25970 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 87 / Thursday, May 4, 2000 / Notices

DEPARTMENT OF STATE

[Public Notice 3305]

Bureau of Educational and Cultural

Affairs Southeast Europe Youth

Leadership Program; Notice: Request

for Proposals

SUMMARY: The Office of Citizen

Exchanges, Youth Programs Division, of

the Bureau of Educational and Cultural

Affairs announces an open competition

for the Southeast Europe Youth

Leadership Program. Public and private

non-profit organizations meeting the

provisions described in IRS regulation

26 CFR 1.501(c) may submit proposals

to (A) recruit and select youth

participants in Albania, BosniaHerzegovina, Kosovo, and Montenegro

or (B) provide the youth with a U.S.-

based project focused on civic

education, leadership, and community

activism, or (C) both. Organizations

should apply to implement a grant for

at least 24 of the 60 participants.

Priority consideration will be given to

organizations that can do both parts

and/or can manage all of the Part A or

the Part B activities for all participants.

Program Information

Overview

Secondary school students and adults

(educators and/or community activists)

from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina,

Kosovo, and Montenegro will

participate in four-to six-week-long

projects in the United States with a

focus on civic education and youth

leadership. They will participate in

workshops, community service

activities, meetings with community

leaders, and discussion groups. This

project will serve the emerging priorities

of leadership training and civic

education for youth in Southeast

Europe, as well as providing an

introduction to the topics of citizen

activism for a civil society, conflict

resolution and intergroup dialogue.

The goals of the program are:

(1) To provide a civic education

program that helps the participants

understand civic participation and the

rights and responsibilities of citizens in

a democracy;

(2) To develop leadership skills

among secondary school students

appropriate to their needs; and

(3) To foster relationships among

youth from different ethnic and

religious groups based on their

commonalities.

ECA expects to award approximately

$294,000 for this program in grants to

no more than three organizations. An

organization may apply to administer

‘‘Part A,’’ ‘‘Part B,’’ or both. If necessary,

ECA will then match selected

organizations to administer the two

parts of the program.

Part A: An organization may apply to

administer the recruitment and

selection of participants in Albania,

Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo, and/or

Montenegro, and to conduct predeparture orientations and follow-up

debriefings.

Part B: An organization may apply to

implement the U.S.-based program for

the participants, including all

programmatic and logistical

arrangements for a group of 12 to 15

participants.

Part A and Part B: Organizations with

a capacity and desire to administer both

the in-country recruitment and selection

of participants and the U.S.

programming may apply to manage all

components of the project.

Guidelines

Timing: Grants should begin on or

about September 1, 2000, subject to the

availability of funds. The grant period

will be 15 months in duration. The

projects will take place in either January

2001 or during the summer of 2001.

Each project will be four to six weeks

in length (January projects will be no

more than four weeks).

Participants: The participants will be

(1) approximately 50 students, aged 15

to 18, who have demonstrated

leadership aptitude and an interest in

community service, and (2)

approximately ten adults who are

teachers, administrators, and/or

community leaders who work with

youth. Participants will be proficient in

English. The approximate number of

participants (both students and

educators) will be as follows: Albania—

18; Bosnia-Herzegovina—6; Kosovo—

18; Montenegro—18.

Criteria for selection of participants

will be strong leadership skills, an

interest in service to the community,

strong academic and social skills,

overall composure, and English

proficiency. It is important that two or

three participants attend or teach at the

same school or live in the same

community so that they have the

support of others upon their return

home.

Groups: The program will be divided

into four or five teams in order to

accommodate the proposed number of

participants in reasonably sized groups

and to offer diverse programming. Each

group will be a mix of students and

adult educators (e.g., 10 students and 2

teachers or community leaders). Each

applicant organization should apply to

implement a grant for at least 24

individuals.

The size of each group will be around

12 to 15 participants. Ideally, each

group should have participants

representing at least three of the four

geographic areas identified above, and

the ethnic groups within them, as

possible. These requirements may be

adjusted depending on the grant

recipient’s resources for recruitment and

selection, but the organizers must strive

for the broadest regional and ethnic

diversity. The Department of State and/

or its overseas representatives reserve

final approval of all selected

delegations.

Part A—Recruitment and Selection

The grant recipient will manage the

recruitment and selection of

participants in cooperation with the

Public Affairs Sections (PAS) at the U.S.

Embassies or other USG representative

offices in the region.

Part B—U.S. Program

Grants will be provided to U.S.-based

nonprofit organizations for designing

and implementing projects focusing on

leadership development, civic

education, community service,

computer training, and conflict

resolution. Each project will provide a

sampling of topics for breadth, with a

more complex exploration of one or two

of these topics for depth. Some activities

should be school-based, as feasible, and

the project will involve as much

interaction with American peers as

possible. The projects may take place in

up to three communities in order to

offer the participants exposure to the

variety of American life. Participants

will stay with host families for at least

two weeks of the project. Community

contributions to the program will be

expected.

Programs must comply with J–1 visa

regulations. Please be sure to refer to the

complete Solicitation Package—this

RFP, the Project Objectives, Goals, and

Implementation (POGI), and the

Proposal Submission Instructions

(PSI)—for further information.

Budget Guidelines

The total amount of funding available

for this project is $294,000 and may be

disbursed through grants to several

organizations. The Bureau reserves the

right to reduce, revise, or increase

proposal budgets in accordance with the

needs of the program and the

availability of funds. Organizations with

less than four years of experience in

conducting international exchange

programs will be eligible only for grants

of $60,000 or less for Part A of this

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 87 / Thursday, May 4, 2000 / Notices 25971

competition, and are not eligible at all

for Part B of this competition because

the minimum grant will exceed $60,000.

Applicants must submit a

comprehensive budget for the entire

program. There must be a summary

budget as well as breakdowns reflecting

both administrative and program

budgets. Applicants may provide

separate sub-budgets for each program

component, phase, location, or activity

to provide clarification.

Please refer to the complete

Solicitation Package. The POGI outlines

allowable costs; the PSI offers complete

budget guidelines and formatting

instructions.

Announcement Title and Number

All correspondence with the Bureau

concerning this RFP should reference

the above title and number ECA/PE/C–

00–56.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: The

Youth Programs Division, ECA/PE/C/

PY, Room 568, U.S. Department of State,

301 4th Street, SW, Washington, DC

20547, telephone: (202) 619–6299, fax:

(202) 619–5311; e-mail:

clantz@pd.state.gov to request a

Solicitation Package. The Solicitation

Package contains detailed award

criteria, required application forms,

specific budget instructions, and

standard guidelines for proposal

preparation. Please specify Bureau

Program Officer Carolyn Lantz on all

other inquiries and correspondence.

Please read the complete Federal

Register announcement before sending

inquiries or submitting proposals. Once

the RFP deadline has passed, Bureau

staff may not discuss this competition

with applicants until the proposal

review process has been completed.

To Download a Solicitation Package

Via Internet

The entire Solicitation Package may

be downloaded from the Bureau’s

website at http://exchanges.state.gov/

education/rfps. Please read all

information before downloading.

Deadline for Proposals

All proposal copies must be received

at the Bureau of Educational and

Cultural Affairs by 5 p.m. Washington,

DC time on Wednesday, June 21, 2000.

Faxed documents will not be accepted

at any time. Documents postmarked the

due date but received on a later date

will not be accepted. Each applicant

must ensure that the proposals are

received by the above deadline.

Applicants must follow all

instructions in the Solicitation Package.

The original and nine copies of the

application should be sent to: U.S.

Department of State, SA–44, Bureau of

Educational and Cultural Affairs, Ref.:

ECA/PE/C–00–56, Program

Management, ECA/EX/PM, Room 336,

301 4th Street, SW, Washington, DC

20547.

Applicants must also submit the

‘‘Executive Summary’’ and ‘‘Proposal

Narrative’’ sections of the proposal on a

3.5′′ diskette, formatted for DOS. These

documents must be provided in ASCII

text (DOS) format with a maximum line

length of 65 characters. The Bureau will

transmit these files electronically to U.S.

Department of State representatives

overseas for their review.

Diversity, Freedom and Democracy

Guidelines

Pursuant to the Bureau’s authorizing

legislation, programs must maintain a

non-political character and should be

balanced and representative of the

diversity of American political, social,

and cultural life. ‘‘Diversity’’ should be

interpreted in the broadest sense and

encompass differences including, but

not limited to ethnicity, race, gender,

religion, geographic location, socioeconomic status, and physical

challenges. Applicants are strongly

encouraged to adhere to the

advancement of this principle both in

program administration and in program

content. Please refer to the review

criteria under the ‘Support for Diversity’

section for specific suggestions on

incorporating diversity into the total

proposal. Public Law 104–319 provides

that ‘‘in carrying out programs of

educational and cultural exchange in

countries whose people do not fully

enjoy freedom and democracy,’’ the

Bureau ‘‘shall take appropriate steps to

provide opportunities for participation

in such programs to human rights and

democracy leaders of such countries.’’

Proposals should reflect advancement of

this goal in their program contents, to

the full extent deemed feasible.

Year 2000 Compliance Requirement

(Y2K Requirement)

The Year 2000 (Y2K) issue is a broad

operational and accounting problem

that could potentially prohibit

organizations from processing

information in accordance with Federal

management and program specific

requirements including data exchange

with the Bureau. The inability to

process information in accordance with

Federal requirements could result in

grantees’ being required to return funds

that have not been accounted for

properly.

The Bureau therefore requires all

organizations use Y2K compliant

systems including hardware, software,

and firmware. Systems must accurately

process data and dates (calculating,

comparing and sequencing) both before

and after the beginning of the year 2000

and correctly adjust for leap years.

Additional information addressing the

Y2K issue may be found at the General

Services Administration’s Office of

Information Technology website at

http://www.itpolicy.gsa.gov.

Review Process

The Bureau will acknowledge receipt

of all proposals and will review them

for technical eligibility. Proposals will

be deemed ineligible if they do not fully

adhere to the guidelines stated herein

and in the Solicitation Package. All

eligible proposals will be reviewed by

the program office, as well as

Department of State representatives

overseas, where appropriate. Eligible

proposals will be forwarded to panels of

Bureau officers for advisory review.

Proposals may also be reviewed by the

Office of the Legal Adviser or by other

Department elements. Final funding

decisions are at the discretion of the

Department of State’s Under Secretary

for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs.

Final technical authority for assistance

awards (grants or cooperative

agreements) resides with the Bureau’s

Grants Officer.

Authority

Overall grant making authority for

this program is contained in the Mutual

Educational and Cultural Exchange Act

of 1961, Public Law 87–256, as

amended, also known as the FulbrightHays Act. The purpose of the Act is ‘‘to

enable the Government of the United

States to increase mutual understanding

between the people of the United States

and the people of other countries . . .

; to strengthen the ties which unite us

with other nations by demonstrating the

educational and cultural interests,

developments, and achievements of the

people of the United States and other

nations... and thus to assist in the

development of friendly, sympathetic

and peaceful relations between the

United States and the other countries of

the world.’’ The funding authority for

the program above is provided through

Support for Eastern European

Democracy (SEED) legislation.

Section 566 of the FY 2000 Foreign

Operations Authorization Act restricts

most forms of assistance to countries,

entities, and municipalities which are

determined to harbor publicly indicted

war criminals in the former Yugoslavia.

On February 9, the Secretary [of State]

issued a determination that the

Republika Srpska and Serbia (excluding

Kosovo) were subject to Section 566

25972 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 87 / Thursday, May 4, 2000 / Notices

restrictions. On March 15, the Secretary

issued the determination . . . that

waived FOAA restrictions for the RS

and Serbia, but only for carefully

targeted categories of assistance. Certain

RS municipalities remain subject to a

comprehensive assistance ban. Any

assistance to them, except for

emergency foods or medical or

demining assistance, would require a

separate waiver for specified activities,

and must be justified on the basis that

achievement of Dayton goals provide an

overriding justification, e.g., minority

returns or concrete democratization

objectives. The assistance for Serbia is

carefully designed to be compatible

with standing U.S. policy against

providing significant assistance until

there is a transition to democracy in

Belgrade.

In the Republika Srpska, support for

. . . USAID and State public diplomacy

programs promoting democratization,

reconciliation, and free and

independent media . . . is exempt from

these restrictions. The municipalities of

Foca, Pale, and Prijedor are excluded

from this waiver, because competent

authorities have failed to take necessary

and significant steps to apprehend and

transfer war crimes indictees to the

International Criminal Tribunal for the

Former Yugoslavia. These

municipalities will not be eligible for

new U.S. assistance.

Notice

The terms and conditions published

in this RFP are binding and may not be

modified by any Bureau representative.

Explanatory information provided by

the Bureau that contradicts published

language will not be binding. Issuance

of the RFP does not constitute an award

commitment on the part of the

Government. The Bureau reserves the

right to reduce, revise, or increase

proposal budgets in accordance with the

needs of the program and the

availability of funds. Awards made will

be subject to periodic reporting and

evaluation requirements.

Notification

Final awards cannot be made until

funds have been appropriated by

Congress, allocated and committed

through internal Bureau procedures.

Dated: April 26, 2000.

Evelyn S. Lieberman,

Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and

Public Affairs, U.S. Department of State.

[FR Doc. 00–11024 Filed 5–3–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4710–11–P

OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES

TRADE REPRESENTATIVE

Generalized System of Preferences

(GSP); Initiation of a Review to

Consider the Designation of Nigeria as

a Beneficiary Developing Country

Under the GSP; Solicitation of Public

Comments Relating to the Designation

Criteria.

AGENCY: Office of the United States

Trade Representative.

ACTION: Notice and solicitation of public

comment with respect to the eligibility

of Nigeria for the GSP program.

SUMMARY: This notice announces the

initiation of a review to consider the

designation of Nigeria as a beneficiary

developing country under the GSP

program and solicits public comment

relating to the designation criteria.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: GSP

Subcommittee, Office of the United

States Trade Representative, 600 17th

Street, N.W., Room 518, Washington,

D.C. 20508. The telephone number is

(202) 395–6971.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

government of Nigeria has requested

that it be granted eligibility for

beneficiary status under the GSP

program. The Trade Policy Staff

Committee (TSPC) has initiated a review

to determine if Nigeria should be

designated as a beneficiary developing

country under the GSP program. A

country may not be designated a

beneficiary developing country, absent a

finding that such designation would be

in the economic interests of the United

States, if any one of several elements are

found, including: the country is a party

to an arrangement of countries and

participates in any action pursuant to

such arrangement, the effect of which is

to withhold supplies of vital commodity

resources from international trade or to

raise the price of such commodities to

an unreasonable level, and to cause

serious disruption of the world

economy; the provision by the country

of preferential treatment to products of

other developed countries which has a

significant adverse effect on U.S.

commerce; the expropriation by the

country of U.S.-owned property without

compensation; a failure by the country

to enforce arbitral awards in favor of

U.S. persons; the support by the country

of international terrorism; or a failure by

the country to take steps to protect

internationally recognized worker

rights. Other factors taken into account

in determining whether a country will

be designated a beneficiary developing

country include: the extent to which the

country has assured the United States

that it will provide market access for

U.S. goods; the extent to which the

country has taken action to reduce

trade-distorting investment practices

and policies; and the extent to which

the country is providing adequate and

effective protection of intellectual

property rights. The criteria for

designation are set forth in full in

section 502 of the Trade Act of 1974, as

amended (19 U.S.C. 2461 et seq.).

Interested parties are invited to

submit comments regarding the

eligibility of Nigeria for designation as

a GSP beneficiary developing country.

Submission of comments must be made

in English in 14 copies to the Chairman

of the GSP Subcommittee, Trade Policy

Staff Committee, and be received in

Room 518 at 600 17th Street, N.W.,

Washington, D.C. 20508, no later than 5

p.m. on Monday, July 10th. Except for

submission granted ‘‘business

confidential’’ status pursuant to 15 CFR

2003.6, information and comments

submitted regarding Nigeria will be

subject to public inspection by

appointment with the staff of the USTR

Public Reading Room. For an

appointment, please call Ms. Brenda

Webb at 202/395–6186. If the document

contains business confidential

information, 14 copies of a

nonconfidential version of the

submission along with 14 copies of the

confidential version must be submitted.

In addition, the submission should be

clearly marked ‘‘confidential’’ at the top

and bottom of each page of the

document. The version which does not

contain business confidential

information (the public version) should

also be clearly marked at the top and

bottom of each page (either ‘‘public

version’’ or ‘‘non-confidential’’).

H.J. Rosenbaum,

Assistant U.S. Trade Representative.

[FR Doc. 00–11071 Filed 5–3–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3190–01–M

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Office of the Secretary

Aviation Proceedings, Agreements

Filed During the Week Ending March

31, 2000

The following Agreements were filed

with the Department of Transportation

under the provisions of 49 Sections

U.S.C. 412 and 414. Answers may be

filed within 21 days after the filing of

the application.

Docket Number: OST–2000–7161.

Date Filed: March 29, 2000.

Parties: Members of the International

Air Transport Association.