West Bank/Gaza
AMIDEAST’s programs and
services in the West Bank and Gaza have taken on a much
more vital importance to Palestinians since the outbreak
of renewed violence, and Israeli-imposed curfews and restrictions
on freedom of movement. Adapting to a changing operational
environment and responding to shifting needs, AMIDEAST West
Bank and Gaza remains committed to strengthening Palestinian
human resources and institutions through educational and
training services, technical assistance, and scholarship
and grant programs for students and local nongovernmental
organizations.
As a subcontractor on the USAID-funded Civil Society and
Democracy Strengthening Project, AMIDEAST’s team of
five Civil Society Specialists in the West Bank provide
grants, capacity building, and technical assistance to Palestinian
civil society organizations, with the aim of increasing
the participation of civil society organizations in public
discourse, and strengthening the foundation for long-term
democratic development through more open and constructive
dialogue on public issues.
With funding from the Ford Foundation’s International
Fellowships Fund, AMIDEAST administers the International
Fellowships Program (IFP) for Palestine to provide higher
education opportunities to individuals from communities
that face a systematic lack of access to higher education.
More than 20 graduate-level fellowships were awarded in
2002 to disadvantaged Palestinians, who began studies in
2003 in countries all over the world.
Serving our broader mission of strengthening mutual understanding
and cooperation between Americans and the people of the
region, AMIDEAST also administers the Fulbright Foreign
Student Scholarship Program in the West Bank and Gaza, on
behalf of the U.S. Department of State. As many as 20 Palestinians
are nominated each year to pursue masters and doctoral programs
in the U.S., and to serve as unofficial cultural ambassadors
under this prestigious exchange program.
AMIDEAST also provides educational information services
to the general public, advising students about the U.S.
higher education system, the application process, and sources
of financial assistance. Our educational information centers
in Ramallah and Gaza City—the only Department of State-affiliated
education centers in Palestine—feature regularly scheduled
group advising sessions, well-stocked libraries, internet
access, and a large collection of resources for sale. Most
of the standardized tests required for admission to U.S.
colleges and universities, or for professional certifications,
can be taken at the computer-based test center in Ramallah,
or on paper in either Ramallah or Gaza City.
AMIDEAST’s long-term commitment to strengthening Palestinian
human resources and institutions started in 1957 when operations
began in East Jerusalem, and continued until the 1967 war.
The office reopened in 1978: the year that AMIDEAST launched
the USAID-funded Human Resource Development Project, which
for 16 years provided U.S.-based research grants and scholarships
for almost two-thirds of professors currently teaching in
Palestinian universities. A branch office was opened in
Gaza City in 1986, and one year later we began administering
the Fulbright Foreign Student Scholarship Program in Gaza.
The Gaza City office became a fully-fledged educational
information centr in 1998 and is today a full-service office.
A Ramallah project office was opened in early 2000, and
most services for the general public were relocated there
to a modern and expanded facility in June 2001, with the
Jerusalem office remaining the administrative hub for the
entire West Bank and Gaza.
- Advising library featuring hundreds of U.S. college and
university catalogues and materials, books, CD-ROMs, and
other resources on U.S. Higher education
- Individualized and group advising for students and professionals
- Certifications of the accreditation status of U.S. education
institutions
- Authentications, translations, and true copies of U.S.
Education credentials
- TOEFL®, GRE®, USMLE™, and other U.S. academic
and language tests provided in our office via computer or
in paper-based formats
- Qualified American, native English speaking trainers
- 12 levels of English language training, featuring the
communicative approach
- GRE and SAT® preparation courses
- Training courses and seminars for professionals in report
and proposal writing and business English, and tailored
courses of English for special purposes, including English
for IT users—available to the general public or under
contract to individual clients (on or off site)
- Comfortable, spacious classrooms, and low teacher-student
ratio.
- Fellowships for up to three years of masters or doctoral
study anywhere in the world, sponsored by the Ford Foundation
- Scholarships for two years of masters or doctoral study
in the U.S., sponsored by the U.S. Department of State
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