OSAC Country Councils & Outreach Bulletin

Transcription

1 Produced by the Research and Information Support Center (RISC) June 21, 2011 OSAC Country Councils & Outreach Bulletin Inside this issue: What Makes a Council Effective? 1 What Makes a Council Effective? In 2010, the Hague Country Council celebrated its 20th anniversary, making it one of OSAC s longest continuously-running Country Councils in the world. The Council is greatly assisted by a longtime member of the consulate, Arie van Veelen. When asked how the Hague Council was able to reach its longevity, Arie offered a few ideas: What makes OSAC effective? OSAC Public/Private Travel 2 Councils Operating in Challenging Environments Upcoming Meetings 3 Council Launches and Re-launches 3 Innovative Country Councils 4 FAQs 5 2 A combination of interest and leadership from Council and Steering Committee members Sending questionnaires to Council membership to ascertain areas of interest Council meetings should focus on trends and changes affecting security standards/implementation, business continuity and infrastructure, risk analysis, and handling economic loss, such as fraud or theft Speakers should address emerging security concerns and ensure accurate information is disseminated Example: During the anthrax scare in 2001, a Dutch academician clarified that anthrax was not lethal and could be treated medically It s important to create a relaxing and trustworthy atmosphere, treating all questions as genuine and allowing for open discussion Country Council-only users (i.e., non-osac constituents) should be invited to Council meetings Arie concludes, the key word remains drive; without a drive, it becomes a must and would miss the inspiration towards the members. OSAC greatly appreciates Arie s efforts in keeping his Council vibrant, as well as his perspective! If you have ideas on what makes a Country Council effective, feel free to share them with OSAC s Senior Coordinator for Outreach Programming. The contents of this unclassified report in no way represent the policies, views, or attitudes of the United States Department of State, or the United States Government, except as otherwise noted (e.g., travel advisories, public statements). The report was compiled from various open sources and unclassified embassy reporting. Please note that all OSAC products are for internal U.S. private sector security purposes only. Publishing or otherwise distributing OSAC-derived information in a manner inconsistent with this policy may result in the discontinuation of OSAC support.

2 OSAC Country Councils & Outreach Bulletin OSAC Public/Private Sector Travel: Trip Two Following the success of the trip to Erbil and Baghdad, Iraq, OSAC continued its joint public/private sector travel in May, with a trip beginning at a Mexico security-themed conference in Houston, Texas, followed by onward travel to Monterrey, Mexico City, Rio de Janeiro, and Sao Paulo. OSAC s Acting Executive Director, Pete Ford, and Manager for Regional Analysis, Brent Heminger, joined John McClurg, Vice President of Global Security for Dell, Inc. and current OSAC co-chair, on the two-week trip, which included various Country Council meetings and briefings with embassy and consulate staff. Dell generously hosted a large gathering of the Sao Paulo Country Council at its facility in Campinas, Brazil. The next iteration of this joint public/private sector travel will take place in mid- October and is likely to include stops in Tokyo, Shanghai, and Seoul. Councils Operating in Challenging Environments Tokyo, Japan Despite the continued environmental challenges and crisis that took place in Japan in early 2011, the Tokyo Country Council reconvened on May 19 to discuss lessons learned from the earthquakes, tsunami, and nuclear reactor damage crisis. The Council plans to resume regular meetings every third Thursday of the month at 4:00 p.m., location TBA. Kandahar, Afghanistan The Kandahar Country Council launched in June as a sub-chapter of the Kabul Country Council. Thirty representatives were present from throughout the region, with a total of 13 Implementing Partners having a presence. Topics of discussion included personnel recovery, CIT design and operations, threat reporting, OSAC regional design, future meetings, and open discussion. Ideas for future meetings include the deep-dive concept, whereby the Council will provide an unclassified version of assessments identified as of interest to the group. Ongoing topics of concern include Afghan licensing of Personal Security Contracts (PSCs) and threats to Implementing Partners. The group is also considering putting together a newsletter or other unclassified collaborative intelligence document for distribution. The group elected to meet regularly, on a bi-monthly basis to continue this dialogue. The proposed dates for the next meeting are scheduled either for the first week of August, or the first week of September-so stay tuned! Sanaa, Yemen The Sanaa Country Council also continues to operate under tense conditions. In early June, RSO sponsored a meeting with invitations sent to a cross-section of the OSAC constituency, to include representatives from the energy sector, NGOs, and faith-based organizations. While only four organizations were present, scores of respondents noted that due to the turmoil in-country, their personnel had been temporarily moved to other countries in the region. RSO is confident that once the security situation improves, the Sanaa Country Council will resume its activities. Page 2

3 Produced by the Research and Information Support Center (RISC) Upcoming Country Council Meetings & Outreach Events Country Council Meeting: Cancun, Mexico (June 21) Country Council Meeting: Mexico City, Mexico (June 23) Corporate Espionage & Global Security Workshop: Los Angeles, California (June 27) Country Council Meeting: Kabul, Afghanistan (July 9) Country Council Meeting: Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (July 10) Best Practices for Crisis Management and Evacuation: Washington, D.C. (July 13-14) OSAC College & University Health, Safety, and Security Seminar: Arcadia University (August 8) New Council Launches or Re-launches OSAC is pleased to highlight the following Country Councils that have recently launched or re-launched: Karachi: The Karachi Country Council launched in December of 2010 and held its second meeting in April at the Karachi Sheraton Hotel. Over 30 heads of security of American organizations attended. The former Karachi Chief of Citizen Police Liaison Committee, Jameel Yusuf, gave an informative lecture on the Threat Environment and Operational Challenges for Businesses in Pakistan. The presentation provided a historical outline of the challenges terrorism poses for businesses operating in Pakistan, its root causes, and what businesses can do to mitigate terrorists threats, as well as ways to protect themselves. Additionally, Vice Consul at U.S. Consulate Karachi, Jennifer Bridgers, gave an informative presentation on the U.S. State Department Travel Advisories and Warnings that was followed by a Q&A session. The Council s by-laws were approved, and sub-committees are being reviewed by the Steering Committee to suit various business interests, including the hotel, IT, and textile industries. The next meeting will be held in late June or mid July, and the Steering Committee hopes to have a speaker from the police department that can give an overview of the latest security situation in the city. The Committee is also working to develop security workshops for future meetings based on membership requests. For more information about the Council please contact Zahoor Basir at BashirZ@state.gov. Kinshasa: This Council successfully launched on May 27; the attendants represented a cross -section of OSAC s constituency. Issues of concern included the upcoming elections and security concerns in the eastern part of Congo DRC. The creation of a mining sub-group was also discussed. The Council expects to meet on a monthly basis and will select leadership in the coming weeks. Abuja: OSAC s Abuja Country Council launch was held the day after the Nigerian National Police Force Headquarters were bombed, a significant security incident in the city, but still saw nearly 40 representatives from companies, NGOs, and faith-based groups attend the meeting. The U.S. Ambassador to Nigeria opened the meeting, and the Council looks forward to populating its Country Council Content area on OSAC.gov! Page 3

4 Overseas Security Advisory Council Innovative Country Council Efforts As noted elsewhere in this report, Mexico is currently home to six vibrant Country Councils, the majority found along its border with the U.S. Each Council has its own identity, membership, leadership, and issues of concern. Multiple Councils can also be found throughout India (Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, and Kolkata) and Australia (Perth, Sydney, and Melbourne). RSOs operating in larger countries may want to consider forming separate Country Councils to facilitate ease of travel for Council members and a more individualized portfolio. The Manama, Bahrain Country Council operates a dynamic information-sharing mechanism in a near-daily listserv that reaches hundreds of addresses. Recently, the Council made its membership aware of new disembarkation cards that now need to be completed by anyone who needs an entry visa on arrival. For example, this includes all non-residents including British and American nationals who do not have a Bahraini passport or do not have existing residency and a CPR. The noted that this will affect new visitors, as well as those who fly back and forth to renew their three-month visit visas; in addition, a copy of the card was attached to the . Maintaining an informative listserv is an excellent way to ensure all Council members are familiar with not only developing security trends, but also policy changes that may directly affect how Council members conduct business or live in-country. Furthermore, the Manama Country Council learned of the new arrival procedures from the Eastern Province (Saudi Arabia) Country Council. This reinforces the benefits of keeping neighbouring Councils apprised of developments (security or otherwise) in your own location! In 2010, the Asuncion Country Council signed an MOU with local police in which OSAC donated computers, desks, air conditioners, a printer, wireless internet, and a website hosting to the Police Public Relations Bureau. Today, the Council hopes to participate in training the local police force on effectively utilizing the donated equipment and plans to continue to closely monitor the progress of this initiative. Supporting local police is a proven method of success for Country Councils worldwide! Fresh Idea for a Council: Incident Analysis Each month, OSAC will use this space to offer a new idea for Country Councils. At a recent June meeting, the San Salvador Country Council leadership reviewed a robust crime mapping program it has created in cooperation with the RSO and the U.S. Embassy. The crime mapping program allows the Council members to geospatially tag criminal incidents that occur throughout the greater San Salvador area, permitting both the RSO and the Council membership to determine trends and specific areas of criminal concern. Taking a closer look at security incident locations can spark discussion and raise awareness among Council members of areas of concern.

5 Overseas Security Advisory Council Frequently Asked Questions Q: I m an RSO or Council co-chair and I want to tell you about my great meeting who should I contact? A: You re encouraged to send re-caps of your recent meetings to the member of OSAC s Outreach team who covers your specific region; learning more about your meetings helps us maintain a better understanding of your Council. Q: What are OSAC s Special Interest Groups? A: Years ago, with its membership blossoming, OSAC realized that security information and analysis might be more effective if tailored to certain segments of its constituency. Today, OSAC s Outreach unit has oversight of working groups for academia, NGOs, FBOs, small-midcap enterprises, and the maritime, hotel, energy, entertainment, and aviation industries. Each group has dedicated private sector leadership, an information-sharing mechanism (listservs, Google Groups, events, etc.), and a specific point-of-contact in the Outreach unit. Q: I m looking for some easy-to-implement suggestions on how to keep my Country Council vibrant and relevant. What are some of your ideas? A: Great question! Here are a few new ideas we ve recently heard about from Councils: Rotating the Meeting Venue A Council meeting can be held at the local embassy or consulate, a hotel or restaurant, a college campus, or a member facility keep it moving to keep your members interested! Our membership is incredibly diverse, with constituents operating anywhere from a cruise ship to a major amusement park think outside the box! Utilizing Membership Resources Some Councils find success in asking their members to present on areas of expertise, translate, or to share their technical know-how. In addition, let us know if you are traveling through a particular region and interested in stopping by a Country Council Meeting-our constituents are some of our greatest assets! We can help with presentations if you prefer, or feel free to create one yourself! Sharing Crisis Management Plans If your organization permits, Council members worldwide would greatly benefit from learning about your crisis management plans and tripwires. Consider scrubbing the plans of any proprietary information and sharing them at your next meeting! Compiling Recommended Open Source Resources Recently our Latin America Regional Council (LARC) surveyed its membership on the most useful and accurate open sources available, enabling its members to conduct better research Q: This is a great publication! I m an RSO or a Country Council Co-chair; how do I get my Country Council featured in an upcoming edition of this report? A: Thanks! Feel free to OSAC s Senior Coordinator for Country Councils & Outreach with any information you d like included in future versions of this report.