“A New Beginning” in Action: My Experiences with US-Saudi Partnerships in Education and Entrepreneurship
15 Mar 2010 in Education, Employment, Civic Participation
Alaa Al-Mizyen is our Youth Ambassador from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. She is currently a student at Dar Al-Hekma College where she is majoring in banking and finance.
It was on June 4, 2009 that US President Barack Hussein Obama summoned a new beginning in relations between the United States and the Middle East at Cairo University:
"I've come here to Cairo to seek a new beginning between the United States and Muslims around the world, one based on mutual interest and mutual respect, and one based upon the truth that America and Islam are not exclusive and need not be in competition. Instead, they overlap, and share common principles -- principles of justice and progress; tolerance and the dignity of all human beings."
President Obama went on to address the means with which he envisioned the US and Middle East restoring trust, building on joint efforts toward progress in education, economic development, and science and technology. When they were pronounced last year, the commitments made by President Obama were mere visions: anticipated, yes, yet vague in instrumentation. Today, however, President Obama's promise of a new beginning is being realized through numerous cross-cultural partnerships, the most noted being the upcoming Presidential Summit on Entrepreneurship which aims to deepen ties between business leaders, foundations, and social entrepreneurs in the United States and Muslim-majority countries (MMC), including their minority populations, and Muslim communities around the world.
Included in the administration’s outreach strategy are various US-Saudi partnerships. I have been fortunate enough to participate in two of the most prominent examples of such outreach: first, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's town hall meeting at Dar Al-Hekma College and second, the US-Saudi Women's Forum on Social Entrepreneurship. I had the opportunity to meet Secretary Clinton personally before her town hall meeting, during which I asked a question regarding future collaboration between the US and Middle East and North Africa region, specifically in the context of think tanks and research institutes. Her answer was positive: "[T]hat is an excellent idea. And we will follow up through the President and [Dar Al-Hekma Vice Dean Saleha] Abedin, and try to get some think tanks to start talking about how we could do that kind of partnership. I think that would be very useful." The type of progress I would hope to see on this front would be that of involving scholars and think tanks in the policymaking process.
The US-Saudi Women's Forum on Social Entrepreneurship, on the other hand, a joint initiative of ICF International, Dar Al-Hekma College, Babson College and the Wellesley Centers for Women, is an example of another cross-cultural partnership heralding the significance of education and economic development. Through this forum, approximately 120 students throughout Jeddah, including myself, were trained in business and leadership and provided with the tools to start their own social enterprises. As a result, my colleagues and I have established what is one of six social enterprises: Green Jeddah, Saudi Arabia's first youth-led eco-friendly initiative. We were very pleased to learn at the closing module of the Women’s Forum that Green Jeddah won first place in the competition! (Read more about the results of the competition.)
The question remains: Will these types of partnerships translate into newfound trust and long-term accord between the Middle East and the US? I give cultural exchanges, joint educational and research initiatives, and efforts to break down stereotypes my unwavering support. These partnerships really do work as catalysts in the rebuilding of trust between the two regions; allowing for an exchange of thought and endless opportunity for “new beginnings.” However, will these collective efforts deepen understanding and strengthen ties enough to achieve an end to, for example, the relentless Palestinian-Israeli conflict and other conflicts that plague the region?
I'm still holding my breath.
