News & Events: Current Events
Laura Bush Visits with Students in English Access Microscholarship
Program
Kuwait City, October 24, 2007—First Lady
Laura Bush met with students, faculty, and administrators
of the English Access Microscholarship Program, a high profile
initiative of the U.S. Department of State, during her visit
to Kuwait this week.
The English Access Microscholarship Program gives non-elite
14- to 18-year-old students the opportunity to study English
and participate in enrichment activities designed to improve
their appreciation for American democratic principles, civic
engagement, history, culture and values taught in an accurate
and responsible manner while aiming to enhance their educational
and employment opportunities and strengthen their ability
to contribute to the development of their societies. The
English Access Microscholarship Program is a worldwide program
of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA).
This successful program has reached 32,000 teenage students
in 50 countries since the U.S. Department of State introduced
the program in 2004. In the Middle East and North Africa,
the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs (NEA), Middle East Partnership
Initiative (MEPI) has contributed $16M to the program for
its implementation in the Middle East and North Africa.
AMIDEAST is pleased to have been selected by the U.S. Department
of State to implement the English Access Microscholarship
Program in eight Arab countries, including Kuwait, since
the program's inception. Currently, 100 Kuwaiti youth are
enrolled in the program, which is taught at AMIDEAST's centers;
and more than 400 Kuwaiti youth have benefited from it since
its inception.
During her visit, Mrs. Bush had an opportunity to learn
about this successful program and meet with "Access" students
and teachers, and teachers from Kuwait's Ministry of Education.
Four Access students—Hadyah Al-Nasser, Abdul Aziz Al-Mallik,
Abdul Rahman Malek, and Hadeer Saad Al-Mutairi—spoke about
their experiences and AMIDEAST's Country Director in Kuwait,
Maureen Aldakheel, provided an overview of the program.
Kuwait's Minister of Education Nouriya Al-Sabih extended
a welcome to Mrs. Bush in her remarks.
Mrs. Bush was accompanied by Charge' d'affaires Alan Misenheimer
and other U.S. Embassy staff. In addition to Minister Al-Sabih,
Kuwaiti officials included Assistant Under Secretary for
Public Education Mohammed Al-Kandary, Acting Under Secretary
Fahad Al-Qees, and Supervisor General of English Language
Teaching Sakina Gholum Ali.
"These students
that have talked to us are just two of the many bright
and ambitious young people who benefit from the U.S.
State Department's English Access Micro Scholarship
program. English has become a common global language,
in fields from science and technology to diplomacy
and business. By helping students in the Middle East
and in other regions improve their skills in English,
micro scholarships equip young people to compete for
better jobs, achieve higher degrees, and compete for
scholarships in universities around the world.
In addition to language instruction, these micro scholarships
support students as they learn about American culture
and democratic values. With this education, students
in Kuwait and in other participating nations become
more competitive to study-abroad exchanges with the
United States. And at the same time, these young people
become better prepared to contribute to social and
economic development in their home countries.
The English Access Micro Scholarship program is just
one of the many leadership development projects supported
by the United States Department's Middle East Partnership
Initiative. President Bush launched the Partnership
Initiative to improve education, to foster democratic
ideals, to stimulate economic growth, and to empower
women across the Middle East. In just four years,
the Middle East Partnership Initiative has started
more than 350 programs in 15 countries -- programs
that are improving lives throughout the Arab world."
- First Lady Laura Bush
For the full text of her speech, please click
here: http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2007/10/20071024.html |
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About AMIDEAST
America-Mideast Educational and Training Services, Inc.,
or AMIDEAST (www.amideast.org),
is a private, nonprofit organization that strengthens mutual
understanding and cooperation between Americans and the
peoples of the Middle East and North Africa. Every year,
AMIDEAST provides appropriate English language skills training,
educational advising, and testing services to hundreds of
thousands of students and professionals in the Middle East
and North Africa; supports numerous institutional development
projects in the region; and administers academic exchange
programs. Founded in 1951, AMIDEAST is headquartered in
Washington, DC, with a network of field offices in Egypt,
Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman, Tunisia, United
Arab Emirates, West Bank/Gaza, and Yemen.
About ECA
The Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA)
of the U.S. Department of State fosters mutual understanding
between the people of the United States and the people of
other countries around the world.
About MEPI
MEPI is a Presidential initiative to promote political,
economic and educational reform, and to empower women in
the Middle East and North Africa through results-oriented
programs, both regional and specific to individual countries.
Reform is important to the U.S. goal of ensuring that the
people of the region experience the benefits that come with
more open economies, greater educational opportunities,
and political freedom. More information can be found at
www.mepi.state.gov .
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