A new report, Higher Education Reform in the Arab World, underscores the critical role of higher education in the restructuring of Arab economic and political institutions that is currently underway.  Authored by AMIDEAST Vice President Katherine Wilkens, the 11-page monograph links “the long term success or failure of today’s reform initiatives” to the ability of countries in the region “to place higher education where it belongs—as the engine of social and economic progress.”  

AMIDEAST is pleased to announce the appointment of James Ketterer as country director for Egypt. He assumes responsibility for AMIDEAST’s largest field operation, which includes field offices in Cairo and Alexandria, as well as activities that extend beyond Egypt’s two primary cities.

As part of the U.S.-Islamic World Forum, which met in Washington, DC, in mid April, Safwan Masri, Director of Columbia University’s Middle East Center in Amman, and Katherine Wilkens, AMIDEAST Vice President for Communications, co-chaired a Working Group on Higher Education in the Arab World. The group brought together a distinguished group of educators, specialists, and public sector officials from the United States and the Middle East to review the current state of higher education in the region and consider the key challenges facing reform today. Discussions over the three-day conference, which was held April 12–14, 2011, focused on three key challenges: Quality, Governance, and Educational Outcomes for Development.

A partnership between AMIDEAST and Bank of Beirut is helping Lebanese youth hone skills needed to enter the workforce and advance in Lebanon’s competitive job market.  Since November, AMIDEAST has joined with Bank of Beirut, one of Lebanon’s largest banks, to offer the “Successful U!” program as a way of addressing a variety of professional development needs that the country’s young adults ages 18–25 face in the early stages of their careers. 

AMIDEAST is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Chris Ludlow as Country Director for Iraq. After serving as acting country director since last December, he takes over the helm of AMIDEAST’s Iraq operation during a period of growth and expansion. Since resuming operations in Iraq in 2004, AMIDEAST has worked from its main office in Erbil to offer scholarship and exchange opportunities for the entire country. Last year saw the resumption of English language and test preparation programming at the Erbil site, as well as the addition of representation in major cities including Baghdad and Basra.

Unemployment among university graduates in Tunisia is a serious problem, and one that many believe contributed to the recent revolution there. The success of the government’s “free education for all” policy has enabled thousands of young Tunisians to receive university degrees over the past years. Unfortunately, however, many of them have graduated without acquiring key skills that employers are seeking. 

AMIDEAST will soon launch a Cisco Entrepreneur Institute in Ramallah, making the successful entrepreneurship training program available to aspiring entrepreneurs in the West Bank. High turnout for a demo workshop, co-sponsored by Souktel, underscored the strong interest in acquiring these types of skills in Palestine. AMIDEAST expects to hold the first Cisco Entrepreneur Institute workshops later this spring and has established a presence on Facebook, where it is actively sharing information of interest to prospective entrepreneurs.

As part of the Annual U.S.-Islamic World Forum hosted by the Brookings Institution's Saban Center and the Government of Qatar, AMIDEAST will convene a three-day workshop in Washington, DC, in April 2011 on higher education reform in the Arab World. 

AMIDEAST is pleased to welcome Charles “Chuck” Griffin as its new Country Director for Saudi Arabia. He joined AMIDEAST in early July and will oversee the start-up of AMIDEAST’s operations in the kingdom, which will entail establishing a full-service office in Riyadh that offers English language, test preparation, standardized testing, management training, and scholarship management programs and services. 

Egyptian jewelry designer Azza Fahmy surrounded by her daughters and young designers.

AMIDEAST will join forces with Egyptian jewelry designer Azza Fahmy and Cairo-based Townhouse Gallery to create an innovative arts program that will enable underprivileged youth with artistic inclination and talent to enter the burgeoning creative workforce in Egypt.