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