Keep Us Strong WikiLeaks logo

Currently released so far... 51122 / 251,287

Articles

Browse latest releases

Browse by creation date

Browse by origin

A B C D F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Y Z

Browse by tag

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Browse by classification

Community resources

courage is contagious

Viewing cable 07DAMASCUS1164, INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION WEEK IN DAMASCUS DEFYS THE ODDS

If you are new to these pages, please read an introduction on the structure of a cable as well as how to discuss them with others. See also the FAQs

Understanding cables
Every cable message consists of three parts:
  • The top box shows each cables unique reference number, when and by whom it originally was sent, and what its initial classification was.
  • The middle box contains the header information that is associated with the cable. It includes information about the receiver(s) as well as a general subject.
  • The bottom box presents the body of the cable. The opening can contain a more specific subject, references to other cables (browse by origin to find them) or additional comment. This is followed by the main contents of the cable: a summary, a collection of specific topics and a comment section.
To understand the justification used for the classification of each cable, please use this WikiSource article as reference.

Discussing cables
If you find meaningful or important information in a cable, please link directly to its unique reference number. Linking to a specific paragraph in the body of a cable is also possible by copying the appropriate link (to be found at theparagraph symbol). Please mark messages for social networking services like Twitter with the hash tags #cablegate and a hash containing the reference ID e.g. #07DAMASCUS1164.
Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
07DAMASCUS1164 2007-12-11 12:44 2011-08-24 01:00 UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY Embassy Damascus
VZCZCXYZ0011
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHDM #1164/01 3451244
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 111244Z DEC 07
FM AMEMBASSY DAMASCUS
TO SECSTATE WASHDC 4438
UNCLAS DAMASCUS 001164 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR ECA/A/S/A, NEA/PPD 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KPAO KIRC OEXC OIIP SCUL SENV SY XF
 
SUBJECT: INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION WEEK IN DAMASCUS DEFYS THE ODDS 
 
 
--------------- 
Summary & Comment 
----------------- 
 
(SBU) 1.  International Education Week (IEW) programs and activities 
helped put the American Cultural Center (ACC) back on the cultural 
and educational map of Damascus.  Nearly 500 Syrians crowded into 
the Center's auditorium for events throughout the week, transforming 
the ACC into a bustling hub of activity and meeting place for young 
Syrians.  IEW's success countered the prevailing view that the ACC 
is closed to Syrians and that large-scale PD programming in Syria is 
a non-starter.  In the past, potential participants in PD events 
were intimidated by the SARG in both subtle and overt ways and 
attendence was minimal.  PD Damascus is planning a number of 
cultural and educational events in the coming months, both to 
continue to probe the boundaries of the SARG's permissiveness and to 
exploit the Syrian public's desire for engagement with the United 
States. 
 
------------------------------ 
We Are Open and We Welcome You 
------------------------------ 
 
(U) 2.  "We are Open and We Welcome You," was the message conveyed 
to more than 350 Syrian students who attended the IEW open house on 
Monday, November 12th at the ACC.  The capacity crowd filled the 
Center's auditorium to bursting for the entire five hour program and 
highlighted the robust cultural and educational exchange 
relationship between Syria and the United States, as well as PD 
programs and resources available to Syrian students.  The open house 
also benefited immensely from participation by the American Language 
Center, the Damascus Community School, and the International Center 
for Agriculture in the Dry Areas, the only major international 
organization headquartered in Syria. 
 
------------------------------------- 
Syria's Biggest Export . . . Students 
------------------------------------- 
 
(U) 3.  In the days following the open house, the Educational 
Advising and Testing Office, in cooperation with the Consular 
Section, offered two student advising and visa information sessions: 
one for general students and one for medical students.  More than 
100 students participated over the two days.  The full auditorium 
for these programs shows that Syrians are not deterred from wanting 
to study in the United States, despite a strained bilateral 
relationship.  Also, students were made aware of the services of the 
new advising office at the Cultural Center; countering the notion 
that these services are no longer available in Syria since the 
closure of Amideast last year. 
 
----------------- 
Syrians Speak Out 
----------------- 
 
(SBU) 4.  A few Syrians took the opportunity of IEW to speak out to 
their fellow citizens.  For example, a panel of five Syrian U.S. 
alumni spoke with a group of 65 Syrian students about their 
experiences in the United States.  The panelists spanned multiple 
generations and programs: an engineer who received his MA degree in 
1969, a Fulbright alumus from 2001, a recent Humphrey alumna, and 
alumni from the Summer Institutes and YES programs.  The panelists 
stressed the important lessons they had learned about leadership, 
teamwork, independence, social and civic activism, volunteerism, 
tolerance, and how they have drawn on these lessons in their 
respective communities in Syria.  In the current political climate, 
it is extremely unusual and positive for Syrians to speak publicly 
and proudly about their exchange and study experiences in the United 
States. 
 
(SBU) 5.  The head of the Syrian Environment Association (SEA) took 
center stage during PD Damascus' weekly movie and discussion series, 
which featured the documentary "An Inconvenient Truth" in honor of 
the "global citizenship" theme of IEW.  A capacity crowd of 70-80 
young Syrians filled the auditorium. The head of SEA spoke about the 
threats to the environment in Syria and SEA's main campaign issues: 
water conservation and anti-smoking.  Stating that a lack of 
awareness is the biggest challenge to environmentalism in Syria, he 
stressed the importance of reaching out to the next generation to 
ingrain in them concern for the environment. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
Spotlight on Nursing Education and English Teaching 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
 
(U) 6.  The two final events of IEW were a panel discussion on 
nursing education and a workshop for English language teachers, both 
on November 15. Six nurses who participated in a single-country IVLP 
on nursing education in August-September 2007 addressed a group of 
20 colleagues (nurses and doctors) at a local private hospital. 
They came to an agreement with the doctors -- all U.S.-educated and 
influential -- to work proactively to provide more training and 
continuing education for nurses in Syria.  For the capstone IEW 
event, more than 60 English language teachers packed into the ACC 
auditorium for an English language teaching workshop led by PD 
Damascus' two English Language Fellows. All participants registered 
for IRC services. 
 
 
CORBIN