Embassy Recent Events
Acropole Award Ceremony
On April 23rd, prizes were awarded for a Public Affairs section sponsored contest to design the renovation of the Acropole, a student cultural center at the University of Bamako. In the fall of 2008, the University of Bamako Student Association (AEEM) asked the Embassy for help to rehabilitate the Acropole. Although the embassy could not contribute construction funds, APAO Kathleen Peoples and Cultural Asisstant Aboubacar Cisse sought to contribute to the project in a creative way. They contacted a local private architectural university, ESAIU (Ecole Superieure d”Ingenerie, Architecture, et Urbanisme ) and challenged their architecture students to produce the best restoration design. Ths initative benefitted all parties: the University obtained several professional plans to submit for the bidding process; ESAIU students could apply their skills to a meaningful project, and ESAIU professors had a tangible source of teaching material for all levels. The embassy looks forward to hosting programs and speakers at the Acropole when its transformation is completed. The winning design was selected by judges representing the University, AEEM, and the Embassy’s Millennium Challenge Deputy Director, Gautham Ramnath.