Cablegate: Reinvigorating Public Diplomacy Cultural and Sports

This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 QUITO 002920

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR ASSISTANT SECRETARY POWELL; WHA/PDA; WHA/AND
GUAYAQUIL FOR NOUHRA

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KPAO OEXC SCUL EC
SUBJECT: REINVIGORATING PUBLIC DIPLOMACY CULTURAL AND SPORTS
PROGRAMS: EMBASSY QUITO RESPONSE

REF: State 222516

1. Embassy Quito submits the following information
requested in reftel re "Reinvigorating Public Diplomacy
Cultural and Sports Programs." Responses are keyed to
reftel.

2. Question A: Which Mission objectives benefit from
cultural programs or could be better supported by cultural
programs?

3. While we use cultural programming to support all Mission
goals whenever appropriate, cultural programs are especially
effective in supporting MPP goals of increasing mutual
understanding, strengthening democracy and supporting
economic development because they often give us access to an
audience that is difficult to reach. In addition, cultural
programs help create a more receptive environment for the
completion of Mission goals by deepening understanding of
U.S. society and exposing audiences to aspects of American
culture that they perhaps had not experienced before. For
example, cultural programs help us access Ecuador's public
universities, where significant currents of anti-Americanism
make policy-based programming difficult.

4. Through our arts programs, we often target young,
disadvantaged audiences who otherwise have little or no
contact with the USG. When we organized a concert and
workshop by a group of Afro-Latin musicians from New York,
we brought together an ethnically diverse audience of young
people from several provinces who are involved in anti-
delinquency projects. Similarly, we have expanded on a
cultural preservation project funded through the
Ambassador's Fund for Cultural Preservation to create a
series of performances called "Dialogues of Liberty." Under
PAS-sponsorship, the amateur actors who portray important
historical figures from Quito's past have traveled to almost
every province to present the "Dialogues" to high school
students. Speaking as Ecuadorians, they address many of the
key issues important to the Mission (e.g. strengthening
democracy, equal opportunity, individual liberty).

5. Question B. What kind of specific cultural or sports
programs or initiatives are, or would be, most effective in
supporting those objectives?

6. We have found one our most simple tools to be among the
most effective: paper shows. We have worked successfully
several times to program various IIP paper shows in high
schools, small communities and other venues. In each case,
we work with a local partner to organize a series of debates
or discussions (usually among students) on the topic of the
paper show. Recently, we organized a month-long series of
debates based on the Human Rights paper show, which was
displayed in three major public high schools serving 4,500
students. In a closing event in which the Ambassador
participated, the students presented their conclusions as to
the most important human rights.

7. The best cultural programs are often specifically
tailored to Ecuador. For example, one of our most
successful post-initiated arts programs was an Earth Day
photo contest entitled "My Galapagos." Every high school
senior on the three inhabited islands of the Galapagos was
given a disposable camera and asked to photograph something
he or she felt was important to the future of the islands
and to write a short essay explaining why. The 20 winning
photos that became part of the final exhibit depict the
range of issues confronting the Galapagos, from protecting
the rich environment to controlling pollution to increasing
economic opportunity (all Mission themes).

8. We see good potential to reach our target audiences -
including those most opposed to our policies - through the
medium of film. A well-selected series of independent and
less-commercialized U.S. films would be a powerful way to
refute misconceptions and stereotypes about the U.S.
Washington's help in "curating" such a series and handling
logistical arrangements would be invaluable. We would also
be interested in offerings of newer performing art forms --
not those aimed at art school mavens, but rather at mass
youth -- such as Spanish-speaking DJ artists or hip hop
performers.

9. But we have found that visual and performing arts
programs that feature high-concept, vanguard forms of
expression are less useful in Ecuador. Often, they have the
most appeal within a narrow segment of the arts community,
or reach an elite audience that already has a great deal of
exposure to the U.S. For example, one local partner with
whom we worked to bring an artist to participate in an
international art show commented that the artwork was too
"experimental" and asked us to bring a more traditional
painter for the next festival.

10. To best use our cultural programming resources, we
carefully design our programs to reach our target audiences
of young people, indigenous and other minority groups,
economically disadvantaged people, etc. We have found the
best way to do that is to design a program that is more
interactive rather than exhibits and performances that tend
to be less participative. We have not had much recent
experience with sports programming, but believe it may be
very effective here. A planned program in early 2006 will
give us a good feel for the potential for that kind of
programming.

11. At the same time, there is strong value in associating
ourselves every year or two with top-flight, marquee talent
that draws elites and extensive media coverage. A recent
example was the concert in Quito by renowned U.S. violinist
Joshua Bell. With a modest grant, we were able to
distribute some tickets and host a reception in his honor
attended by the kind of top cultural and social elites that
would never turn out for less-known talent and only notice
our cultural diplomacy when it happens at this level.

12. Question C. What constraints does your mission face in
effectively utilizing cultural, arts, and sports programs?

13. Our main constraint is capacity - both the capacity of
the local community to absorb and benefit from cultural
programs and our own staffing capacity to organize these
events (we have one FSO and one programming FSN, both of
whom have other responsibilities). In addition, our local
partners require a great deal of financial and logistical
support in order to ensure a program or event is completed
successfully. There are very few organizations that have
sufficient staff or logistical capability to carry out major
programs.

14. Question D. How have you been able to partner with the
private sector to sponsor cultural/sports events or to
overcome resource constraints?

15. We often give grants to support the participation of
U.S. visual and performing artists in events organized by
local arts organizations. In return, we ask that the event
organizers include our target audience (e.g. youth,
minorities, underprivileged), that they expand the program
outside Quito, and that they foster interaction between the
artist and the audience. For example, we recently gave a
grant to an American music teacher at a local university to
bring four jazz musicians to Ecuador for concerts and master
classes. He organized the events with our assistance -- PAS
assisted in promoting the events, expanded the master class
invitation list to include representatives from our target
audience, gave tickets to our contacts, arranged press
interviews, and put the grantee in contact with partners
outside the capital that could organize activities in that
city.

JEWELL

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