VZCZCXRO9793
RR RUEHTRO
DE RUEHTRO #0109 0401447
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 091447Z FEB 10
FM AMEMBASSY TRIPOLI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 5775
INFO RUEHEG/AMEMBASSY CAIRO 1544
RUEHTRO/AMEMBASSY TRIPOLI 6333
UNCLAS TRIPOLI 000109
SIPDIS
DEPARTMENT FOR CA/VO/F/P; CAIRO FOR RCO CHRIS ROWAN
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: CVIS CMGMT PREL LY
SUBJECT: TRIPOLI'S CONSULAR LEADERSHIP DAY
1. Summary: Post's Consular Section spent February 4 in
observance of Embassy Tripoli's first-ever Consular Leadership
Day, with the theme of "Practicing 360 Degree Diplomacy." Taking
the time out from our usual schedule to focus on improving our
outreach to the Libyan public and American citizens in Libya, as
well as our coordination with other sections and within the
Consular section, was a valuable experience. End summary.
2. To allow sufficient lead time to clear our schedule for an
entire day, we scheduled Consular Leadership Day for February 4
this year. The day began with an hour-long discussion focusing
on improving our outreach to the two communities we serve - the
Libyan public and American citizens in Libya. Despite our being
open for full NIV services for over 10 months, many Libyans are
still unaware that they can apply for a U.S. visa in Tripoli. We
brainstormed a range of public outreach initiatives that the
Embassy could undertake to better get the word out to Libyans
about our services. We also discussed a variety of outreach
options to Americans in Libya, including instituting a quarterly
ACS newsletter to send to all Americans registered with the
Embassy, and a Consular Section open house devoted to ACS issues.
3. Following the brainstorming session, we spent 30 minutes
doing "reverse interviewing," where our LES corrected some of
the Arabic phrases the FSO's and EFM use at the NIV and ACS
windows, and then the native English-speakers fine-tuned the
English phrases the LES regularly use with our clients. That
exercise was followed by a fiercely competitive game of
"Consular Jeopardy," played on the roof of the Consular
Section's new office facility, where all enjoyed the balmy
weather and Consular trivia questions.
4. The Ambassador and DCM spent an hour sharing a brown-bag
lunch with all Consular section staff, discussing the importance
of the Embassy's Consular services to the US-Libya bilateral
relationship. The Ambassador provided feedback on the outreach
initiatives we had come up with earlier in the day, and we will
subsequently move forward with several of them. After lunch, we
undertook a team-building activity that highlighted the
importance of good communication: as one person described a
photo, his/her partner had to duplicate the photo, drawing it
solely based on the partner's description. This was a useful
reminder of the importance of providing detail and clarifying
the context when explaining the various situations that
regularly arise during our work-day. We then focused on ways to
further improve our customer service, and make every client who
appears in our section have a positive experience.
5. We capped off Consular Leadership Day with an hour-long
open house, with colleagues from throughout the Embassy,
including the Ambassador and DCM, stopping by to tour our new
waiting room, and get guided explanations of the services
provided at each window. Overall, our first Consular Leadership
Day was a fun, productive experience, and we look forward to
moving forward on the various projects we collectively came up
with during the day, as well as to being more mindful in the
future of the importance of "360 Diplomacy," and our outreach
efforts, from daily interactions with our clients to broader
initiatives.
CRETZ