Egypt › Latest News

Latest News

 

Being a Teacher: by Yara Mohamed Tarek (Winning Entry from the AMIDEAST Essay Contest)

Below is the winning entry from the short essay contest at the Ain Shams EduMart Fair on the subject of "life dreams":

Being a teacher has always been my “life dream.” We, as children, teenagers or adults, keep learning throughout our whole lives,whether we learn from our parents, teachers or even from life.  I think nobody can deny that education is a miracle thus, I believe that teachers are “Miracle Workers” as Taylor Mali said.  I would like to be a teacher in order to teach the students from my heart and to lecture on love, responsibility, integrity and honesty.  I would like to teach the students that they will be tested on those various topics every single day of their lives also. I most sincerely believe that being a teacher means acting like a mother, a father, a friend, a brother, a mentor and sometimes acting like all of these things at the same time.  To sum up, my life dream is to make a difference in this world by teaching as I believe in Henry Adam’s quote which says “A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops.”

 

 

TOEIC Listening & Reading Test: EGP 100 for Limited Time

 
AMIDEAST is happy to announce that it has negotiated with the Educational Testing Service (ETS) to provide a major price break in Egypt for the next few months on world's leading test of English for everyday workplace use. See what you can gain, now for only EGP 100:

Employers: Don't take a chance and damage your profits and reputation. Make sure your employees have the English language skills they need to do their jobs right.

Educators: Make your program stand out by offering a credential for today's competitive job market and measure student progress in real world communication skills reliably and objectively.

Everyone: Strengthen your CV and move your career ahead by adding a TOEIC test score. Register now.


E-mail us or call 19263 today to learn more about testing at our test centers or at your institution.  

AMIDEAST Education Abroad Students Meet the Grand Mufti Dr. Ali Gomma

On Wednesday, February 27 Spring 2013 students and faculty from the AMIDEAST Education Abroad program visited Dar Al-Ifta in order to learn about the Islamic institution and have the honor of meeting the Grand Mufti Dr. Ali Gomma.  Students discussed with senior advisor Dr. Ibrahim Negm the role of the institution in the Muslim world and offered a gift of a silver plate to the Grand Mufti that reads:

AMIDEAST recognizes and honors the prominent role of the Grand Mufti Dr. Ali Gomaa in strengthening mutual understanding and cooperation between Americans and the peoples of the Muslim world.

Dr. Ali Gomma will be retiring from his post this week, where he has served as Grand Mufti since 2003.

 

AMIDEAST Program Director Matthew Kuehl presents a gift to the Grand Mufti Dr. Ali Gomma

Spring 2013 Egypt Education Abroad in the Arab World students greet the Grand Mufti Dr. Ali Gomma

------------------

TOEFL ITP Certificates Now Available to Demonstrate Your English Proficiency

-----------------

Citi Foundation Renews Support to AMIDEAST for the Implementation of Arab Women’s Entrepreneurship Project

-----------------


Country Director James Ketterer Named Research Fellow at the University of Southern California’s Center on Public Diplomacy.

The University of Southern California’s Center on Public Diplomacy (CPD) announced its new CPD Research Fellows for 2012-14:   AMIDEAST/Egypt Country Director James Ketterer was named along with Amelia Arsenault, assistant professor of communication at Georgia State University, and Craig Hayden, assistant professor in the School of International Service at American University.

Selected from a competitive pool of applicants, the three Research Fellows will each develop case studies focusing on the use of international education as a tool of American public diplomacy in Egypt, U.S. public diplomacy efforts online in southern Africa, and digital engagement conducted by the U.S. State Department.

The goal of Ketterer’s CPD Research project, International Student Mobility and Public Diplomacy after the Arab Spring: The Case of Egypt, is to understand the current status of international education in the bilateral relationship between the U.S. and Egypt and to examine the role enhanced educational ties can play in strengthening it. The study will examine the use of international education as a tool of American public diplomacy in repositioning the relationship between the United States and the Middle East and North Africa, producing results that will be of value to public diplomacy scholars and practitioners, the international education community, and prospective students. AMIDEAST/Egypt Program Associate Jeremy Booth is serving a research assistant on this project.
 
 
The website for CPD is here: http://uscpublicdiplomacy.org/

 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Partnership with GE Foundation to Train English Language

Teachers in the MENA Region

AMIDEAST’s new certificate program to launch in six countries

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. 

With English language proficiency linked to better opportunities for youth and improved business performance in the region, the need for qualified English teachers is now more critical than ever. This initiative seeks to address the severe shortage of certified English language teachers at a time when MENA educational systems cannot meet this demand and when few training options exist in the region. In a recent survey carried out across the MENA, 94% of the English teachers polled (representing all stages, from primary to university) conveyed a clear need for new, rigorous teacher certificate programs in their countries. Even those teachers with previous certification expressed interest in such training, recognizing the need to upgrade their skills and improve their job prospects through an internationally recognized program such as PCELT.

 

AMIDEAST will deliver PCELT in collaboration with World Learning/SIT Graduate Institute, a pioneer and global leader in teacher education. PCELT is based on SIT Graduate Institute’s highly regarded and accredited TESOL program, now adapted to the needs of current and prospective English teachers in the region.

 

The 120-hour PCELT program is unique in its flexible design and adaptable content that takes into account different classroom environments and diverse learner needs in the MENA. PCELT will help to raise the overall standards for the teaching of English in the region’s schools and universities by providing a cutting-edge curriculum that blends international best practices with topics of particular relevance for teachers throughout the MENA today.

The GE-funded PCELT pilot phase will enable AMIDEAST, in collaboration with SIT Graduate Institute, to train 12 cohorts of teachers representing a broad range of teaching contexts and learner needs; to create a pool of PCELT-certified master trainers from the local communities; to adapt the comprehensive curriculum to the diverse realities of teaching in the region; and, most importantly, to begin to measure the potential impact of such a program on English language learners with different personal, academic, and professional goals. Following this pilot phase, AMIDEAST will be prepared to deliver PCELT throughout the region, building on the organization’s extensive experience in English language training and long-standing relationships with regional educational institutions.

 “English communication skills are now more than ever a qualification that opens doors for citizens of all ages in this region. We are pleased and excited to announce this new partnership to make a real difference in teacher training in the Middle East and North Africa at this historic moment,” said AMIDEAST President and CEO, Theodore H. Kattouf. 

“We are proud to support AMIDEAST’s efforts to advance English language learning with a high-quality program for teachers that is grounded in international standards and suited to the needs of the region,” said GE Foundation President Bob Corcoran . “By focusing on teacher training, we can help build capacity in countries where qualified English teachers are in great demand in order to increase student’s language proficiency.”

Media Contacts:

Betsy Laun Maalouf 
+1 202 776 9612
bmaalouf@amideast.org

Notes to Editors

About AMIDEAST

Founded in 1951, AMIDEAST (www.amideast.org) is an American nonprofit organization engaged in international education, training, and development assistance. With over 20 field and project offices in the Middle East and North Africa and more than 650 dedicated professional staff, AMIDEAST provides programs and services to improve educational opportunity and quality, strengthen local institutions, and develop language and professional skills for success in the global economy. AMIDEAST offices are located in Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, UAE, West Bank/Gaza, and Yemen.

About GE Foundation

GE Foundation, the philanthropic organization of the General Electric Company, works to solve some of the world’s most difficult problems. In coordination with its partners, it supports U.S. and international education, developing health globally, the environment, public policy, human rights, and disaster relief around the globe.

About World Learning/SIT Graduate School

Accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC), World Learning SIT Graduate Institute (www.sit.edu) is the oldest provider of the Master of Arts in TESOL in the United States. Based in Vermont and Washington, DC, SIT Graduate Institute offers a range of programs including master’s degrees in international education, sustainable development, conflict transformation, and TESOL, as well as internationally focused certificate programs designed to advance teachers’ careers.

____________________________________________________

English Access Partnership Program (EAPP)

The English Access Partnership Program (EAPP) incorporates the fundamental features and goals of the Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) English Access Microscholarship Program as administered in Egypt by the Regional English Language Office (RELO) of the U.S. Embassy. The USAID-funded EAPP intends to lay the foundation for a more sustainable approach to such a program for underserved youth in Egypt. It accomplishes this by focusing on partnerships with local institutions: The Integrated Care Society libraries in Cairo and The Misrt Public Library in Al- Khrga, The New Valley governorate.

The program started mid March 2012 in Cairo in six locations:

Imbaba, Arab Almohamady, Dowaika, Agouza, Shoubra Al-khaima and Ein Helwan and early summer 2012 in the New Valley.

English Access Microscholarship Program- Egypt

Round VI 

The English Access Microscholarship Program provides a foundation of English language skills to talented 14- to 16 year-olds from disadvantaged populations in Egypt through after-school classes and intensive summer learning activities.  The program also gives participants the opportunity to gain an appreciation for American culture and democratic values, increases their ability to participate successfully in the socio-economic development of their countries, and improve their chances of participating in U.S. educational and exchange programs. The program promotes tolerance and the acceptance of cultural differences.  US cultural traditions and holidays are celebrated and fused with similar Egyptian events in an attempt to bridge cultural gaps.

The program will be implemented in seven governorates, four of which are new Access locations in Egypt.

  • Cairo
  • Alexandria
  • North Sinai
  • South Sinai (New)
  • Suez (New)
  • Hurghada (New)
  • Luxor (New) .

 

Tagged under: