VZCZCXYZ0000
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHDR #0254/01 1080916
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 180916Z APR 09
FM AMEMBASSY DAR ES SALAAM
TO SECSTATE WASHDC 8436

UNCLAS DAR ES SALAAM 000254 
 
STATE AF/PD FOR PEHRNMAN; ECA/P/A FOR MKIRSH 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KPAO SCUL OIIP OPRC TZ
SUBJECT: Tanzanian ECA Alumni Form Association 
 
REF: STATE 4856 
 
¶1.  Summary:  A core group of Tanzanian ECA alumni formed the 
nascent Tanzania U.S. State Alumni Association during a recent visit 
by AF Alumni Coordinator Mallory Kirsh.  Alumni participation in 
Embassy programs and the State Alumni website is growing in 
Tanzania.  Kirsh identified numerous best practices in our alumni 
engagement, and provided additional training on alumni outreach, the 
ECA Alumni Project Competition, and alumni outreach tools.  End 
summary. 
 
Best Practices identified in Dar es Salaam 
------------------------------------------ 
 
¶2.  During meetings with Public Affairs staff on alumni outreach, 
Kirsh identified several best practices in use, despite the absence 
of a dedicated alumni outreach staff position.  Some of these 
include: 
--Frequent participation of alumni in pre-departure orientations for 
Fulbright, Humphrey and Educational Advising students; 
--Participation of alumni on selection panels for Fulbright and 
Humphrey candidate interviews; 
--Seeking alumni to serve as hosts or partner institutions for IIP 
and Post-originated speakers; 
--Seeking alumni as volunteer presenters during roundtable 
discussions, book discussions and lectures; 
--Seeking alumni participation in cultural events in Dar es Salaam, 
Zanzibar and in other regions. 
--Encouragement of unofficial mentoring of new applicants and 
nominees by returned alumni, which has improved applications and led 
to alumni working together on joint research projects. 
--Encouragement of increased collaboration between alumni and their 
U.S. host institutions, including collaboration with American 
exchange alumni. 
--Fostering cross-program mentoring.  For example, an IVLP alumna 
from the traditionally nomadic Maasai tribe agreed to mentor a 
recently-selected Maasai Youth Exchange and Study (YES) student who 
will study in Iowa during the 2009-2010 academic year. 
--Favoring alumni for Front Office engagement.  The previous 
Ambassador's first event at the residence was a major alumni 
reception; his first meetings in Zanzibar were with IVLP alumni; and 
his first reception outside of Dar (in Arusha) was for alumni.  We 
find the easiest way to welcome a new principal into the local 
environment is with the friendly and frank interaction alumni 
provide. 
--When other officers, such as the Deputy Chief of Mission, Public 
Affairs Officer or Consul, travel regionally, PAS sets up programs 
and meetings and uses alumni as reliable go-betweens or meeting 
organizers. 
 
Alumni Association Formation 
---------------------------- 
 
¶3.  Kirsh and PAS Cultural Affairs Assistant, Diana Carvalho, met a 
core group of alumni for a brainstorming session to discuss the 
creation of the alumni association after several attempts did not 
get off the ground.  To assuage the groups concerns about busy 
alumni schedules, and the fact that alumni come from diverse 
sectors, we provided examples of how successful alumni associations 
in Africa are organized, work, and have overcome similar challenges. 
 The five alumni then dedicated themselves to organize an all-ECA 
umbrella organization with different chapters and goals.  This core 
alumni group has already agreed upon a draft constitution, a 
proposed name (TUSSAA - Tanzania U.S. State Alumni Association), and 
has established a founding committee.  They set themselves a 
deadline of May 2009 to register the organization with the Tanzanian 
government as an official NGO. 
 
¶4.  We handed over the remaining funding from our last Alumni Grant 
to TUSSAA as start-up funding for payment of legal fees, 
registration, the acquisition of an Association phone and postal 
box, and opening a bank account.  In addition, when the association 
is launched, the remaining money will be used to fund registration 
drives to create regional chapters.  A State Alumni USB flash drive 
was provided to TUSSAA to keep all official association paperwork in 
order. 
 
Reconnecting with "Lost" Alumni 
------------------------------ 
 
¶5.  During the Alumni Coordinator's visit, the Public Affairs 
Officer hosted a jazz reception featuring U.S. Navy band Top Brass 
at his residence.  One of the members of the alumni association 
founding committee gave brief remarks about the founding of TUSSAA 
and encouraged all alumni present to involve themselves in this new 
association.  We were able to reconnect with several alumni who 
attended the reception and help them to register for the State 
alumni website in follow-up communication. 
 
¶6.  Following the Alumni Coordinator's visit, we now regularly and 
more effectively use the DOS community on State Alumni to view best 
practices from other Missions, have increased reporting of new 
content about Tanzanian alumni activities into the Mission Activity 
Tracker (MAT), and can better use Alumni Archive resources.  We also 
received useful training on alumni outreach through the ECA Alumni 
Project Competition.  Kirsh praised Post efforts to increase the 
number of alumni activities, but suggested the creation of a central 
strategy to target alumni across programs, instead of each PAS 
staffer focusing only on the alumni of the program with which they 
work (Fulbright, IVLP, etc.). 
 
¶7.  We look forward to further collaboration with the Office of 
Alumni Affairs, including various opportunities laid out in reftel, 
particularly as TUSSAA moves from the beginning stages of 
association formation to creating a more unified outreach strategy 
for engaging Tanzanian alumni. 
 
¶8.  This is a joint cable between Embassy Dar es Salaam and 
ECA/P/A. 
 
ANDRE