VZCZCXYZ0008
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHRB #0333/01 1091221
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 191221Z APR 09
FM AMEMBASSY RABAT
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 9999
INFO RUEHAS/AMEMBASSY ALGIERS 4973
RUEHTU/AMEMBASSY TUNIS 9783

UNCLAS RABAT 000333 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
 
STATE FOR NEA/PI, NEA/MAG, DRL/NESCA AND NEA/PPD 
TUNIS FOR MEPI REGIONAL OFFICE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EAID KPAO KPMI MO
SUBJECT: NEA DAS SPIRNAK VISIT ENCOURAGES MEPI AND PAS 
CONTACTS IN MOROCCO 
 
REF: STATE 036567 
 
¶1.  (U) Summary:  The Middle East Partnership Initiative 
(MEPI) has been a high impact, flexible tool in promoting 
democracy and other USG goals in Morocco.  Acting Deputy 
Assistant Secretary (A/DAS) for Near East Affairs (NEA) 
Madelyn Spirnak visited MEPI projects and implementers and 
participated in public diplomacy projects April 1-3.  Public 
affairs events received positive media attention, focusing on 
strong relations between USG and Morocco and support for 
Moroccan youth.  The MEPI funded Women's Election Program 
implemented by the International Republican Institute (IRI) 
and National Democratic Institute (NDI) has already trained 
more than 2,000 women in only three weeks in how to 
effectively run as candidates in the upcoming June local 
elections.  MEPI alumni and implementers shared repeated 
testimonies of the success of MEPI-funded programs in Morocco 
and encouraged Washington to continue funding the MEPI 
Student Leaders Exchange Program.  Post appreciates speedy 
NEA/PI action on two recent time sensitive project requests 
and seeks MEPI assistance for a prison reform and monitoring 
program in Morocco.  End Summary. 
 
---------------------------- 
A/DAS Spirnak Visits Morocco 
---------------------------- 
 
¶2.  (U) NEA A/DAS Madelyn Spirnak traveled to Rabat, Morocco, 
April 1-3 for the primary purpose of attending a preparatory 
meeting for the 2009 Forum for the Future (Reftel).  In 
addition, Spirnak also met with the Charge d'Affaires (CDA) 
and other members of the mission's Democracy Working Group to 
learn how the Mission is engaging civil society through 
various NEA/PI- and NEA/PPD-funded programs. 
 
------------------------- 
MEPI Partnership with ABA 
------------------------- 
 
¶3.  (SBU) During her visit, A/DAS Spirnak met with Morocco 
National Judicial Training Institute Director General 
Mohammed Bennani who demonstrated the 15 MEPI funded 
e-learning modules focused on the family code and labor laws. 
 MEPI partnered with the American Bar Association (ABA) Rule 
of Law Initiative to implement this program with an initial 
group of 100 family court clerks.  According to Bennani, 70 
percent of the students were very impressed with the content 
of the e-learning modules and use the Internet on a regular 
basis.  100 percent of the students had a positive opinion 
toward incorporating new technologies into the legal 
curriculum.  The Institute will implement the program 
throughout the country for the benefit of all judges and 
family law clerks as soon as it finalizes contract agreements 
with an internet service provider to host the training 
modules.  Bennani shared this successful MEPI-funded program 
last month with judicial colleagues in Libya and said there 
was interest throughout the region in implementing a similar 
concept. 
 
--------------------------------------------- --------- 
IRI/NDI Women's Election Program Launches Successfully 
--------------------------------------------- --------- 
 
¶4.  (SBU) IRI Country Director Jamie Tronnes and then-NDI 
Country Director Felix Ulloa briefed A/DAS Spirnak on the 
recent progress of the MEPI-funded Women's Election Program 
co-implemented by two party institutes.  Formally launched on 
March 21, the program aims to train women candidates who will 
contest the approximately 12,000 new seats reserved for women 
on local councils in June municipal elections.  The program 
will help women candidates enhance their public diplomacy, 
messaging and voter outreach skills and is proving to be a 
huge draw.  More than 2,000 women have already received 
training in the initial three weeks and the project is on its 
way toward bringing in a large number of women candidates 
into the campaign process.  The MEPI-funded program is the 
only country-wide effort targeting women and preparing them 
for the upcoming local elections. 
 
---------------------------------- 
Spirnak Participates in PAS Events 
---------------------------------- 
 
¶5.  (U) In conjunction with the mission's Public Affairs 
Section (PAS), A/DAS Spirnak presented 30 sets of My Arabic 
Library books, along with Nouveaux Horizons, Arabic book 
translation program titles, and IIP publications, to the 
 
Moroccan Ministry of Youth and Sports for distribution to 
youth centers throughout Morocco.  This PAS outreach effort 
builds on a MEPI-initiated project launched several years ago 
to promote Arabic-language education in Moroccan primary 
schools.  The book presentation event was widely covered by 
local media.  Spirnak also participated in a PAS Citizen 
Journalism grant project with Moroccans aged 10-16.  In the 
"interviewing" session, the children took turns interviewing 
the A/DAS, and later practiced how to incorporate internet 
technology to disseminate information.  This pilot grant is 
engaging five community centers and libraries in the Rabat 
area to offer basic journalism, blogging, and internet skills 
training during school breaks, a program the Mission aims to 
replicate both at the pilot centers and elsewhere in Morocco. 
 
¶6.  (U) Spirnak also participated in a PAS dinner that 
brought together American and Moroccan academics and exchange 
program alumni.  The goal was to exchange ideas and create 
new linkages that will build upon existing public affairs 
programs.  Visiting Americans included Roger Allen, Chair of 
the Department of Near Eastern Studies at the University of 
Pennsylvania.  Paul Heck, Professor of Islamic Studies in 
Georgetown University's Theology Department, who is teaching 
comparative religion as a Fulbright Senior Scholar at 
Mohammad V University in Rabat, provided fascinating insights 
on his students and his efforts to stress an analytical 
approach to religious studies.  Doug Davis, professor at 
Haverford College, discussed his personal interest and 
research on the influence of Arabic hip-hop music and the 
messages it spreads (government corruption, status quo, lack 
of opportunities) to youth throughout the region.  A/DAS 
Spirnak opined MEPI would want to learn more about this 
movement and how hip-hop might be used in future PD or MEPI 
programs targeting youth. 
 
------------------- 
Meeting MEPI Alumni 
------------------- 
 
¶7.  (U) During mission representational events, A/DAS Spirnak 
had the opportunity to interact with Moroccan officials, 
Members of Parliament and many other MEPI local grant 
implementers and alumni, including representatives from 
MEPI-funded Women in Technology, the Association of Women 
Entrepreneurs in Morocco, MEPI Student Alumni, Tanmia, 
Project ALEF, The People's Mirror, and the MEPI 
Alumni-sponsored Caravan For Young Leaders program.  During 
each of these events, A/DAS Spirnak heard repeated 
testimonies on the success of MEPI-funded programs in Morocco 
as well as requests to continue the MEPI-funded Student 
Leaders Exchange Program and support for the Alumni Network. 
Participants at a lunch also discussed the importance of 
MEPI's communication strategy and how the Alumni Network 
might assist in outreach. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
Post Requests MEPI Assistance With Prison Project 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
 
¶8.  (SBU) In a final outbrief with the CDA, USAID Deputy 
Director Ramona El Hamzaoui presented a USD 5 million 
proposal focused on addressing the needs of at-risk youth and 
youth in prison to mitigate disaffection and extremism in 
Morocco.  The Mission is in the process of finalizing this 
inter-agency program for consideration for 1207 funding for 
training at-risk youth and reforming the justice system to 
include alternative sentencing in order to keep youth out of 
prison.  Once the 1207 proposal is finalized and submitted, 
the Mission plans to request MEPI funding for the portions of 
the project related to MEPI reform goals. 
 
¶9.  (U) Comment:  MEPI is a strong, flexible tool that has 
directly advanced mission strategic goals with democratic, 
economic, and judicial reforms, as well as indirectly by 
enhancing civil society's voice and offering cultural 
exchanges.  We are extremely grateful to MEPI Washington for 
accepting and funding two recent project requests in record 
time:  the NDI/IRI co-implemented Women's Election Program 
and the focus group research project to be implemented by The 
People's Mirror.  We hope that we can continue to count on 
the same level of cooperation in the future. 
 
¶10.  (U) This cable has been cleared by NEA A/DAS Spirnak. 
End comment. 
 
 
***************************************** 
 
Visit Embassy Rabat's Classified Website; 
http://www.intelink.sgov.gov/wiki/Portal:Moro cco 
***************************************** 
 
Jackson