Iraqis to visit state, learn public affairs

AUGUSTA – A delegation of Iraqis who could play more prominent roles in the war-torn country’s future will visit Maine’s capital and Portland as part of a program sponsored by the U.S. State Department.

The nine-member delegation will visit Augusta on Oct. 26, with tentative plans to meet with Gov. John Baldacci and other administration officials to learn how governmental institutions inform and involve the public.

Also on the group’s itinerary are stops in Portland on Oct. 27, and Washington, Dallas and Boston, Robert Wetzel, director of the International Visitors Program of the nonpartisan World Affairs Council of Maine, said Friday.

The Portland-based nonprofit council is contracted with the State Department to arrange the Iraqis’ visit, said Wetzel, who pushed for Maine’s being chosen as a destination for the group.

Wetzel said Maine stands out for its relatively small size, uncomplicated bureaucracy and close relationship between its government and people it serves.

He convinced program designers that the delegation could get “higher and faster” access to Maine’s government than it could in a much larger state.

Built on the concept of citizen diplomacy, the program does not select participants who are on the verge of leadership roles in other countries, but younger people who have potential to rise to positions of influence.

“It’s not about training them for a role,” Wetzel. “It’s not about giving them a particular point of view.”

Two of the program’s earlier participants who went on to prominent roles include Margaret Thatcher, who rose to become British prime minister, and German Chancellor Gerhard Schroder.

The delegation coming to Maine, which will include a State Department escort and translator, hopes to learn about communications in the executive and legislative branches and how programs, like the Partnership for a Tobacco Free Maine, operate.

The group also plans to visit Bates College in Lewiston to meet and dine with students, and to meet Oct. 27 with Portland city officials, journalists, U.S. Rep. Tom Allen and his communications staff.

Maine has also been on the itinerary for other groups from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Macedonia, Italy, Turkey and the Middle east through the program this year, said Wetzel.

On the Net: World Affairs Council of Maine: www.wacmaine.org, and National Council for International Visitors: www.nciv.org.