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Viewing cable 06PARIS3255, UNESCO AND RICKY MARTIN PARTNERSHIP

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Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
06PARIS3255 2006-05-16 16:48 2011-08-24 00:00 UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY Embassy Paris
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 PARIS 003255 
 
SIPDIS 
 
FROM USMISSION UNESCO PARIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KPAO EAID UNESCO
SUBJECT: UNESCO AND RICKY MARTIN PARTNERSHIP 
 
 
1.  (U) SUMMARY:  The Ricky Martin Foundation (RMF), whose 
President, Puerto Rican singer and humanitarian Ricky Martin, was 
named a hero against trafficking in persons (TIP) by the U.S. 
Department of State in 2005 for his work to promote awareness and 
protect children from trafficking, has joined forces with UNESCO on 
a global initiative aimed at safeguarding children against 
exploitation and abuse.  UNESCO will use its network of Associated 
Schools in Latin America and the Caribbean to distribute educational 
materials featuring Martin from the "Navega Protegido" campaign 
(launched by the RMF and Microsoft) in order to promote child safety 
online and secure children from dangers such as child pornography, 
sex predators and identity theft.  UNESCO's Children in Need program 
will also develop a project for Puerto Rico, Mr.. Martin's 
birthplace, to help reach youth at risk through artistic education. 
 A signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the two 
partners, attended by the U.S. Deputy Chief of Mission to UNESCO, 
Andrew Koss, took place on May 5.  END SUMMARY. 
 
----------------- 
NAVEGA PROTEGIDO: 
----------------- 
 
2.  (U) Angel Saltos, President of the RMF, (COMMENT:  Saltos stated 
before joining the RMF, he worked as a consultant on development 
projects, including information and communication interconnectivity 
in Latin America for Compaq and other companies.  END COMMENT.) 
stated that RMF is now "co branding" with Microsoft to make videos 
to create awareness on the dangers that the Internet can pose to 
children.  The main message of the videos, Saltos stated, is that 
the internet is a fantastic tool, but kids have to be safe.  Martin, 
he added, has taped several spots telling kids to be careful, not to 
chat with anyone they do not know.  The spots are in post-production 
and their introduction will be timed with the beginning of the 
school year in Latin America.   UNESCO will now join the partnership 
and lend its network of Associated Schools in Latin America and the 
Caribbean to distribute the spots.  UNESCO could also potentially 
help shape future content and provide access its worldwide network 
of NATCOMs and Education Ministries.  It could also provide greater 
distribution of other informational materials Martin has produced in 
the past. 
 
---------------------------------- 
UNESCO's CHILDREN IN NEED PROGRAM: 
---------------------------------- 
 
3.  (SBU)  The Ricky Martin Foundation had been in discussions with 
UNESCO since meeting the head specialist of its Children in Need 
Program, Francoise Pinzon-Gil program at a conference on trafficking 
in persons in Athens last January.  Saltos stated that they both saw 
a lot of synergies between the two organizations because of UNESCO's 
educational network and its neutral platform in the developing 
world.   Pinzon Gil, whose program since 1992 has been financed by 
the German UNESCO Special Ambassador for the Education of Children 
in Need, Ute-Henriette Ohoven, sought to increase the program's 
visibility through partnership with Martin.  To finance the program, 
Ohoven organizes an annual gala in Dusseldorf, which attracts 
celebrities and raises approximately 2 million Euros per year. 
Pinzon Gil works with UNESCO field offices to distribute the funds 
in small grants to NGOs focused on children's issues.  The program 
has had several audits and enjoys a solid reputation within UNESCO, 
even if nobody is sure which of UNESCO's mandate it addresses.  It 
was housed in the education sector (and provides many grants in this 
realm) until a few years ago and it is now housed in the Social and 
Human Sciences sector. 
 
----------------------- 
RMF's OTHER PROJECTS: 
--------------------- 
 
4.  (SBU)  Saltos stated that the SMF realized it alone could not 
protect children by fighting abuse, exploitation (child pornography 
on the internet) and trafficking.  He stated that RMF is looking for 
partnerships at the governmental, institutional and corporate level 
and outlined several other RMF partnerships including one with the 
Organization on Migration (OIM) to make 2 videos on trafficking in 
persons for Puerto Rico.  These are being customized for other 
countries by adding on local hotline numbers and are now  being used 
in Columbia and Ecuador.  RMF met President Bush in February and has 
partnered with HHS to get a trafficking information hotline number 
in the U.S.  It plans to introduce trafficking hotlines in Central 
America as well.   RMF is also working with the Inter American 
Development Bank (IDB) and filmed 3 more public service 
announcements on human trafficking, which are currently in 
post-production.   These are expected to premiere in Peru this month 
on television stations and then will be introduced in Costa Rica. 
When asked about whether RMF has specific initiatives in Mexico, 
Saltos stated that these videos could potentially be used there with 
a local hotline number.  Martin has also completed a 25-minute video 
of 4 segments (an introduction on TIP, prevention, protection and 
prosecution) using real stories from Argentina, Colombia and 
Guatemala.  Potentially, all of these information tools could be 
distributed through UNESCO's network if the partnership takes off. 
 
5.  (SBU)  COMMENT:  Mission found the occasion of the partnership 
as a good opportunity to showcase U.S. and Puerto Rican 
philanthropy, and gained a useful readout on the RMF's progress on 
protecting children from the dangers of TIP and cyberspace.  Martin 
and his interlocutors seemed genuinely concerned about making a 
difference on these issues and sincere in their commitment to 
preventing them.  END COMMENT. 
 
Oliver