VZCZCXYZ0004
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHCO #0460 2680156
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 250156Z SEP 09
FM AMEMBASSY COTONOU
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1131
INFO RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 1524

UNCLAS COTONOU 000460 
 
DEPT FOR AF/PD (ANYASO, TITUS, LISENBY), AF/W (ACOOK) 
ECA/P/A MKirsch, PARIS FOR ARS (DWINTON) 
AF/W Akuna Cook 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: OEXC KPAO SCUL BN
SUBJECT: ALUMNI RECEPTION COTONOU REPORT 
 
¶1. DESCRIPTION OF ACTIVITY: 
On September 18, 2008, PAS Cotonou hosted an Alumni reception at the 
American Cultural Center. This event was the second gathering held 
since the successful alumni day project in September 2008. Alumni 
from various programs took part in this program which was divided 
into three presentations:  the introduction of the State Alumni 
Website; the presentation of a water and sanitation project of a 
Humphrey alumnus in the village of Taneka Beri in the North of 
Benin; and the presentation of ideas for a community project in 
response to President Obama's call for volunteerism gathered by the 
dinner's  brainstorming groups. 
 
¶2. DATE:  September 18 2009; FY09; Fourth Quarter. 
 
¶3. JUSTIFICATION /OBJECTIVE: 
The goal of the program was to bring alumni together, raise 
awareness about their roles and responsibilities and the 
contributions they can make to their communities, and evaluate their 
impact on their communities. 
 
¶4. MSP UMBRELLA THEME AND AUDIENCE REACHED: 
Subject program meets Post's objectives in promoting Democracy, 
Education, Mutual Understanding and Investing in People. 
Thirty alumni representing various programs such as, Fulbright, 
Humphrey, International Visitors, and Summer Institutes attended the 
event. 
 
¶5. Activities/Result/Impact: 
Bienvenu Olory, the Chairman of the Association of Humphrey and 
Fulbright Alumni first thanked the American Embassy for providing 
them with another opportunity to gather, welcomed the alumni and 
invited them to join him so that they can invigorate the 
association. A/PAO Christina Day gave an overview of the significant 
role that former Exchange Alumni play in the world. She pointed out 
the importance of the impact, the Alumni, as privileged people are 
expected to make on their own lives as well as on their communities. 
 
 
¶6. After the speeches, the Cultural Affairs Assistant presented the 
State Alumni Website, the alumni global network community, a useful 
resource for networking, searching, exchanging experiences and for 
job and grant opportunities and encouraged alumni to register and to 
take advantage of the services offered by the site. That 
presentation was followed by Gabriel Kpadonou Hounsa's PowerPoint 
presentation on the Impact of Humphrey program on the development of 
Benin with a project of water and sanitation in the village of 
Taneka Beri in the North of Benin. Gabriel Kpadonou Hounsa is a 
Humphrey alumnus who studied Public Health and Project Management at 
the University of California Davis (2007-2008). He received an $8000 
donation for the implementation of this project and shared his vivid 
experience of the impact alumni can make on their communities. 
 
¶7. After the presentations, the alumni were invited to share dinner 
with the Acting PAO, but only after she had introduced them to 
President Barack Obama's volunteer initiative. During the dinner, 
the alumni worked in small groups and came up with the results of 
their brainstorming: a list of various community projects that can 
be implemented before October 18. These projects included civic 
education, public order and law enforcement, awareness-raising of 
road security, cleaning campaign, blood drive... 
A committee of 5 alumni has been set up to do the follow-up and 
select the main projects that will be implemented. 
 
¶8. Non-USG sources of in-country funding/in-kind support: None. 
 
¶9. Quality of government and agency support: Excellent. Kudos to the 
PAS team for pulling together this program. 
BOUSTANI