VZCZCXYZ0020
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHGT #0152/01 0221502
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 221501Z JAN 10
FM AMEMBASSY GUATEMALA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0813
INFO RUEHBE/AMEMBASSY BELMOPAN 0007
RUEHGT/AMEMBASSY GUATEMALA

UNCLAS GUATEMALA 000152 
 
SIPDIS 
PASS TO IIP/S CBARONE AND IIP/WHA FROSA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: STAG KPAO OIIP
SUBJECT: FY-2010 SSI Speaker Request -- Guatemala -- Women's 
Empowerment: "Helping Girls Stay in School" 
 
¶A. PROGRAM DESCRIPTION: 
 
 
 
¶1. In partnership with Embassy Belmopan, Post requests an SSI 
speaker under the topic of "Women's Empowerment" to address the 
issue of girls' education.  The idea for this SSI came from a 
recent feature on America.gov on the same topic; the program will 
also tie in with Women's History Month (March) in the sense that it 
promotes education as an aid in the advancement of women.  The 
program will be centered on the retention of girls in school and 
addressing issues that impede educational opportunities for girls. 
Confronting the marginalization of girls and creating awareness of 
opportunities to help them remain in school, with a concentrated 
focus on rural/indigenous girls, will contribute to more 
opportunities and to social/economic progress.  The SSI program 
will be directed at community leaders, business leaders, parents, 
students, government decision makers and media, both in the Capital 
and in rural areas.  PAS will work closely with USAID and with 
"Opening Opportunities," a local NGO working to keep girls in 
school, which was highlighted on America.gov at: 
http://www.america.gov/st/develop-english/200 9/October/200910231051 
36berehellek0.8381769.html 
 , to program the speaker. 
 
 
 
¶B. TIME FRAME AND NUMBER OF PROGRAM DAYS: 
 
 
 
¶2. Post requests travel days on March 14 and March 20 and five 
complete program days from March 15-19, 2010, to allow for 
in-country travel outside the Capital.  These dates should follow 
after the speaker's travel to Belize.  Post cannot accommodate the 
speaker earlier due to our bi-national center's jazz festival (for 
which we received a PAI), or later due to proximity to the Holy 
Week holiday.  If March is not possible, then we would look to 
April or May; however, we would lose the Women's History Month 
connection. 
 
 
 
¶C. PURPOSE AND BACKGROUND: 
 
 
 
¶3. The primary objective of this program will be to increase 
awareness of the value of girls' education and promote the 
involvement of community, business leaders and the GOG to maximize 
access to shared educational resources.  The program will foster 
collaboration among public and private sector organizations and 
institutions to confront barriers to education for girls, among 
them:  lack of infrastructure (schools are too far away or they 
lack bathrooms); parents do not perceive the value of a girl's 
education and send her to work at an early age; girls do not 
perceive the importance of their education because they lack role 
models or after completing elementary school they cannot continue 
higher education (lack of options, of technical careers, or job 
related or life skills); etc. 
 
 
 
¶4. The speaker should be able to share actual experiences and 
provide success stories of other communities that have created safe 
environments for girls in school and increased girls' retention. 
He/she should also explore the principle idea that it is imperative 
for all stakeholders (parents, private sector and government) to 
support efforts to enhance the quality of education for girls.  The 
speaker should share strategies for developing leadership, 
partnerships and collaborations among communities for a common 
advocacy platform for financial support and investment in 
increasing opportunities for girls' education. The program will be 
presented to the audiences of Belize and Guatemala to improve 
service access and quality, including not only actions within 
education systems, but also empowering girls themselves and their 
communities to demand safe services. 
 
 
 
¶5. PAS requests a speaker who is a "doer" in the field, who can 
share personal experience rather than merely an academic treatment 
of the subject.  As mentioned above, PAS will work in conjunction 
with USAID and NGOs to arrange workshops/seminars for community, 
family, and business leaders in the capital and in towns where the 
Opening Opportunities program is in place.  The speaker should also 
 
 
be prepared to address representatives from NGOs and other types of 
agencies (like local governments or schools) in areas where USAID 
is seeking to implement programs similar to Opening Opportunities. 
The goal of these meetings will be not only to introduce the 
Opening Opportunities-type program and its benefits, but also to 
involve communities in the issue. 
 
 
 
¶D. MSP GOALS TO BE ADDRESSED: 
 
 
 
¶6. This theme relates directly to Post's MSP goal of "Investing in 
People through Health and Education," and it ties in directly with 
USAID's Education for All initiative and Millennium Development 
goals. 
 
 
 
¶E. PROPOSED TOPICS AND EVENTS/AUDIENCES: 
 
 
 
¶7. The program would include:  1) Community workshops in the 
Capital and in indigenous, rural areas, inviting parents, teachers 
& students as well as local NGOs to discuss a plan to keep girls in 
school and to spark action; 2) meetings with "Businesspeople for 
Education," a local private sector organization working to 
influence policy on keeping girls in school and to achieve more 
opportunities for girls; 3) a possible conference (500+ guests) for 
universities, NGOs, private sector, government, public in general, 
in which attendees would be asked to take a concrete action to 
express commitment to girls education, (i.e. bring a brick to 
contribute toward building a school); 4) a meeting with Ministry of 
Education officials to discuss the speaker's experience; and 5) 
media opportunities. 
 
 
 
¶F. TYPE OR NAME OF SPEAKER/SPECIALIST REQUIRED: 
 
 
 
¶8. Post requests a speaker with experience working with 
communities, teachers, youth and decision maker on girls' 
education.  The speaker should be engaging and with an 
understanding of the overwhelming problem of desertion and special 
challenges for girls in Latin America.  Previous experience as a 
speaker is welcomed. 
 
¶9.  PAS requests one of the following speakers, listed in 
approximate order of choice, or a similar-type speaker.  No contact 
or commitment has been made with them. 
 
 
 
1) Greg Mortenson - co-founder and executive director of nonprofit 
Central Asia Institute.  Since a 1993 climb on Pakistan's K2, he 
has dedicated his life to promote community-based education and 
literacy programs, especially for girls, in remote mountain regions 
of Pakistan and Afghanistan.  Mortenson is also founder of Pennies 
For Peace and co-author of the #1 New York Times best-seller, 
"Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace...One School 
At A Time," which has sold over 3.5 million copies and is published 
in 39 countries.  He is the author of the new bestseller "Stones 
into Schools: Promoting Peace with Books, Not Bombs, in Afghanistan 
and Pakistan."  Mortenson is a military veteran, and when not 
overseas, he lives in Montana, USA, with his two children and wife, 
Dr. Tara Bishop.  www.gregmortenson.com 
 
 
 
 
2) Michelle Minguez Moore - executive director of Latino Leaders 
Network.  She combines her private and public sector experience to 
craft creative strategic solutions to governmental issues for 
clients.  Michelle's expertise in education, strategic alliances 
and state government proves invaluable in managing the day-to-day 
work of clients.  She has been a policy analyst and works for girls 
initiatives. Michelle is on the Board of Directors for the One 
America Foundation and The National Equity Center.  She received 
her Masters of Education Administration, Planning and Social Policy 
from Harvard University, Masters in Public Policy from American 
University and a Political Science BA from Boston University. 
Contact Michelle Minguez Moore at 202-969-8777 or by email at 
michelle@latinoleadersnetwork.org 
 
 
 . 
 
 
 
3) Joyce M. Roche - president and chief executive officer of Girls 
Inc., a national nonprofit organization dedicated to empowered 
girls and an equitable society.  Its research and advocacy range 
from pregnancy and drug abuse prevention to science and technology 
education, and its programs are delivered across the country in 
school and after-school settings to empower and educate girls, many 
from underserved communities. Previously she served as president 
and chief operating officer of Carson Products Company, an 
African-American personal care company, and as vice president of 
global marketing at Avon Products, Inc.  She is a graduate of 
Dillard University and Columbia University.  Joyce Roche has been 
featured in Forbes magazine and is well known as a marketing mogul. 
www.girlsinc.org  
 
 
 
4) Julia Bolz - social justice advocate and co-founder of the 
Journey with an Afghan School program, a project in partnership 
with the American Friendship Foundation.  A former Seattle 
attorney, in 1998 she left her law firm to serve as an adviser in 
developing countries for humanitarian nongovernmental 
organizations.  She has volunteered with dozens of nonprofits 
across six continents.  Since 2002, she has focused on educating 
girls in Afghanistan, where her team has built and supplied 10 new 
primary schools and assisted 12 others, serving some 20,000 
children.  She is also an activist with RESULTS, a grassroots 
citizen lobby creating the political will to end the worst aspects 
 
of poverty.  She was a speaker at the Aspen Institute in 2007. 
www.AyniEducation.org   or 
http://affhope.org  . 
 
 
 
5) Abigail Golden-Vazquez - deputy director, Leadership 
Initiatives, vice president of the Aspen Institute; deals with 
issues of leadership, business, government and civil society.  She 
has also worked in development in Honduras w/USAID.  The Institute 
fosters values-based leadership, encouraging individuals to reflect 
on the ideals and ideas that define a good society, and to provide 
a neutral and balanced venue for discussing and acting on critical 
issues. www.aspeninstitute.org. 
 
 
 
6) Other potential speakers in no particular order include:  Nick 
Kristof, author of "Half the Sky," www.halftheskymovement.org 
 ; Sejal Hathi, founded "Girls 
Helping Girls" in 2007 at age 15, www.empoweragirl.org 
 ; Cynthia Lloyd, principal author of 
"New Lessons, The Power of Educting Adolscent Girls," 
www.popcouncil.org  ; and Dr. Ana Gil 
Garcia, professor at Northeastern Illinois University. 
 
 
 
¶G. LANGUAGE REQUIREMENTS: 
 
 
 
¶10. Fluency in Spanish is preferred, but interpretation could be 
arranged at Post. 
 
 
 
¶H. NAME AND CONTACT INFORMATION FOR MISSION PROGRAM OFFICER AND 
BACK UP: 
 
 
 
¶11. Mission Program Officer: 
 
Cheryl L. Neely (PDO/Outreach Coordinator) 
 
Office phone number: 011-502-2326-4263 
 
Home phone number: 011-502-2269-7552 
 
Fax number: 011-502-2331-7477 
 
E-mail address: neelycl@state.gov 
 
Cell phone number: 011-502-5522-6305 
 
 
¶12. Back up Program Officer: Jay Raman, (CAO) 
 
Office phone number: 011-502-2326-4505 
 
Home phone number: 011-502-2337-1696 
 
Fax number: 011-502-2331-7477 
 
E-mail address: ramanjr@state.gov 
 
Cell phone number: 011-502-4009-6127 
 
 
 
¶13. Responsible FSN: Basilia Lopez (Outreach Assistant) 
 
Office phone number: 011-502-2326-4384 
 
Cell phone number: 011-502-4033-9412 
 
Fax number: 011-502-2331-7477 
 
E-mail address: lopezb@state.gov 
 
 
 
¶H. FUNDING SOURCE: 
 
¶14. FY-10 SSI and Post funds. 
ROBINSON