The American jazz band the Ari Roland Quartet was in Benin the first week of December 2018 as part of a cultural exchange program of the United States Embassy Cotonou. This quartet of musicians from New York participated in exchange sessions with students and Beninese artists. During their stay, the group performed free concerts, including at the Place du Souvenir on Sunday December 2, 2018, a ...
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By U.S. Embassy Cotonou | 10 December, 2018 | Topics:
Art & Culture, News
| Tags: music
CDA Laura Hruby visited two schools in Bouka and Derassi on Monday November 19. She saw first hand the results of USDA-CRS Food For Education program. The program aims at increasing school attendance by providing a nourishing meal. The program also educated students, families and community members on good sanitation, food preparation, and stock management ...
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By U.S. Embassy Cotonou | 28 November, 2018 | Topics:
News
Ambassador’s Introductory Statement Departure Press Roundtable September 13, 2018, 10am, Embassy MPR (TBC) Thank you very much for joining me here today. I will be leaving Benin shortly and appreciate this opportunity to share with you some of the accomplishments of the U.S. Mission in Benin over the last three years. These accomplishments have ...
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By U.S. Embassy Cotonou | 17 October, 2018 | Topics:
News, Press Releases
On September 25, 2013, the U.S. Embassy Chargé in Benin Laura Hruby officially handed over two mobile booths to the recently installed Republican Police. The donation aims to assist the police in serving citizens better by meeting their needs and ensuring security. The endowment comes along with a number of efforts by the U.S. Embassy ...
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By U.S. Embassy Cotonou | 25 September, 2018 | Topics:
News, Press Releases
OUIDAH— September 1st, 2018 : The U.S. Embassy Chargé Laura Hruby, and the Mayor of Ouidah Célestine Adjanonhoun, attended the closing of a girls’ basketball camp at the Regional Institute for Public Health (IRSP) in Ouidah. Known as Special Envoy Basketball Camp, the camp was organized by the U.S. Embassy and NGO OLADE, with the ...
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By U.S. Embassy Cotonou | 6 September, 2018 | Topics:
News, Press Releases
| Tags: GirlsEmpowerment, SportsDiplomacy
As part of the Disaster Management Preparedness cooperation, the North Dakota National Guard, through the Embassy and US AFRICOM, offered two containers of equipment and materials to Benin’s Fire Brigade. Following a request made by the Ministry of National Defense on December 2016, the Embassy requested the assistance of AFRICOM and the State Partnership Program ...
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By U.S. Embassy Cotonou | 29 August, 2018 | Topics:
News
From July 23-28, 2018, the Idriss Déby Itno amphitheater of the University of Abomey-Calavi (UAC) hosted the Democracy Workshops (ADEMO), organized by the Benin Yali Alumni Association, in collaboration with U.S. Embassy Cotonou. As part of the workshops, about 1,000 Beninese young leaders received training on the functioning of the branches of central and local ...
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By U.S. Embassy Cotonou | 6 August, 2018 | Topics:
News
15 journalists from print, radio, and television media took part in a training on investigative journalism from July 2-6 in Cotonou. The training was initiated by the Public Affairs Section of the U.S. Embassy in Cotonou. Daniel Glick, the trainer and journalist, discussed with Beninese journalists to the concept of investigative journalism, the rights and ...
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By U.S. Embassy Cotonou | 10 July, 2018 | Topics:
Art & Culture, News
U.S. Embassy Reiterates Commitment to Support Benin in Eradicating Trafficking in Persons ********** The U.S. Department of State has removed Benin from the watch list on the 2018 annual Trafficking in Persons Report. However, Benin remains ranked as a Tier 2 country, which indicates that despite its efforts, the West African country has yet to ...
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By U.S. Embassy Cotonou | 29 June, 2018 | Topics:
News, Press Releases, Reports
Angelle Kwemo, CEO of Rimsom Strategies, a firm that provides international trade advisory and strategic advice to multidimensional entities, gave her first training session to Beninese women entrepreneurs on April 3 at Obama Center, University of Abomey-Calavi. This training which consisted in sharing strategies with participants to grow their businesses, comes as part of a ...
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By U.S. Embassy Cotonou | 3 April, 2018 | Topics:
News
On Saturday, February 24, PAS Cotonou held the second edition of the MLK Slam Poetry Contest, in collaboration with local media institute ‘’L’Institut Superieur des Métiers de l’Audiovisuel’’ (ISMA). Over 100 Beninese submitted expressions of interest, audio files, and videos seeking to compete in either the junior (under 14) or senior (over 14) division. 17 ...
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By U.S. Embassy Cotonou | 28 February, 2018 | Topics:
Art & Culture, Education, News
| Tags: slam
In 2016, an invasive crop pest called the fall armyworm (FAW) was first confirmed in Africa. Native to the Americas, FAW can feed on 80 different crop species including maize, a staple food consumed by over 300 million African smallholder farm families. The crop pest has since been found in over 30 African countries, posing ...
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By U.S. Embassy Cotonou | 16 February, 2018 | Topics:
Events, News
PAS Cotonou organized Benin’s first ever English Clubs Summit, which gathered 132 English club leaders from all over the country for a three-day training and networking program. The program, funded by a grant from Embassy Cotonou, was implemented by the Benin National Teachers of English Association (BNTEA) in partnership with “Titigweti English Club,” the largest ...
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By U.S. Embassy Cotonou | 26 January, 2018 | Topics:
English Language Learning, News
| Tags: English learning, Program
COTONOU – July 18, 2017: The Beninese YALI Alumni Association (BYAA) organized a clean up campaign at the Cotonou Civil Prison, Hubert Koutoukou Maga National University Hospital Center (CNHU-HKM) and at the University of Abomey-Calavi. The purpose of the initiative was to commemorate Mandela Day; celebrated every July 18 in tribute to former South African ...
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By U.S. Embassy Cotonou | 18 July, 2017 | Topics:
News, Press Releases
COTONOU- The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and USAID handed over essential equipment for neonatal health to the Minister of Health, Dr Alassane Seidou in a ceremony at the Central Supply of Essential Medicines and Medical Consumables (CAME) in Cotonou on July 17. “It is estimated that 37,000 children under five die each year in ...
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By U.S. Embassy Cotonou | 17 July, 2017 | Topics:
News, Press Releases
COTONOU- July 11, 2017: The handbook of procedure of the narcotics cases in Benin is a compendium of good practices in the repression of the offenses related to the narcotics in Benin. This document, which benefited from the technical and financial support of the Embassy of the United States of America, was drafted by Beninese ...
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By U.S. Embassy Cotonou | 11 July, 2017 | Topics:
News, Press Releases
Ambassador Lucy Tamlyn and Embassy Cotonou invited members celebrated the 241st anniversary of the Declaration of Independence of the United States of America, by inviting members of the government, heads of civil society, and institutions on Thursday, June 29, 2017. Representative of the government of Benin, Minister of Justice Joseph Djogbenou praised the long standing ...
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By U.S. Embassy Cotonou | 29 June, 2017 | Topics:
News
$403 Million USD Millennium Challenge Corporation Benin Agreement Enters into Force, Launching Projects focused on Power Sector ********** COTONOU, BENIN: On June 22, 2017 the Minister in Charge of Planning and Development, Abdouaye Bio Tchané, the official representative of President Patrice Talon, and Ambassador of the United States of America to Benin Lucy Tamlyn presided ...
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By U.S. Embassy Cotonou | 22 June, 2017 | Topics:
News, Press Releases
COTONOU-06 March 2017: The Mission to Benin hosted a panel discussion of female members of law enforcement as part of the International Women’s Day on March 8. Active and retired female police officers, gendarmes, and magistrates spoke about their careers and the constraints related to to sexual harassment and discrimination. The panel of personalities included: ...
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By U.S. Embassy Cotonou | 6 March, 2017 | Topics:
Ambassador, News, Press Releases
When a new contest is launched, it will be advertised here. This contest is only open to library members. If you want to be a library member, just fill the form at
http://tinyurl.com/cotonouacc and two weeks later you come to the Embassy to pick your member card. It is simple as that!
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By U.S. Embassy Cotonou | 10 August, 2016 | Topics:
Events, News
| Tags: Contest, IRC, Library
On december 3, 2015, before a crowd of nearly 1,000 students, Mission’s Public Affairs Officer, Paco Perez, award-winning actor, Djimon Hounsou, USAID/BENIN HIV-AIDS specialist Tom Van Boven, and Vice Prime Minister of Benin, Professor Francois Abiola all provided passionate remarks commemorating world AIDS day. Students from seven private universities who participated in a “campus without ...
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By U.S. Embassy Cotonou | 9 July, 2016 | Topics:
News
On behalf of the United States, I would like to express my deepest condolences to the family of former President Mathieu Kerekou. The United States mourns with the people of Benin. President Kerekou served as an example to the entire African continent by moving Benin firmly in the direction of democratic governance. During his elected ...
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By U.S. Embassy Cotonou | 8 July, 2016 | Topics:
Former U.S. Government Leaders, News
| Tags: John Kerry
Ambassador Lucy Tamlyn provided keynote remark at the launch of the Junior AWEP program created through a PAS grant on November 24. Thirty Beninese teenage and early 20’s females from four different regions of Benin attended the launch which was followed by an interactive session led by successful Beninese businesswomen. The Junior AWEPs are female ...
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By U.S. Embassy Cotonou | 24 November, 2015 | Topics:
News
U.S. Ambassador Lucy Tamlyn presented her diplomatic credentials to Beninese President Boni Yayi on November 8 at the Presidential Palace. President Boni Yayi and the Ambassador Tamlyn engaged in far reaching discussion concerning the relationship between the two countries. During her remarks Ambassador Tamlyn focused on the need for the two countries to work together ...
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By U.S. Embassy Cotonou | 8 November, 2015 | Topics:
News
On Friday, September 25, 2015, the Chargé d’Affaires of the U.S. Mission, Todd Whatley, and Benin’s Minister of Interior, Placide Azandé, presided over the closing ceremony of a four-week border security training in Benin. The Marines and sailors with the Special-Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force Crisis Response-Africa came to Benin for a month-long theater security ...
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By U.S. Embassy Cotonou | 25 September, 2015 | Topics:
News
From August 10-15, Mission Cotonou collaborated with Africa Regional Services (ARS) for the second annual Camp Davis youth basketball camp. Former NBA player, Coach Tommy Davis, conducted the week-long camp, teaching basketball fundamentals to 50 young players (23 boys and 27 girls) between the ages of 12-18, as well as training 10 local coaches. The ...
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By U.S. Embassy Cotonou | 15 August, 2015 | Topics:
News
Following a successful joint entrepreneurship camp last year, U.S. Embassies in Lome and Cotonou teamed up to bring together 40 Beninese and 60 Togolese female entrepreneurs in Lomé for a week-long training program known as the Binational Economic Independence Course for Women (BEICW). Embassy Lome hosted the program which consisted of presentations from successful entrepreneurs ...
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By U.S. Embassy Cotonou | 7 August, 2015 | Topics:
News
More than 800 guests attended the first official event at the New Embassy Compound which celebrated the 239th anniversary of U.S. Independence with an environmental theme. During his remarks, Chargé d’Affaires Todd Whatley reminded the crowd that one of America’s Founding Fathers, Benjamin Franklin, was also one of the fathers of the environmental movement in ...
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By U.S. Embassy Cotonou | 8 July, 2015 | Topics:
News
The New Embassy Compound was officially inaugurated on July 8th. The Chargé d’Affaires, Todd Whatley, and the Under Secretary of State for Management, Patrick Kennedy, presided over the inauguration ceremony. The ribbon cutting took place in the presence of Benin’s Prime Minister, Lionel Zinsou, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Saliou Akadiri, and many other officials ...
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By U.S. Embassy Cotonou | 8 July, 2015 | Topics:
News
On May 30th, Embassy Cotonou’s Public Affairs Section organized for several Mission employees, including Post’s newly arrived Marines, to attend a little-league baseball practice and deliver an equipment donation to participants of the youth baseball club, Baseball in Benin. The club is sponsored by a U.S.-based NGO and seeks to introduce baseball, a largely unknown ...
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By U.S. Embassy Cotonou | 30 May, 2015 | Topics:
News
Mission Benin partnered with the Beninese Biking Federation, a local telecom company, and several environmental NGOs to organize its first ever “Bike for the Planet” event on May 15. Sixty participants competed, racing along a sandy beach road 25 miles from Ouidah to Cotonou. The initiative rallied young Beninese around a new sport while promoting ...
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By U.S. Embassy Cotonou | 15 May, 2015 | Topics:
News
On April 10, Ambassador Michael Raynor presided over the official launch of Benin’s African Women Entrepreneurship Program(AWEP) chapter. AWEP was initially created as part of the International Visitor’s Leadership Program in 2010 by then Secretary of State Clinton as part of President Obama’s Entrepreneurship Summit in Washington, and it has since flourished to become a ...
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By U.S. Embassy Cotonou | 10 April, 2015 | Topics:
News
On March 17th Ambassador Raynor attended the launch of 2014 YALI Washington Mandela Fellow Nicase Degvano’s YALI Club in Bohicon. Nicaise was one of six young Beninese leaders who traveled to the United States last summer through President Obama’s Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI). Through this program, the fellows attended U.S. universities and received training ...
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By U.S. Embassy Cotonou | 17 March, 2015 | Topics:
News
In celebration of women’s history month, Ambassador Raynor traveled to northern Benin to support several women’s empowerment programs including the donation of Nouveaux Horizons books and One World Futbol soccer balls to a rare all-girls public high school in Parakou, located seven hours north of Cotonou. Ambassador Raynor’s remarks highlighted the tangible economic and community ...
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By U.S. Embassy Cotonou | 15 March, 2015 | Topics:
News
Ambassador Raynor traveled to northern Benin to inaugurate several projects funded through the Ambassador’s Special Self-Help Fund. Through this grass-roots program, the U.S. Embassy is able to respond quickly to the needs and requests of local communities for development projects that will have an immediate impact. Inaugurations included rice shellers in Malanville and Djidja, food ...
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By U.S. Embassy Cotonou | 15 March, 2015 | Topics:
News
The U.S. Mission organized a week-long leadership training for over 2,200 young Beninese from all 77 of Benin’s communes. This training aimed to provided participants with hands-on leadership and entrepreneurship skills, and was conducted in partnership with the local national university and the van Duyse Entrepreneurial and Leadership Institute. The training was a great success, ...
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By U.S. Embassy Cotonou | 27 February, 2015 | Topics:
News
In honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the American Cultural Center hosted the first edition of the Open Mic Night on January 21, 2015. Five competitors performed in each of four categories: song, dance, slam/poetry and speech. Over 200 people attended the event including students, artists, and embassy staff. In her opening remarks, Ms. ...
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By U.S. Embassy Cotonou | 21 January, 2015 | Topics:
News
