Youth leaders from the Maghreb and Middle East meet in Casablanca on February 24th. Photo: Mariam Tahiri
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* They praised MEPI program’s influence on their characters, cultural bridges it was building between east & west. *
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Magharebia, by Mariam Tahiri (Casablanca, Morocco, March 3, 2014) — Young leaders from across the Maghreb and Middle East met in Casablanca to showcase their recent projects and foreign training. About 100 students from Morocco, Jordan, Iraq, Syria, the Palestinian Territories and Israel participated in the February 21-24 event sponsored by the US-Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI).
The young people spent months at six US universities, where they received training in leadership and civil society. The goal is to apply those skills in their native countries. “These are projects addressing the urgent needs of their countries,” said Joseph Essex, director of Student Leaders Program. These students “received high-level training in civil society, democratic institutions, principles of freedom of expression, equality and social justice,” he said. Essex hailed the students for their commitment to solving the problems of the region.
Moroccan student Abderrahim Boulay said he grew up in a village and faced a lot of difficulties. He therefore sought to make a change for the benefit of his village. MEPI provided Boulay with the necessary skills he needed to carry out his project, leading him to develop an interest civil society and social service, which he said was part of the solution.
For her part, Kbira Gharem, a Moroccan graduate student in journalism and member of several associations, said, “I’ve had a unique and distinguished experience when I was chosen for the MEPI program and travelled to the United States.” Upon her return to Morocco, she worked on her social project, which aims at helping rural women working at argan oil co-operatives by giving them literacy classes and guiding them in marketing their products so they can have financial independence.
In his turn, Tunisian student Nizar Mohamed, also a member of a number of humanitarian associations, said he was proud of the distinguished and beneficial experience made available to him by the Student Leaders Program. ”After I visited five American states, I further consolidated my knowledge about the United States and improved my leadership skills,” he said. Nizar attended many seminars and workshops at Roger Williams University. Those focused on the attributes of leaders around the world, preparation and evaluation of projects and the effectiveness of active citizens’ contributions in their communities.
Participants attended workshops on social projects, empowerment of women and freedom of expression as graduates of former classes also shared their experiences, their projects and the extent of their implementation and success in their communities. Some of them noted that the Student Leaders Program also enabled them to discover various Middle Eastern and North African cultures and provided them with a new perspective about problems in their region.
The program also provided them with an opportunity to understand issues of mutual concern and created in them a joint feeling of responsibility towards humanitarian conditions in their environment. They praised the MEPI program’s influence on their characters and the cultural bridges it was building between the east and west.
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