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.”

AMIDEAST is pleased to be the managing partner of the new Rhamna Skills training center in Benguerir, Morocco. Inaugurated by King Mohammed VI on Nov. 12, 2012, the youth center offers training in soft skills and entrepreneurship along with career coaching and guidance in order to assist youth in their efforts to enter the job market. It is the first of several youth training centers that Office Chérifien des Phosphates (OCP), Morocco's national phosphates company, is setting up as part of its OCP Skills initiative, which seeks to address the country's dual challenge of reducing its high youth unemployment rate and increasing the pool of domestic talent for the country's growth industries to tap.

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/Dubai, UAE, October 9, 2012— AMIDEAST and Citi Foundation announced today the launch of the second phase of the Arab Women’s Entrepreneurship Project (AWEP) designed to empower women entrepreneurs across the MENA region, and provide them with the necessary tools for success and sustainability, hence integrating them into the global economy.

The project, which commenced in 2011 as a joint program between AMIDEAST and Citi, will be implemented in Morocco, Lebanon, Egypt and Jordan during this second year. It is expected to benefit 80 women entrepreneurs from underserved backgrounds, at the rate of 20 per country.

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.

Some American students may have thought twice about travel and study in the Middle East or North Africa when the Arab Spring began sweeping across the region in 2011.  One year later, enrollments in AMIDEAST’s study abroad programs are up across the board, especially in Egypt, Jordan, and Morocco, as young Americans seek out in-region opportunities to hone Arabic language skills and improve their understanding of the region’s dynamics.

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, March 12, 2012—American educational organization AMIDEAST announced today that it has formed a partnership with the GE Foundation to fund the launch of a pilot certificate program for English teachers in six countries:  Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Morocco, Palestine, and Tunisia. AMIDEAST recently introduced the Professional Certificate in English Language Teaching (PCELT) program as a vehicle for improving the quality of English language teaching in schools in the Middle East and North Africa.  Generous funding from the GE Foundation will accelerate the implementation of this important initiative and help make PCELT available soon to the region’s teachers, particularly in public school systems that stand to benefit most from increasing their pool of competent English language teachers.