Outreach Program

UNCLAS DAMASCUS 000503

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR PA, NEA/ELA, NEA/PPD, ECA
WHITE HOUSE FOR NSC
CENTCOM FOR CCPA

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL KMDR KPAO OPRC SY
SUBJECT: Outreach Program


1. (U) Summary. A series of successful embassy outreach efforts may
be linked to the Obama Administration's new policy of engagement
with Syria. In spite of the American Cultural Center's ongoing
"closure," the Embassy in recent weeks planned and executed several
outreach programs, in addition to gaining permission to re-open the
American Language Center (ALC). Embassy Damascus hosted a
successful speaker on stock markets, programmed the Chris Byars Jazz
Quartet in Syria's premier cultural venue, and used the recent visit
to Damascus by the NEA/ELA Office Director to secure a rare meeting
with the Chancellor of Damascus University. End Summary.


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If You Can't Beat Them, Join Them
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2. (SBU) Prior to the closure of the ACC in November 2008,
Ministry of Culture officials repeatedly told PD staff that they
"want to see the American Cultural Center resume cultural activities
in Damascus." The SARG draws a clear distinction between embassies
and cultural centers. Embassies must work with the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs, but cultural centers fall under the purview of the
Ministry of Culture, which has the authority to grant permission for
cultural programs. While the SARG's motives for granting approval
for the Embassy to host cultural events despite the ACC's status
remain unclear, all of our requests were approved and there has been
little interference with cultural activities by the security
services.

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Speaker Provides Rare Access to Regime Strongholds
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3. (SBU) Syria's new stock market, which opened for trading in
March, has been a major topic of discussion for months in Damascus.
Against the backdrop of the global financial crisis and SARG public
pronouncements that Syria was "not affected" by the global downturn,
the arrival of financial expert and U.S. speaker Professor James
Angel in Damascus was well timed. Professor Angel began his program
with a discussion of stock markets, free market economics and the
importance of regulation with Syria's sophisticated business elite.
An evening at the exclusive Syria Business Council brought Embassy
staff and Syrian businessmen together for a frank discussion of
market policies inside Syria. Professor Angel also addressed
business students and researchers at Hassan Al-Nouri's Management
and Marketing Center. Al-Nouri, a U.S. graduate and former
minister, pushed the MFA for permission to host Angel. During the
negotiations, he told Embassy staff, "I want to host this speaker
more than you do, and if I have to ask Bushra (President Asad's
sister) herself for permission, I will."


4. (SBU) The capstone of Angel's visit to Damascus was his address
at Damascus University's Faculty of Political Science. Angel spoke
to a packed auditorium of students and faculty, all of whom were
eager and grateful for the opportunity to listen to his lecture.
While many student questions betrayed an underlying Ba'athist bias
against open markets, there were also sophisticated questions asked
about the future of global markets followed by a lively debate. In
what may have been another sign of opening, Professor Angel was
scheduled to lecture to the student body of private Kalamoon
University. Private universities fall under the Ministry of Higher
Education (MOHE) and have been off limits to Embassy personnel for a
number of years (see para 6). Unfortunately, due to travel
problems, Professor Angel was unable to give the lecture.

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American Jazz on Stage at the Opera House
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5. (SBU) Embassy Damascus switched gears to welcome the Chris Byars
Quartet, the first ECA Jazz at Lincoln Center Program performance in
several years. The program was an outstanding success; the crown
jewel was the Quartet's concert at the Dar al-Asad Opera House.
Their performance in the main opera theater to over 600 jazz
enthusiasts was historic - it was the first time an American group
sponsored by the U.S. Embassy had performed in the Opera Hall. The
Quartet also took "master" classes to a new level at the Higher
Institute of Music, where they held two days of intensive master
classes with students. In a dramatic conclusion to their official
program, the Chris Byars Quartet held a jam session in the Marmar
Bar in Damascus's picturesque old city. To the delight of the
audience, they were joined onstage by students from the master
classes.


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Damascus University: Light at the End of the Tunnel?
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6. (SBU) Embassy Damascus used the visit of NEA/ELA Office Director
Nicole Shampaine as an opportunity to call on Damascus University
President Wael Moualla on April 28, 2009. The visit was the first
call by an Embassy officer on the head of any Syrian university in
three years and was prompted by a call by the Syrian Ambassador to
Washington, Imad Mustapha. While the offer of the meeting was
itself a breakthrough, and we hope a signal from the SARG that
American diplomats can meet with education officials, it remains to
be seen whether it will lead to any substantive resumption of
relations. The one-hour meeting did, however, give us insights into
the university's efforts to internationalize and form linkages with
EU and US institutions. NOTE: The Minister of Higher Education
Ghiyas Barakat, himself a U.S. graduate, issued in 2006-2007 a
series of decrees banning any contact between the employees of
Syrian public universities and the American Cultural Center. The
ban has been extraordinarily effective in blocking contact or
cooperation between the embassy and Syrian universities both public
and private. END NOTE


7. (SBU) Moualla told us that Damascus University (DU) funds
teaching assistants each year to complete their higher studies - 200
in France, 110 in the UK, 70 in Germany, but only two to the U.S.
He attributed the paucity of teachers going to the U.S. to
"political relations, visa issues, etc." and blamed U.S. sanctions
and Department travel warnings for discouraging American
institutions from partnering with Damascus University. He noted
that DU has a capacity-building program in partnership with the
British Council which facilitates admission to and fee reductions at
British universities, as well as a similar one with the French. He
expressed his desire to establish a more formal process for sending
teaching assistants to the States and said that he had discussed
this with the Center for the Study of the Presidency when their
delegation visited DU recently. He also told us that Middlebury
College had approached the university some years ago but that the
USG had apparently discouraged them from any relationship. [COMMENT:
Post is familiar with the details of the Middlebury attempt; it
foundered on corruption and management-related issues, not
sanctions.]


9. (SBU) Dr. Moualla spoke proudly about the approximately 50
American students who are currently studying Arabic at DU, among
them participants in the Flagship and the CASA programs. He was
clearly aware of the Flagship program's affiliation with the
Department of Defense (which funds it through the International
Institute of Education) and had no objection to it. He deliberately
did not mention the many obstacles which the Ministry of Higher
Education had thrown up against the long-standing Fulbright program
which we sponsor, nor did we raise that delicate issue.


10. (SBU) The meeting ended cordially; PAO followed up on Moualla's
enthusiasm for the IV program by presenting him with a list of next
year's programs and inviting him to nominate candidates for them. We
also encouraged him to reach out to our Cultural Specialist, with
whom the University has a long standing relationship. Moualla was
polite but non-committal. It is not yet clear whether the visit was
merely a public relations gesture spurred by the call from
Ambassador Moustafa or whether it will lead to a relaxation in the
MOHE's ban on contact with the Embassy, which has had considerable
impact on our relationships in the education field. Several weeks
after the meeting, there has been no additional contact between DU
and the Embassy.

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American Language Center Re-Opens its Doors
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11. (SBU) Finally, after months of ambiguity, the American Language
Center enthusiastically reopened its doors to Syrian students on May

11. The ALC is one of the leading English language centers in Syria
and an important outreach tool. In March, we informed the MFA of
our intention to reopen the ALC as of May 1 and the SARG responded
positively. In the ensuing weeks, Embassy staff coordinated with
the ALC to promote the center's re-opening on our website and
Facebook site. The result: 1,400 students registered for the first
of three terms for the remainder of CY 2009. (At the time of
closure, 2000 students had been enrolled.)


12. (SBU) Comment. There have been tangible benefits for key
outreach programs as the U.S. has begun to slowly re-engage with the
SARG. While the SARG has been careful not to link our re-engagement
to permissions for cultural programming or the re-opening of the
ALC, there is no doubt that recent positive overtures from
Washington have given those officials who want to see more cultural
activity from the U.S. the cover they need to grant permission.
MAXWELL