Time in Syria

Went to a meeting last night with the Deputy Prime Minister, an occasion which had been postponed several times late last year due to commitments of various parties. It was to discuss the possibility of some government fundng for the project, and how this should be managed. There were various bods from the Ministry of Education and the State Planning Commission present, and I had hoped to squeeze perhaps $30million from the process. In the event, we arrived at a commitment of over $100million spread across five years, funds to be made available via the Min of Ed. This was all so heartening I could hardly believe it. There are some small (I hope) issues to be sorted out in terms of accountability and reporting. In effect we now have the project almost entirely underwritten by government, which will give a huge boost to our fundraising, and enable us to commit fully to the big numbers we will be spending on the discovery centre over the next three years. Given the speed of the programme, the prospect of having to halt at any stage while we waited for funds had been a major worry.

In exchange, I have lent the Deputy PM my set of Blackadder DVDs. I think I may also send him Yes Minister.