In a Nov. 16, 2012, speech, AMIDEAST President and CEO Theodore H. Kattouf underscored the vital role of education in ensuring a successful outcome of the revolutions in Egypt and elsewhere in the Middle East and North Africa. Addressing the joint annual benefit of the National Arab American Medical Association (NAAMA) and Egyptians Abroad in Development (EAD) in Chicago, he said, “A bright future for the region is one in which its many young men and women are able to improve their life circumstances and realize their dreams of political and social inclusion. The region must create many more jobs, but it must also prepare youth to have English language, IT, and critical thinking skills required in a 21st century global economy that is increasingly knowledge-based and high tech.”

In a little over a year, the Arab Women's Entrepreneurship Project (AWEP) — an AMIDEAST partnership with Citi Foundation to expand opportunities for entrepreneurship training for women in the Arab world — completed a first round of training and recently launched a second one. In all, nearly 150 women from six countries — Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, the UAE, Egypt and Jordan — are participating in these initial efforts, which are being implemented with generous support from Citi Foundation.

Washington, DC/Beirut, Lebanon, November 5, 2012—Led by Chairman Dr. Paul F. Boulos, President and COO of Innovyze Corporation, the AMIDEAST/Lebanon Advisory Board pledged $250,000 in new annual support for scholarships, entrepreneurship training, and workforce development initiatives in Lebanon during its recent meeting in Beirut. The two-year-old board also welcomed several new members, bringing its membership of prominent Lebanese business and civic leaders to 23.

واشنطن، دي سي/ - 8 أكتوبر 2012: أعلنت منظمة أمديست التعليمية عن تدشين المرحلة الثانية من برنامج المرأة العربية في تنظيم المشاريع في كل من جمهورية مصر العربية، ولبنان، والمغرب، والأردن بالتعاون مع مؤسسة سيتي الخيرية.

وسيوفر البرنامج، والذي بدأ في عام 2011، التدريب اللازم لِ 80 امرأة من ذوات الدخل المحدود ليبدأن بمشاريعهن الجديدة أو توسيع مشاريعهن الحالية بمعدل 20 امرأة في كل بلدٍ من البلدان الأربعة. وقد نظمت أميد إيست العام الفائت دورة تدريبية في المرحلة الأولى من البرنامج في لبنان والإمارات العربية المتحدة والكويت والمغرب. وامتدت الدورة على مدى ثلاثة أسابيع بهدف زيادة الوعي وتعليم المهارات الأساسية في إدارة الأعمال لهؤلاء النساء كوضع خطة عمل، وكيفية الحصول على قرض، والمحاسبة الأساسية والعامة. واتبع هذه الدورة فترة اشراف قمن خلالها النساء بتطبيق ما تعلمنه على مواجهة التحديات والعقبات التي قد يواجهنها هؤلاء النساء.

AMIDEAST strongly condemns the offensive film that has inflamed passions across the Middle East and abhors, as do the vast majority of Americans, the hateful intentions behind it. Such actions must not be allowed to undermine the bonds of friendship that exist between Americans and the peoples of the Middle East. AMIDEAST likewise strongly condemns the senseless violence that caused the deaths this week of four American diplomats in Libya, who were there to assist the Libyan people rebuild their country. Peaceful demonstrations are a right, but there is no justification for violence.

AMIDEAST mourns the loss of Dr. Fahim Qubain, who passed away in April at the age of 88. Qubain will be long remembered as the founder of the Hope Fund, an organization that in one decade has made a made a life-changing difference for nearly 70 young Palestinian men and women from refugee camps in Lebanon, Jordan, the West Bank and Gaza.

Washington, DC, July 9, 2012―AMIDEAST is pleased to announce that the Union for the Mediterranean labeled its Skills for Success project at its regular Senior Officials Meeting, which took place in Barcelona, Spain, on June 28, 2012. The Union for the Mediterranean (UfM), a multilateral partnership encompassing 43 countries from Europe and the Mediterranean Basin, promotes sustainable development projects in and among its member states.

After a project receives the UfM “label,” the UfM Secretariat facilitates its promotion, especially its financing needs. Once the project is launched, the Secretariat monitors its implementation, ensuring that criteria required for obtaining and keeping the UfM “project label” are being met.

Eight Deserving Students Win Scholarships for U.S. Study;
Four DKSSF Scholars Graduate.
 

AMIDEAST is pleased to announce that eight outstanding young men and women have received full scholarships covering their undergraduate studies through the Diana Kamal Scholarship Search Fund (DKSSF), an AMIDEAST initiative that seeks to open doors to educational opportunity by matching highly qualified, deserving Arab students with scholarships from U.S. institutions.  Barnard, Bryn Mawr, Concordia, Grinnell, and Wilson Colleges, and Adelphi, Harvard, and Vanderbilt Universities awarded the scholarships to the four men and four women, who come from Gaza, Jordan, Lebanon, Tunisia, and the West Bank.

Washington, DC, and Beirut, December 15, 2011—AMIDEAST is pleased to welcome five new members to the AMIDEAST/Lebanon Advisory Board (ALAB) of prominent Lebanese business and civic leaders. The board’s expansion comes within months of the ALAB’s second annual meeting in September 2011, when it pledged to provide $100,000 to support AMIDEAST/Lebanon’s efforts during the coming year in two key areas: scholarship assistance for deserving youth and entrepreneurship training.