Meeting of American Corner Directors Focuses on Maximizing PD Outreach Efforts in the Philippines

Directors and reference librarians representing 13 of the 14 American Corners (ACs) in the Philippines met May 9-10 in Bacolod City for a two-day training workshop organized by PAS Manila. The workshop took place at the University of Saint La Salle (USLS), site of an American Corner. After welcoming remarks by the President of USLS and the CAO, each AC reported on its customers, accessibility, outreach efforts and future plans. The reports confirmed that our ACs are maximizing accessibility and doing an excellent job of connecting with the communities in which they exist, through programs and partnerships involving a wide variety of organizations, institutions and professional groups. Following the reports, there was a lengthy and highly productive exchange of ideas on how ACs can increase their effectiveness as public diplomacy programming platforms. The workshop included an extensive session on “American Corner Promotion, Marketing and Reporting Techniques.” Through presentations and hands-on exercises, the meeting also sharpened the information resource skills of the AC directors and reference librarians, making sure they were completely familiar with all IIP products and services, as well as Regional English Language Officer (RELO) online resources and a wide variety of U.S. Government sites. We also ensured that participants were fully informed about the AC Database and ListServe.

The AC directors participating in the workshop remained in Bacolod May 11-13 and joined together with professors from throughout the Philippines to participate in a PAS-organized workshop on curriculum development for American Studies. The May 11-13 workshop (for which are doing a separate Result) was designed to strengthen American Studies in the Philippines and to reinforce linkages between our network of ACs and existing and nascent American Studies programs. During the May 9-10 AC workshop, AC directors prepared for the American Studies curriculum-building meeting by expanding their knowledge of online American Studies resources. They were assisted in this by the director of Embassy Manila’s IRC.

The participation of the director of one of the ACs in the training session “Managing an American Corner for a Successful Partnership” held in Bangkok in February 2005 paid major dividends at the Bacolod workshop. The participant, Annabelle Acedera from Cagayan de Oro in Mindanao, shared what she learned at the Bangkok meeting with her Philippine colleagues and, using her newly acquired skills, served as a resource person for our May 9-10 workshop.

During the conference, the American Corner at the University of Saint La Salle in Bacolod City, one of PAS Manila’s network of 14 American Corners, launched an American Reading Corner at the Negros Province Press Club (NPC) on May 10, 2005. Speakers at the opening ceremony, which garnered extensive coverage in the local media, included the president of the NPC, the president of the University of Saint La Salle and the CAO. The creation of American Reading Corner is symptomatic of the commitment to outreach shown by the ACs in the Philippines. Responding to a request from the president of the NPC, the Bacolod AC quickly put together a collection of books and other materials dealing with the U.S. The AC committed itself to providing the American Reading Corner with copies of U.S. Government publications on an ongoing basis.

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