Hello everyone!

As soon as I got back I started working on a trip report to share with my Board and with my staff. As I looked over my notes I realized two things 1)how much information I had probably missed, and 2) how many people I wish I had spent more time getting to know. So, here is my attempt to remedy both.

So... I thought I would share with you my trip report and ask for your feedback, comments, suggestions, and most of all, for your -surely- differing views on my take on things. As a bonus, I will get my chance to get to know many of you better.

In case you want more info on the Alianza, our web page is www.alianza.edu.uy - the link to our facebook page is there as well

Cheers to all,

María (María Blanco Pate- Uruguay)

Trip Report BNC Conference, Washington DC August 11-12 August 21, 2009

The following is a report on my trip to Washington DC for the conference “Re-launching the Partnership.” The conference was organized by the Office of Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs of the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs.

Fifty Binational Center Directors from 17 countries and 16 Embassy representatives met in Washington DC to discuss best practices in the relationship between the USG and Binational Centers, and how policy is executed through State Department and local posts.

The conference exceeded my expectations in terms of organization and content. It was a superbly planned event designed to encourage interaction and discussion in an orderly and productive manner. Frankness and respect were the underlying themes in all discussions.

The conference had two main tracks. One was sharing information about programs and available resources. What made this especially relevant was the chance to meet Program Staff and hear about the programs directly from them. We had a chance to meet English Language Officers, Cultural Officers, Educational Advisors, and Library and IRC Staff. The area of the report labeled “Resources” is derived from the exchange of information during the Program plenary sessions.

The second track of the conference dealt with the relationship between State Department, local posts and the BNCs. The conference gave us the opportunity to hear the importance accorded to BNCs directly from policymakers Judith McHale (Under Secretary of State, Bureau of Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs) and Ambassador Craig A. Kelly (Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs). Their comments were backed by the words and actions of conference organizers John Dickson, Director, Office of Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs and Peter Samson, BNC Coordinator. We also had the chance to share and clarify expectations, and to map a strategy to strengthen both the network of BNCs and their relationship with posts and State Department.

State Departments’ position seems to reflect a broader policy shared also by the Executive and the Legislative Branches. Paul Foldi, (Staff Member, Senate Committee on Foreign Relations (Senator Richard Lugar), and Laura Winthrop (Staff Member, Senate Committee on Foreign Relations (Senator John Kerry), were on hand to answer questions about the relationship between the USG and BNCs. Although careful not to make promises on future commitments, overall, they seemed appreciative of the work done by BNCs.

For clarity, I have divided my report into three sections. I) Resources II) Contacts III) Initiatives.

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to participate in this event. The challenge now is to follow-up on the themes discussed.

I) Resources

• Picturing America. Posters and lesson plans around five themes: leadership, freedom and equality, democracy, courage, landscapes, creativity and ingenuity. http://picturingamerica.neh.gov/

• Michael Buckley: Sister Grimm Series. Books for girls ages 10-16. Buckley is also a great speaker and might be available for DVC. Jean Manes will send contact info. http://www.sistersgrimm.com/

• US Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. Educational and exchange opportunities in the US. http://educationusa.state.gov/ http://exchanges.state.gov/

• Site for alumni of all past and current participants of U.S. government-sponsored exchange programs. Includes ACCESS students. https://alumni.state.gov/landing-page

• “Opportunity” program: will pay up to US $10,000 to defray costs of travel and related expenses for scholarship recipients who otherwise cannot afford to participate. Need to find out more about this program. Contacted Caryn Danz, who will be out of the office until August 20. This could be a great follow up for the best ACCESS students.

• Larry Wohlers. State Department Staff on leave for one year at the Smithsonian. May be available to coordinate activities (for ex. DVC) for Science Corner. wohlersld@state.gov

• University of Michigan. Library Science program has a requirement on a one year overseas internship. Contact is Ann Weeks. acweeks@umd.edu

• Global Partnership Initiative. State Department partnering with interested private sector organizations to promote programs of common interest such as alternative energy sources, education and health. BNC’s requested their inclusion in the database of partners and to have access to the database for possible joint programs. Contact G. Kevin Saba, Regional Director for Global Partnerships, sabaGK@state.gov

• www.america.gov State Department site with news and information about happenings around the world. Understandably, this site is rich with US policy and commentary, but it also has great content. There are 8 areas, described below. Each contains information on four major topics: American Life, Economy, Global Challenges and International Relations.

1) publications http://www.america.gov/publications/article-alert.html For example, in publications, under American Life, you will find the following article: “The Chosen One Christians disagree over the morality of the Harry Potter series. For their part, religious scholars see clear messages.”

2) e-journals on varied topics including “American Teenagers” and “Entrepreneurship and Small Business” http://www.america.gov/publications/ejournalusa.html

3) books: http://www.america.gov/publications/books.html. A couple of examples “Being Muslim in America” and “American Popular Music”.

4) listening comprehension: http://www.america.gov/multimedia/podcast.html “This week from Washington” is a recap of the week’s coverage of U.S. foreign policy, society and values. Transcripts are available as well.

5) cultural photo gallery http://www.america.gov/multimedia/photogallery.html This section should not be thought of only as a series of pretty pictures. There are great poster-like sessions on a diverse variety of topics. For example: “Marine Conservation” and “Iconography of Contagion” about how some diseases spread.

6) videos: http://www.america.gov/multimedia/video.html. A couple of examples “New Media: Government 2.0” about the effects of new media on political campaigns and “Carbon and Climate.”

7) interactive learning with guest speakers: http://Co-Nx.state.gov. For example, on August 19, the theme is “Fuel-efficient and Alternative cars.” We are invited to join in and discuss fuel-efficient and alternative cars with Steve Plotkin, a scientist at the Argonne National Lab.

8) blogs: http://blogs.america.gov/ One of the most popular blogs is “Obama Today: Following Barack Obama.” Obama Today will follow President Obama's initiatives and policy directions. Another one: “Science Planet: Discoveries at the Edge.” Science Planet offers profiles of some of the leading scientists from around the world. And a last one to tempt you to visit: “Rumors, Myths, and Fabrications: A Guide to What Isn’t True.” Examining rumors, conspiracy theories and false stories.

• Pop culture database. I cannot say enough about the usefulness, relevance and richness of the materials found here. You can search by decade (from the 1920’s on) or by theme (everything from fashion, sports, food and drink, to arts and visual culture and more). Extremely flexible site, adaptable to different levels of English http://pop.greenwood.com/login.aspx (username: American; password: library).

I II) Contacts

State Department Judith McHale, Under Secretary of State Bureau of Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs

Craig A. Kelly, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs

John Dickson, Director Office of Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs (Conference Organizer)

Peter Samson, BNC Coordinator Office of Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs (Conference Organizer)

Marsha McLean Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs Franklin Fellow, Office of Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs (Conference Organizer and workshop leader)

State Department Program Staff Jean Cavanaugh, Director Office of Information Resources Bureau of International Information Programs

Colombia Barosse Cultural Programs Division Chief, Office of Citizen Exchanges, Bureau of Education and Cultural Affairs, State Department.

Michael Rudder, Rebecca Smoak English Language Officers

Caryn Danz, Director Educational and Information Resources Branch Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs

Kristin Smith, Alumni Coordinator Office of Alumni Affairs Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs

Barbara Conaty, American Corners Coordinator

Legislative contacts Paul Foldi, Staff Member Senate Committee on Foreign Relations (Senator Richard Lugar)

Laura Winthrope, Staff Member Senate Committee on Foreign Relations (Senator John Kerry)

III) Initiatives

1) Strengthen and build up ABLA (Association of Binational Centers of Latin America)

Create a regional brand to provide a competitive advantage in relation to other language centers by emphasizing the bonds with the United States and the “strength in numbers”.

Common logo (must register!), eventually common standards in four areas 1) Academic 2) Administrative 3) Cultural 4) Community Services. The standards are being developed using TESOL and English Language Program Accreditation guidelines (http://www.tesol.org/s_tesol/index.asp and http://www.cea-accredit.org/index.php)

Purpose is to strengthen local BNC’s, share information and best practices, share resources, and provide a forum of communication for Directors, staff and students.

Mission Statement (draft): ABLA is a non-profit network between Binational Centers in Latin America dedicated to the promotion of excellence among its members through joint initiatives and the exchange and fostering of best practices.

Vision (draft): To be the leading international forum for professional achievement and institutional growth for all its members and their associations.

www.colomboamericano.edu.co/ablaonline

2) Virtual Library. This project is still in the exploratory stage. Idea is for all BNC’s to share e-books and access to databases.

3) ACCESS. There seems to be interest in continuing to expand this program in Latin America. One of the issues is how to follow up the two year scholarship (at least with some of the students). We proposed partnering with a publisher, such as Pearson, to develop free online programs for ACCESS graduates. If there is no interest in exploring this globally, we will follow it up locally with Pearson, since they did a free curriculum for public schools in Uruguay through Pearson Foundation.

4) Strengthen relationships between State Department, local posts and BNC’s. There appear to be two distinct means to accomplish this. One has to do with the role of the BNC as partner of the USG, and the other has to do with improving the communication channels between State, post and BNC.

Regarding the role of the BNCs, there seems to be a shared, strong desire to be posts’ partners of “First Choice”. BNCs argue that it weakens the image of the BNC when post chooses other partners for programs that the BNC is able and willing to carry out. At the very least, BNCs requested to be kept in the loop. They resent finding out from third parties about programs sponsored by post, and thereby looking “stupid” and “uninformed.”

It is understandable, for political and practical purposes, that posts need to have other partners, and that those partners may be the logical choices for some programs. However, it also seems to make practical sense that BNCs be given priority for those programs that they can carry out, because:

• Resources are limited; spreading them too thin among too many programs and partners ends up benefiting no one and dilutes the potential impact of all programs. • Once a good working relationship is established, it makes sense to work with that partner. The sense of joint ownership and joint responsibility is easier to accomplish with an established partner.

To summarize, it appears that the relationship would be greatly strengthened if a) BNCs can be the partners of “First Choice” or b) if they are informed about programs being carried out with other partners and 3) if they are invited to participate in outside programs as guests.

Regarding communication between State, posts and BNCs, the general feeling seems to be that available resources are not being fully utilized because of lack of timely information/communication. There are many programs available that were unknown to BNC’s and even to PAO’s in many cases. The goal is to maximize the utilization of resources. To this end, several ideas were proposed:

a. Share broad basis of the Mission Strategic Plans with BNCs so as to align goals where possible and so that BNC’s can provide programs supportive of or complementary of MSPs. b. Meet regularly (post and BNC staff) to conduct advanced joint planning of events and activities relevant to both. c. Improve channels of communication between posts and BNCs so activities are known in advance and can be better promoted. Shared calendar of events through ABLA website should go a long way in improving communication and knowledge about current and future activities.

The relationship between the USG and BNCs has changed, ebbed and flowed since the first Binational centers were founded some eighty years ago. Recent history saw a straining in the relationship as USG shifted priorities and funds to other programs. On the positive side, this has resulted in the surviving BNCs being more professional and in better shape with regards to self sufficiency and viability.

There is a strong desire on the part of the BNCs to continue their long and honored association with the United States. Coincidentally, the USG seems to have realized the value and importance of the BNCs as strong and willing partners. At this time all parties express a desire for strengthening the partnership, so “Let us enjoy this moment.”