FY 2010 Request for Sustaining Funds-American Corners Greece

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ATHENS 000054

SIPDIS
STATE FOR IIP/IR BCONATY, EUR/PPD MCROUCH,
EUR/CARC BHUNT, EUR/PPD, RSTEVENS, EUR/PPD LHELLING
ROME FOR IRO LHOHMANN

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: OIIP KPAO KIRC GR
SUBJECT: FY 2010 Request for Sustaining Funds-American Corners Greece


1. Introduction and Summary: Embassy Athens requests $54,800 in
FY10 funds to strengthen programs at the six American Corners (ACs)
in Greece: Xanthi (northeastern Greece),Veria (northwestern
Greece),Sparta (southern Greece),Corfu (western Greece),the
Hellenic American Union (HAU) in central Athens, and the American
Corner in the wider Athens municipality of Nea Philadelphia.
Requested funds will be used for participation of AC Directors in a
training workshop organized by Athens IRC; a series of American
Culture Week presentations and workshops at Veria, Xanthi, Nea
Philadelphia, and Hellenic American Union; speaker programming;
book orders; and equipment upgrades. Major accomplishments in FYO9
were the significantly increased number of programs in all six
American Corners and the formation of partnerships between ACs and
local entities reaching wide audiences in their communities. The
American Corners in Greece and their programming specifically fit
into Post's PD program through outreach to diverse, critical
audiences, including youth and Muslims; and by ensuring that
popular English Language teaching materials are widely available in
the major regions of Greece. End Introduction and Summary.


2. IRO Laura Kaspari Hohmann has reviewed this proposal and
concurs.


3. Regarding usage of FY09 Sustaining Funds and their impact on the
American Corners, six new television sets and six DVD players were
purchased. A substantial number of books were ordered for all our
six ACs. This equipment upgrade and the new book titles will extend
ACs program base and will attract more visitors in hosting
institutions. In addition, three ACs used FY09 sustaining funds as
follows:

--Hellenic American Union: Purchase of poster display stands for a
more dynamic program of poster show presentations.

--Nea Philadelphia: Replacing of new PC and printer to be used by
AC visitors.

--Xanthi: A new set of book shelves was ordered for the extended
book collection.

--Veria: Recent books on innovation and new technologies were
ordered in order to satisfy the reading needs for this specific
thematic group.

--Two hundred English language teachers and more than 200 high
school children took part in five storytelling workshops presented
by a professional Chicago storyteller. This program provided us the
opportunity to build new relationships with local municipal and
educational authorities, opening up lines of communication for
future collaborations.


4. The amount of Post funds provided in FY09 excluding
sustainability funds is $ 4,691.76 to cover honoraria and travel
expenses for program speakers and a jazz group as well as ordering
paper shows and printed promotional material.


5. No private donations were received by the American Corners in
Greece for this rating period.


6. All American Corners managed to almost double the number of
their programs (56 in 2009, vice 33 in 2008). The wide thematic
range and a professional organizational level guaranteed this
successful outcome. The list of programs per AC is as follows:

--Hellenic American Union: Trick or Treat fun in a Halloween party
(October 2008). Lecture on Civil Rights Movement and today's
multiracial American society (February 2009). Lecture on the genre
of the American short story (April 2009). Series of presentations
of the life and work of the American novelists Jack Kerouac
(March/April 2009),John Steinbeck (January 2009),Mark Twain
(November 2009). Book reading on the environment by AC staff and
English language teachers (June 2009). Celebrating Independence Day
(July 2009). Presentation on Columbus Day (October 2009). Wii
gaming night (November 2009). Christmas party (December 2009).

--Xanthi: Halloween party (October 2008). Theatrical performance of
Thornton Wilder's "Our Town" by twenty junior high school students
(December 2008). Lecture on Major Accomplishments in African -
American Literature (February 2009). Film showing on International
Children's Day (April 2009). Environmental-related film showing
(May 2009). Eli Yamin Blues Band performing in Xanthi in an AC
partnership with local folk art museum (May 2009). Lecture on Greek
diaspora co-organized with local educational and cultural
association (December 2009).

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--Nea Philadelphia: Presentation on Celebrating the holiday season
in the U.S. (December 2008). Two Black History Month related events
at a private elementary school and an English language school
(February 2009). Columbus Day celebration event (October 2009).
Presentation on Thanksgiving (November 2009). Series of workshops
on American photography (December 2009).

--Sparti: Embassy photographer presented the topic American
Photography: Roadtrip to America (November 2008). Special holiday
presentation (December 2009). Black History Month related event
with Embassy speaker (February 2009). Creative writing exercises
and short theatrical performances as an approach to teaching
English (May 2009). Workshop entitled "Art of Dynamic Storytelling"
presented by a professional Chicago-based storyteller (October
2009). Halloween party (November 2009).

--Veria: Lecture on "Accomplishments of African-American Artists
and Authors" (February 2009). Showings of documentary film "Obama"
and an adaptation of Alice Walker's short story "Everyday Use" for
high school children. Both films were shown in support of English
language teaching (March/April 2009). Three trivia contests on the
topics of climate change, American films, and the Independence Day
(August 2009)

--Corfu: Black History related film showing of "Everyday Use" for
a private English language school (February 2009).
Showing of "Abraham Lincoln: Preserving the Nation" at the
auditorium of Corfu Medical Society (February 2009). Two workshops
for English language teachers on storytelling as an interactive
technique to enhance student's verbal expressions (October 2009).

--Note: All six American Corners organized U.S. Election-related
book exhibits (October - November 2008). Our AC partners
participated in the promotional campaign of two youth initiatives "
My Culture + Your Culture" and "Democracy is..." by posting
announcements, contest poster, flyers and postcards (November -
December 2008). Book exhibits, paper shows and educational programs
were organized by the staff at the six American Corners
participating in the celebration of Native American Indian Heritage
Month (November 2009).


7. Media Coverage
Most IRCs received good to very good local media coverage in 2009.
There was significant coverage of all programs on HAU and Veria
Public Central Library websites. Veria, in addition, promotes all
its programs by posting photos on Flickr platform. Extensive local
media coverage was noted with two programs in Xanthi. Both the
jazz performance and the lecture on Greek diaspora were highlighted
in print and electronic media of the city of Xanthi.


8. Training and professional development
The coordinators from the six American Corners participated in the
"Jump Start Your American Corner" workshop in Vienna, October 13 -
15, 2009. This workshop reviewed the fundamentals of good AC
management, discussed working with the Embassy and the local
institutions and explored techniques for successful programming,
including marketing strategies and using volunteers and alumni.
Participants took part in problem-solving exercises and hands-on
exercises that demonstrated good management and programming. Our
AC coordinators left this workshop armed with techniques and
strategies to help overcome challenges and with new ideas to run an
effective AC.


9. Plan of action for the near future. A key component for 2010
programming will be the series of workshops and presentations on
American culture organized by Fulbrighter and playwright from New
York City Catherine Rogers, who will work along with faculty
members and graduate students of American Literature departments in
Athens and Thessaloniki. This programming platform, called "Week of
American Culture," will be hosted by the ACs in Veria, Xanthi, HAU
and Nea Philadelphia and will include theatrical sketches, lectures
on American drama, literature, poetry and film showings to showcase
the variety of contemporary American culture.


10. Of special note is the launching of an American Corners website
in early 2010. Funded by Post and administered by Athens IRC staff,
the new site will promote the network of our ACs with a wide range
of links related with Greek and American libraries, sites on
American culture and education as well as related bibliographies
and articles for innovative programming. It will highlight all the
programs run by our ACs so far but will also tout all upcoming ACs
events and programs. The new site, along with the existing group in
the Facebook social application, will further improve the
electronic presence of American Corners in Greece.

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11. Post also hopes to sponsor a countrywide training program for
the six American Corners. Our goal is to share best practices and
discuss efforts for new partnerships with the local environment of
each AC. This training will highlight successes, brainstorm for
other new ideas and encourage AC coordinators to further develop a
network among themselves.


12. Post requests $54,800 in sustaining funds for FY10 to
address AC needs as follows:


A. Periodicals for 6 Corners: $800 each, total: $4,800

B. Books and DVDs for 6 Corners: $5,000 each, total: $30,000

C. American Culture Week: presentations/workshops in Nea
Philadelphia/HAU/Veria/Xanthi including travel expenses for one
escort: $10,000

D. Local training workshop/travel of Corner Directors: $5,000

E. Speaker programming: $4,000

F. Operating expenses (photocopying, mailing, etc.): $1,000

Combined Request for 6 Corners: $54,800


Post plans to use $5,000 of post funds for AC operations in FY10.


Compliance issues


13. All six American Corners were established with MOUs signed by
the Embassy and the host institution, and all are posted on the AC
Central database. Post has a designated editor for the ACCD. The
records are complete and up-to-date. Each AC is in compliance with
core characteristics. Details are available on request.
Speckhard