Social process and cultural pluralism project (180-0021) : request for authorization

The project will consist of three components: a civic education and minority issues component to be implemented directly by USAID, and educational reform and Books for Democracy components to be implemented by the U.S. Information Agency (USIA). The civic education component will stress peaceful, democratic resolutions to ethnic hostilities in the region. Ideas for this component, the content of which is still undefined, will be solicited in newsletters of academic associations such as the American Sociological Association, American Political Science Association, and American Anthropological Association. If no suitable proposals are received, the funds for this component will be reprogrammed. The educational reform component will send U.S. university and secondary school educators and experts in history, economics, business, civics, political science, and other social sciences to teach, help develop curricula, and conduct faculty enrichment sessions. This component will also finance summer institutes for Eastern European university professors, as well as short-term U.S. study programs for curriculum developers, textbook writers, teacher trainers, and government officials. A small grants program will address small, unique proposals. Finally, the Books for Democracy initiative will provide books, journals, and other materials on topics such as business, economics, social science, law, American studies, and journalism to libraries, government officials, schools, students, and teachers throughout the region. Additionally, assistance will be provided to Eastern European publishers and librarians. In the short run, emphasis will be on practical aspects of democracy and on English-language texts. Any longer-term program would focus on translating materials into the vernacular and assisting local publishers. Amendment of 8/13/91 reprograms $50,000 from the civic education/minority issues component to fund a minority participant training program under the educational reform component. (PD-ABF-261) Amendment of 5/6/92 incorporates the Political Process Project (1800017) into this project, renaming it the Political and Social Process Project (with a life-of-project funding of $28 million). The consolidated project will include all three components of 1800021, plus the following activities from 1800017: election-related assistance (election monitoring, development of election statutes and independent election commissions, and assistance to political parties and NGOs); support for citizens" networks; and support for democratic trade unions. The PACD is extended 2 years to 3/96. (PD-ABF-380) Amendment of 12/23/92 changes the name of the elections-related assistance component to "political process and civil society," widening its scope to include post-election assistance, and particularly broader assistance to political parties and exchange programs for promising young political leaders. (PD-ABF-262) Amendment of 6/24/94 increases funding by approximately $35 million to $63 million, extends the PACD to 12/31/98, includes the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia as a recipient country, and places a major focus on political culture activities. Specifically, the amendment authorizes: (1) 3 years of funding for a USIA-managed civic education program, beginning at the secondary school level, in the Czech Republic, Poland, Latvia, and Romania; (2) 4 years of phase-over funding for the American University of Bulgaria (AUBG); and (3) 4 years of phase-down funding for political process activities, including grants to the National Democratic Institute, the International Republican Institute, and the AFL-CIO"s Free Trade Union Institute. (PD-ABM-450)