Affairs Assistant presented the State Alumni Website, the alumni global network community, a useful resource for networking, searching, exchanging experiences and for job and grant opportunities and encouraged alumni to register and to take advantage of the services offered by the site. That presentation was followed by Gabriel Kpadonou Hounsa's PowerPoint presentation on the Impact of Humphrey program on the development of Benin with a project of water and sanitation in the village of Taneka Beri in the North of Benin. Gabriel Kpadonou Hounsa is a Humphrey alumnus who studied Public Health and Project Management at the University of California Davis (2007-2008). He received an $8000 donation for the implementation of this project and shared his vivid experience of the impact alumni can make on their communities. ¶7. After the presentations, the alumni were invited to share dinner with the Acting PAO, but only after she had introduced them to President Barack Obama's volunteer initiative. During the dinner, the alumni worked in small groups and came up with the results of their brainstorming: a list of various community projects that can be implemented before October 18. These projects included civic education, public order and law enforcement, awareness-raising of road security, cleaning campaign, blood drive... A committee of 5 alumni has been set up to do the follow-up and select the main projects that will be implemented. ¶8. Non-USG sources of in-country funding/in-kind support: None. ¶9. Quality of government and agency support: Excellent. Kudos to the PAS team for pulling together this program. BOUSTANI