Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09YEKATERINBURG29
2009-05-14 08:18:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Consulate Yekaterinburg
Cable title:  

A GLOBAL VILLAGE TACKLES GLOBAL WARMING

Tags:  OIIP RS MY SCUL SENV 
pdf how-to read a cable
R 140818Z MAY 09
FM AMCONSUL YEKATERINBURG
TO SECSTATE WASHDC 1277
INFO AMEMBASSY MOSCOW 
AMCONSUL ST PETERSBURG 
AMCONSUL VLADIVOSTOK 
EPA WASHINGTON DC
AMEMBASSY KUALA LUMPUR 
AMEMBASSY KAMPALA 
AMCONSUL YEKATERINBURG
UNCLAS YEKATERINBURG 000029 


DEPARTMENT FOR IIP/SV -- STACEY ROSE-BLASS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: OIIP RS MY SCUL SENV
SUBJECT: A GLOBAL VILLAGE TACKLES GLOBAL WARMING

UNCLAS YEKATERINBURG 000029


DEPARTMENT FOR IIP/SV -- STACEY ROSE-BLASS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: OIIP RS MY SCUL SENV
SUBJECT: A GLOBAL VILLAGE TACKLES GLOBAL WARMING


1. (U) Summary - The world is truly a global village and
nowhere more so than at the U.S. Consulate General in
Yekaterinburg. On Wednesday morning, April 16, 2009, the
Consulate participated in a Digital Video Conference (DVC) with
Kiowa Indian students at the University of North Texas in
Denton, TX; indigenous students at the Lincoln Resource Center
in Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia; and indigenous members of the
community of Ufa-Shigiri in the Russian Ural Mountains. The
theme of the conference was how environmental changes have
affected the cultural traditions of these ethnic communities.
Participants from all three communities gave oral reports on the
theme and represented their community cultures with traditional
dress, song and dance. The DVC was a great exercise in cultural
exchange and a step towards meaningful dialogue on global
problems at a local level. End Summary


2. (U) About 30 children, parents, teachers and community
leaders from the village of Ufa-Shigiri in the Ural Mountains
near Yekaterinburg participated in the DVC. The community is
comprised of indigenous peoples from the Bashkir and Tatar
ethnic groups. Members of the Mari people from a nearby
community also presented their cultural dress and traditions.
The Bashkir and Tatar peoples are traditionally Muslim, while
the Mari are Christians with strong animistic beliefs in nature
spirits. They co-exist peacefully in adjoining communities.
The audience in Texas consisted of approximately 20 members of
the Kiowa American Indian communities of Oklahoma who traveled
to Denton, TX for the DVC. The Malaysian audience consisted of
about 50 members of indigenous communities from the island of
Borneo, including Chinese, Malay, Iban, Bidayuh, Melanau, Kayan
and Kenyah, who met for the DVC at the Lincoln Resource Center
located in the Sarawak State Library of Kuching, Malaysia.

3 (U) The conference was organized by IIP/SV, as a follow up to
similar successful programs in 2008 and 2007, with then Director
of EPA's Region 6 Office, Dr. Jonathan Hook. In January, 2009,
Dr. Hook moved to the University of North Texas (in Denton, TX)
as the Director of International Indigenous and American Indian
Initiatives. This was the third annual, multi-national DVC
hosted by the U.S. Consulate in Yekaterinburg, Russia and the
Lincoln Resource Center in Kuching, Malaysia, in cooperation

with IIP's Speaker Program. Last year the DVC included students
from Uganda, but because of time differences they decided not to
participate this year. This year the participants from the Mari
culture provided a welcome addition to the cultural exchange.

4 (U) In addition to reporting on how environmental changes
have affected cultural traditions, the students shared songs and
dances from their respective cultures. The effect of seeing
different cultural practices from three such different corners
of the earth made everyone realize that we have much more in
common than our differences would suggest. One participant
suggested that maybe humanity shared a common ancestor and that
the links between Asia and America are more than just
theoretical. The Kiowa Indians from Oklahoma reported that they
were feeling more environmental effects in the form of tornadoes
and droughts, while the Russians didn't notice as much
environmental effects other than warmer winters. The Malaysians
mentioned that they had more rains and flooding in their region
which were affecting their traditional crops. The Malaysian
students were from a school Environmental Club and had more
detailed environmental presentations than the other Russian and
American students. There was much interest in the different
forms of dance and music from each community that formed the
highlight of the DVC. The participants enjoyed seeing and
hearing each other on video and promised to see each other again
next year.


5. (U) The regional and local media covered the event
extensively. The provincial Oblast TV compiled shots from last
year's DVC together with an ecological summer camp near
Ufa-Shigiri and a UNESCO gathering at the village, to make a
more in-depth story of Ufa-Shigiri's international connections.
A local politician and member of the Bashkir Assembly of Peoples
who was present at the DVC also promised to cooperate in
developing these kinds of cultural exchanges. The Russian
director of an NGO dealing with migration issues was also
present and showed strong support for this kind of international
exchange.


6. (U) Evaluating the content of the DVC in terms of the goals
expressed by the organizer, there was little in-depth reporting
on the effects of climate change on cultural practices.
However, in terms of cultural exchange there was a high level of
interaction. The technological feat of bringing together
indigenous groups from such remote locations provided much of
the excitement for the event. During the DVC there was a
significant dropout in signal that resulted in the loss of
transmission from Malaysia. Although the Russian and US
audiences missed about five minutes of the Malaysian
presentation, post encouraged the teachers and community leaders
to say a few words in support of the event. The event was able
to proceed without an awkward break in the presentations.


7. (U) For future events several recommendations could be made
for the benefit of other posts contemplating cultural exchanges
via DVC or webchats:

Prior preparation: a detailed background of each participating
community could be sent out in English to be translated into the
different languages of the participants. Names of participants
and organizers, as well as a more detailed list of the dances,
songs, and reports with names and subjects could have been
submitted prior to the event in order to familiarize the
audiences with the different cultures represented. Potential
coordination with the DOS/IO, or DHR Indigenous Issues Office
would be welcome.

b. Presentations: some of the cultural activities were lost
due to poor camera placement. The Kiowa drum presentation
suffered from not having a camera placed properly. Seating
should be arranged to maximize camera placement for the "virtual
audience" as well as the local audience participation.

c. Participants: more time could be given to explaining the
national dress, songs, dances and traditions of each culture,
although some of that can also be covered by the prior
preparation of sending out information. It wasn't clear from
the Malaysian presentation if several ethnic groups were
represented and how they related to the majority Malay
population. It might also be more effective to keep the same
ages of the audiences, for example to add younger participants
from the US and Malaysia. Most of the Russian participants were
younger children while those from the US and Malaysia were high
school age. Alternatively, the Russian audience could have
brought more high school age students to the event. IIP/SV might
also coordinate with America.gov and IIP/SE for maximum exposure
to posts in order to encourage their participation in similar
programs.

d. Content: it is important to have the participants discuss
some ideas about "problem solving." Posts need to be able to
report on the results and/or progressive impact of the program.
In addition to raising awareness about global climate change on
a community, a DVC could also address means of dealing with
these changes. Reports on how different countries and
communities are dealing at the policy, legislative and local
level with climate change would provide examples for the mutual
benefit of the participants. The practice of ecotourism,
watershed management programs, desalination for potable water,
alternative crop production, benefits of alternative fuels, if
and where available, etc., could provide more substance to the
discussions and reports. The American participants, for
example, could provide examples of new ways that groups in the
United States are working towards mitigating the negative
effects of global climate change? Potential coordination with
the OES might also provide a stimulus for future international
cooperation on these issues.

e. Logistics: The loss of Uganda due to time differences was
unfortunate. On the other hand because of time constraints it
may actually be better to limit the DVCs to 2 to 3 cultures.
More frequent DVCs could be coordinated by the University of
North Texas to provide more interaction between different
cultural groups around the world. Current technology using cell
phone modems and Skype allows for DVCs outside of landline and
bad Internet connectivity, thus enlarging the scope of these
cultural DVCs.


8. (U) Conclusion - DVCs and webchats that link indigenous
groups, minority ethnic groups, and sub-cultural social groups
(hip-hop fans, religious minorities, etc.) are useful tools in
outreach efforts to target marginalized communities. The
support of IIP's Speaker program was outstanding and should be
encouraged to provide posts with this medium. The University of
North Texas' video-conferencing facilities are impressive and
could become the hub of indigenous connections worldwide through
the auspices of the International Indigenous and American Indian
Initiatives. Post encourages more development of these kinds of
long-distance interactive cultural exchanges in order to address
topics as complex as environmental impact on local communities,
preserving cultural traditions in a pluralistic society,
protecting ancestral lands from unregulated exploitation, and
developing ethnic identity without promoting separatist
aspirations. The diversity of America's society provides many
examples of the processes of assimilation, adaptation,
accommodation and assertion that are experienced by groups in
other countries. Mutual exchanges sponsored by posts around the
world could engender goodwill among both majority and minority
groups in their host countries.

SANDUSKY