OSU to feature Point Four Documentary

Monday, January 23, 2012

Oklahoma State University Division of International Studies and Outreach will show the movie premiere of The Point Four Documentary on Feb. 2, 2012 at 7 p.m. in the Wes Watkins Center Auditorium.

Other showings will take place on Feb. 3 in the same location at 10 a.m., 12 p.m. and
 2 p.m. Both days the event is free and open to the public.

Point Four highlights the history of Haramaya University, an agricultural technical campus in Ethiopia established in 1956 in collaboration with the United States government and with assistance from OSU.  Formerly known as Alemaya College, the institution was officially inaugurated by Emperor Haile Selassie on January 16, 1958.

“The documentary is about U.S. foreign policy that was successfully implemented in Ethiopia,” said Mel Tewahade, director of the Point Four Documentary. “The Alemaya College was established with the help of Oklahoma State University. They provided the expertise and Ethiopia provided the funds.”

The film borrows its name from President Harry Truman’s 1949 inaugural address in which he announced a technical assistance program for developing countries that later became known as “The Point Four Program.” 

 David Henneberry, Associate Vice President for International Studies and Outreach, said the Point Four program resulted in America’s close partnership with Ethiopia in helping to establish some of the country’s technical higher-education institutions.

“This documentary is a great way to showcase the history and partnership between OSU and Haramaya University and how two countries came together for the common good of the people,” Henneberry said.

In 1951, representatives of the United States and the Ethiopian government signed an agreement which promised cooperation in the exchange of technical knowledge and skill necessary to contribute to the development of economic resources and productive capacities of Ethiopia. 

The two countries signed an agreement in 1952 to start building the Imperial Ethiopian College of Agriculture and Mechanical Arts. It was decided that Henry Bennett, then president of OSU, head up a plan to assist Ethiopia with the creation of an agricultural college. With the support of members of the Point Four team and Haile Selassie himself, the project began in 1952.   
    
A site in the province of Harar was chosen and OSU began by establishing physical plants and bringing in staff to run academic and research programs. By the time the program came to an end in 1968, there were 300 highly trained American citizens that lived and worked in Ethiopia to build this university.

The movie features interviews with Americans who were involved with the program in Ethiopia as well as Ethiopian graduates from the school. 

“My inspiration to make the movie is to honor all the great people including my own father who worked hard to establish this agricultural college,” said Tewahade.  “As a kid I traveled to Alemaya from our house in Harar and I have a pleasant memory of the place.”

Watch the Point Four trailer at http://vimeo.com/29749974. For additional information about attending a showing of the movie e-mail Katie.reim@okstate.edu.