125. Memorandum From the Acting Director of the United States Information Agency (Wilson) to the Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs (Battle)1
SUBJECT
- USIA and Education
USIA’s educational activities, like all its work, are governed by the President’s Statement of Mission to the Director of January 25, 1963.2 The pertinent language is: “The mission of the United States Information Agency is to help achieve United States foreign policy objectives by (a) influencing public attitudes in other nations . . .” This precise statement is one aspect of our continuing efforts to make the information program as directly supporting of and responsive to U.S. foreign policy as is humanly possible.
Under recently tightened procedures for preparing country plans, every USIS activity, including exchanges, must be related to an identified and officially stated U.S. objective in the country involved, and approved by Washington.
The most unremitting vigilance is required to keep things going simply from inertia. A media program will tend to continue of its own weight and objectives sandwiched under it unless it is periodically re-examined and justified in terms of objectives. For example, we are now reviewing our support of bi-national centers throughout the world to see specifically if we are getting our money’s worth in progress toward objectives, or just continuing to tread a traditional path.
English teaching, exchanges, programs of American studies, school textbooks, and libraries are undoubtedly good in their own right. With our budget, we simply cannot afford to engage in activities because they are “a good thing to do”.
Our concept for the use of these tools is, then, the one we apply to all USIS programs. Their use is determined by the answers to the following five questions as they appear in the USIA Country Plan:
1. What are the specific objectives of the United States in “X” country, as determined by the Department of State or specified by the U.S. ambassador?
[Page 328]2. Which of these objectives can be supported by psychological or informational means?
3. What, then, become our psychological objectives in terms of changing attitudes?
4. What people, individuals or groups, must we influence to achieve each psychological objective?
5. What means—programs, projects, media—can we best use to reach these people?
It is in the answer to the fifth question that the role of educational activities is finally and specifically determined.
- Source: National Archives, RG 306, DIRCTR Sub Files, 1963–69, Bx 6–29 63–69: Acc: #72A5121, Entry UD WW 257, Box 11, Policy and Plans (IOP) General 1963. Confidential. Drafted by Anderson on May 14 and retyped on May 15 at Wilson’s request.↩
- See, Document 109.↩