2006 Archives
Press-Briefing Luncheon on the Cameroonian Diaspora
May 24, 2006
The Public Affairs Section of the U.S. Embassy in Yaoundé organized a press briefing luncheon for Ambassador Niels Marquardt upon his return from the United States. The Ambassador had met with the Cameroonian diaspora community the week before for a closed-press discussion on the role of the diaspora. To the Cameroonian press Ambassador Marquardt reiterated the positive change he had witnessed in the country and noted that all elements of society have a role in continuing to ameliorate Cameroon’s image abroad. He stressed the need for transparency in order to open up the investment climate plus the importance of including women in decision-making at all levels. Cameroonians invited to participate in the Silver Spring, Maryland, discussion shared their respective vantage points with the media.
The informal luncheon permitted a free exchange between those who were part of the discussion in the United States and those who can keep the debate alive. A participant summed up the general sentiment by saying that the Ambassador had helped open up the dialogue between the diaspora and Cameroonians in Cameroon, and that “it was now up to Cameroon civil society to organize itself, remain informed and exploit its own resources.” The U.S. participants announced a list of the Cameroonian diaspora would soon circulate in Cameroon. The exchange brought to mind a comment made by a leading local medical practitioner earlier in the month: “Not since the John F. Kennedy period have Americans seemed so accessible to us, and so involved in our community.”