Dear Delegates on the Rule of Law Delegation to the UAE,

I want to update you on the final schedule of activities for your professional exchange meetings in the UAE. 

1. The final Professional Program schedule has been delayed due to the month-long Muslim holiday, Ramadan, which concludes on Friday.  As the UAE is primarily a Muslim country, this period is observed nationally and thus most people observe the holiday with their families and are out of the office.   Most government offices and universities have had limited staff during this time, impacting our ability to confirm some of the meetings. . The private sector law firms have confirmed your visits, yet we may need to adjust the timing of those meetings to accommodate the courts, government, and academic meetings.

With this background, my team is diligently working to confirm our meetings and we’re working with the U.S. Embassy to do so. Yet we may not have the final schedule until right before you depart, or upon your arrival.  I do anticipate that our meetings and site visits will proceed.  I anticipate that timing will most likely be adjusted, which impacts the scheduling of the accompanying guest schedule, but not the visits. 

Sometimes international travel brings challenges, and we certainly understand your frustration with this delay in receiving the final schedule. We will get it to you as soon as all the visits are confirmed.  In the event that you choose to withdraw from the program, given the delay and uncertainty of the professional program itinerary, I will fully refund your program cost.  I ask that if you wish to withdraw, that you let me know as soon as possible. Your delegation leader, Richard Pena, has been apprised of this delay, and he reminded me of the uncertainties that come with travel to other countries and the need to be flexible. Normally things work out in the end. 

2. On a separate note- for those planning on arriving early and wishing to stay in the same room at the hotel, please provide the following confirmation number to the hotel staff upon arrival to link your personal reservation with the group reservation.

Group reservation confirmation codes:

		First Name	Last Name	Room Type	Radisson Blu Abu Dhabi (22-24 Apr) Confirmation No.	Crowne Plaza Jumeirah Dubai (24-28 Apr) Confirmation No.
1		Richard	Pena	Double	52439575	101708
		Caroline	Pena
2		Kenneth	Owens	Double	52439576	101709
		Lena	Brown-Owen
3		Renee	Jefferson	Double	52439578	101710
		Wallace	Jefferson
4		Peter	Kelly II	Double	52439579	101711
		Susan	Barrett Kelly
5		Daniel	McGlynn	Triple	52439581	101712
		Terezinha	McGlynn
		Natasha	McGlynn		52439584	101715
6		Charles	Bernstein	Single	52439583	101714
7		Jaclanel	McFarland	Single	52439585	101716
8		David	Kahn	Single	52439586	101717

I apologize for the delay and challenges this may present. I will continue to communicate with you throughout the week as the plans continue to unfold.

Please let me know if you have concerns or questions.

My sincere apologies,

Dawn 

Dawn Davis

Director, Citizen Ambassadors Program

202-545-6830 (office)

ddavis@culturalvistas.org

www.citizenambassador.org

Cultural Vistas
1250 H Street NW Suite 300
Washington, DC 20005