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YES Alumni Chapter Updates Iraq After their return in June, the first group of Iraqi alumni applied their leadership skills in the pre-departure orientation for the second wave of YES students that left in August to begin their year in the United States. Alumni gave presentations and shared their own experiences in order for the students and their parents to be better prepared for the year. In August, alumni attended a YES picnic in northern Iraq. Alumni projects were discussed and planned. Visiting host dad and educational volunteer Bob Dohse, from Tucson, Arizona was visiting the region, and was able to attend the picnic and catch up with his former host son. YES alumnus Rebin applied and was selected to participate in the World Leadership Conference run by Hugh O'Brian Youth Leadership (HOBY) in Washington D.C. Rebin learned of the program through his involvement during his YES year in the Rincon Lions Club of Tucson, Arizona, who sponsored his participation. The annual HOBY conference brings high school students from around all over the world together for a weeklong program focusing on leadership skills and cross-cultural understanding. Events included panel sessions hosted by organizations such as the American Red Cross, America Online and the Freedom House, as well as visits to a multimedia musical performance, a baseball game and tours of local museums and monuments. Four hundred and twelve students from fourteen different countries participated, including five students representing Iraq. The week ended with a formal reception and banquet, at which Rebin was chosen to address the group as an "Ambassador of Iraq". "HOBY was really useful even for my life," Rebin said of the experience. "It was a really good lesson for me about how to be a good leader and it added to my exchange experience. Also it was really fun! I made really awesome friends and I visited lots of good places." Rebin plans to implement leadership skills learned during the HOBY week and from his YES year as a YES student. He is currently investigating opportunities to develop youth leadership and community service opportunities in Iraqi schools and communities. After his own exchange experience, he is focusing on creating ties between his Iraqi home town and his American host community as he hopes that other Americans and Iraqis can benefit from person-to-person cross-cultural exchange. The first project he has undertaken, along with two other Iraqi alumni and current YES student Muhammed, has been to conduct a joint reading program over the internet where students and teachers read and discuss books via email and video conferencing. They recently kicked off the program by reading and discussing their first book, "Hatchet", by Gary Paulsen.
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