Early 1960s
OPERATION INSIGHT
In the early 1960s, Amideast organized several tours under the banner “Operation Insight“ for American businessmen, teachers, and other professionals to visit the Middle East and establish new ties with their government officials and their counterparts in the private sector. The program benefited from the leadership of prominent individuals such as the well-known scholar and Princeton educator, Dr. Philip K. Hitti.
Early 1960s
INTRODUCING TECHNICAL SERVICES
As the decade began, it was clear that Amideast could contribute to the development of human resources. In addition to offering educational services, our field offices began to offer practical and vocational training. From 1964–68, our Jordan office delivered training to farms and villages through the Jordan Valley Mobile Craft Training Center, teaching people to repair and maintain mechanized agricultural equipment. Other projects soon followed, including bringing key personnel from the Suez Canal Authority in Egypt to the United States in 1966 to hone vital management and technical skills.
1967
RESPONDING TO A REGIONAL CRISIS
Recognizing the need to organize the efforts of some 110 separate organizations concerned about the needs of refugees displaced by the Six-Day War, Amideast helped organize and host a conference at Middle East House in August and a national conference in Detroit in October. These efforts were instrumental in the establishment of American Near East Refugee Aid, Inc., better known today as ANERA.
1970
PARTNERING WITH THE FULBRIGHT PROGRAM
Our partnership with the U.S. Department of State’s flagship Fulbright program begins, with Amideast administering the Fulbright Foreign Student Program for grantees from Jordan, Lebanon, and the West Bank. Soon other countries were added: Algeria (1972), Egypt (1979), Morocco (1980), Tunisia (1981), Bahrain (1985), and Gaza (1987). In later years, Amideast also supported Fulbright students from Iraq, Libya, the UAE, Oman, Syria, Yemen, Kuwait, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia, as well as those from Cyprus, Iran, Sudan, Mauritania, Pakistan, and Turkey. In the partnership’s first 50 years, Amideast administered Fulbright scholarships for 3,200 grantees.
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Washington, DC 20036-3363
Hours: Monday-Friday, 8:30-5:30
Phone: 202-776-9600
Fax: 202-776-7000
E-Mail: inquiries@amideast.org
