Welcome to the Public Affairs Section (PAS) of the Embassy of the United States of America in Ouagadougou. The Public Affairs Section consists of three facilities-- the American Cultural Center (ACC), the Information Resource Center (IRC), and the American Language Center (ALC). Our Section consists of 15 locally employed staff and one American officer (the Public Affairs Officer or "PAO").

Our mission is to tell people living in Burkina Faso about America and American values such as democracy and free enterprise.   We call this public diplomacy because our goal is to reach the public with this message.  We do this through a variety of mechanisms -- movies, conferences, discussions, and debates at the ACC; educational and cultural exchange programs that bring U.S. citizens to Burkina Faso and that send Burkinabé to the U.S.; educational advising to encourage qualified Burkinabé to study in the U.S.; library, CD-ROM, and internet resources made available to the public at the IRC; information distribution and book discussions at the IRC; and English language instruction at the ALC.  We are also responsible for explaining U.S. policies to the press and the media in Burkina Faso.

To carry out our mission we work closely with other sections of the American Embassy and with Burkinabé citizens and institutions, including government officials and representatives of non-governmental organizations.