came true. I learned a lot, espe-

cially about myself and others. Beside all the visits and activities

that I was given the opportunity

to experience, I was also grateful

to the United States because it

gave me the opportunity through

the MEPI program to meet differ-

ent people from the Arab world

and I can say now that I have

sisters and brothers from all over

the world.

Yasmina Boumerah

It all started when I read a note

at the university describing the U.S. Embassy’s educational ex-

change programs offered to the

Algerian students. After visiting

the website, I chose to apply for

the MEPI Leadership Program.

Following a long selection proc-ess I was selected with four other

Algerian students to take part in

the Middle East Partnership Ini-

tiative-Student Leaders Program,

a five-week program in the USA.

We first had to stay in George-

town University with 20 other

Middle Eastern students.

The GU program consisted in

main two parts, an academic part and a study tour.

The academic part was divided

into two kinds of classes. The

first was about the US history,

government, society.

The second one was about lead-ership skills which I have to say

was my favorite part. In this

course we focused on self devel-

opment and how to work until we

can reach our vision to make a

change, during that time we had

a lot of interesting site visits

such (Capitol Hill, White House,

Supreme Court...). At the end we

had to give a presentation and a final project about what we have

learnt. After two weeks in

Georgetown University we had to

leave to Wausau, there we spent six days with host families and

we also learnt a lot about com-

munity service and voluntary

work by visiting different places

like women community, the

neighbor place and the good

news project.

My host family was so kind and

lovely, they did their best to put me at ease and I really felt as if I

was a part of the family. I loved

them, and I now refer to them as

‘my American family’. I have

tried my best to represent Alge-

ria so I cooked for them some

Algerian specialties and put

henna on the hands of my Ameri-

can sister Maria. I am still in

touch with them via internet and it's amazing because my host

mother is a French teacher which

enables her to talk to my mom.

After this stay, our next destina-

tions were the states of Georgia

and Alabama where we learned a

lot about civil rights and about

Blacks in America and their fight

by visiting different museums. We also visited CNN and the

Coca Cola museum.

Five weeks passed and it was

time to leave. It was so hard to

say goodbye.

My experience was a dream that

A word from the Alumni

The Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI)

The Middle East Partnership

Initiative (MEPI) is a Presiden-

tial initiative founded to sup-

port economic, political, and

educational reform efforts in

the Middle East and champion

opportunity for all people of

the region, especially women

and youth.

The MEPI Students Leaders program

awards scholarships to outstanding

students for a five-week summer

intensive program in the United

States at a diverse network of ac-

credited institutions. Participants

enroll in courses on leadership prac-

tices and capacities at their individual

institutions for approximately four

weeks. All institutions will have par-

ticipants from multiple countries.

Following the academic residency

period, participants will join in an

educational study tour running ap-

proximately one week.

Deadline for applications for this

year’s program is February 3rd,

2010.

more info on:

http://algiers.usembassy.gov/mepi.html

DEPARTMENT OF STATE

January 2010 Issue 2

Inside this issue:

A word from the

Alumni

1

US Embassy on

Facebook

1

The Desert

Festival

2

U.S. Anthropolo-

gist in Bardo Mu-

seum

2

Interfaith Dialogue 2

RELO visit to Al-

geria

3

Up coming events 3

MEPI Participants from

different countries.

U.S. Embassy on

Facebook

3

Video contest

& ManUp

4

As part of the cooperation be-

tween the U.S. Embassy in Algiers and the Algerian Ministry of Envi-

ronment, Urban Development and Tourism, the First Nations Dance Company (FNDC), a Native

American dance troupe, was in-

vited to perform in the Interna-tional Festival of Desert People in

Timimoun, December 17th -18th, 2009.

The FNDC was created in 1991 in the Navajo’s reserve based in Fort

Defiance in Arizona. Their per-

formances consist mainly of Pow-wow Native American traditional dance and music. Their shows also include pieces of music played with

the local flutes.

The dancers all come from differ-ent tribes such as: the Kiowa, the Comanche, the Apache, the Mari-

copa, the Zuni, the Caddo, the Navajo, the Shoshone-Bannock, the Lakota, the Dakota, the Blood, the

Blackfoot, the Cree, the Choctaws and the Cherokee Indians, a reason why the FNDC’s members proudly say that they do not come from

Los Angeles, Chicago or New York, but that their dance company

is geographically located in an In-

dian reserve in Arizona, and it is one of the few dance troupes in the U.S.A and Canada that can

state this.

The FNDC is without any doubt one of the best known professional

Native American dance troupes in the world.

A.B

for a year of English lessons. The 1st place winner also received a

notebook computer. On December 10, Ambassador

Pearce hosted a reception at his residence in Algiers to honor the

three winners, guests included members from the different reli-gious communities in Algiers,

scouts, journalists and other em-

bassy’ contacts. The reception was a

good opportunity to:

Promoting mutual understanding and cross cultural and religious

exchanges

On the occasion of the holy

month of Ramadan and in conjunc-tion with the Algerian Muslim

Scouts and with the cooperation of

several local newspapers, PAS has sponsored an Interfaith Dialogue

writing competition for Algerian high school students. Over 60 students participated and sent

essays written in Arabic, French and even English. Members of the local clergy (Muslim and Christian) and press served as judges. Three

winners have been selected to have their essays published in the local press, and received a scholarship

Outreach to Algerian youth, a targeted audience for U.S. counter-

terrorism strategy.

Fostering the youth reflection and

writing skills.

W.S

A Native American dance troupe at the Desert Festival

Interfaith Dialogue Reception for Contest Winners

American Anthropologist Nicole Waguespack Assists Bardo Museum

tion at the end of 2010 or be-

ginning of 2011. Her visit

showed the USG’s commit-

ment to capacity building and

preservation of culture heri-

tage. Adila Talbi admits, “We

finally got these items classified,

thanks to our friends at the

American Embassy.” Talbi

discovered Waguespack on a French TV5 documentary and

notified the American Embassy

that she had found the person

she wanted to work with on

the Native American classifica-

tion and publication project.

We look forward to the publi-

cation and the opening of the

exhibit.

American anthropologist, Dr.

Nicole Waguespack traveled to

Algiers as a guest of the Bardo

Museum and of the U.S. Em-

bassy. During her stay, she

worked with Adila Talbi at the

museum daily to catalog items

for a major publication on dif-

ferent Native American arti-

facts (that the Bardo has had for over 50 years in the base-

ment) for a future exhibition.

The Bardo hopes to re-open,

after a long period of construc-

“We finally got

these items

classified,

thanks to our

friends at the

American

Embassy.”

Page 2 El-Djazair Alumni Newsletter

the First Nations Dance

Company (FNDC) per-forming in Timimoun, Algeria.

The Christian Clergy rep-

resentative reading one of the winning essays.

Regional English Lan-

guage Officer (RELO), Ms.

Ruth Petzold, visited Algeria on

December 13-18. During her

visit she trained teachers in

Algiers and Constantine on

how to improve their English

teaching methods through en-

gagement, participation, and

entertainment.

In Constantine the RELO met

with English Language Fellow,

George Boeseger, to monitor

his work at Ecole Normale et

Superieur and at Mentouri

University. The RELO also

conducted a workshop at the

American Corner for future

teachers of English.

While in Constantine, Petzold

observed an Access class in

session and trained Access

teachers on higher level tech-

niques to use with their stu-

dents. The RELO was also a

guest on Bonjour d’Algerie

(Good Morning Algeria) and

gave a 20 minute interview

about our English Language

Programs in Algeria. The pro-

gram has a 30% market share in

Algeria and is also watched by

more than 400,000 Algerians in

Algeria and those living abroad.

of the page can view comments

posted by the Public Affairs

Section and others. It is an-

other way to socially engage

our audience and to ensure

that we are using every possi-

ble tool to reach different Alge-

rian populations.

The U.S. Embassy in Algiers

inaugurated the Alumni and

Educational Advising Facebook

page.

The aim of the page is to offer

a place for commentary and

exchange about current pro-

grams and alumni experi-

ences. It is the perfect accom-

paniment to the El Djazair

Newsletter. Fans

RELO Ruth PETZOLD Visits Algiers

U.S. Embassy Algiers, Alumni & Education Advising on

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.: A Historical Perspective

award-winning documentary,

writer/director Thomas Fried-

man takes a look on Reverend

King's ideas, actions, and influ-

ence on the fight to end racial

segregation. Narrated by Ar-

thur Berghardt, the program's

highlights include rare archival

footage, photographs, and in-

terviews with King’s associ-

ates.

On the occasion of his birthday

celebration which occurs every

third Monday of the month of

January, the U.S. Embassy in

Algiers is organizing screenings

of this documentary on January

19th, 2010. The first one is in-

tended to the ACCESS pro-

gram students in Algiers and a

second to the Embassy com-

munity and contacts.

A unique documentary that

tells the story of Dr. Martin

Luther King, Jr.’s extraordinary

life.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was

a staunch advocate of peaceful

resistance to injustice and racial

violence; he stood at the vor-

tex of the U.S. civil rights

movement of the 1960s. He became a national leader, and

his death at the hands of an

assassin in 1968 was grieved by

both blacks and whites. In this

Upcoming

events at the

U.S. Embassy

Algiers

Page 3 Issue 2

-

Ruth PETZOLD—Regional English Lan-guage Officer-

All you need to know about educational programs and

academic exchanges available

for Algerians:

http://algiers.usembassy.gov/

Alumni Coordinator/Education Advisor at the U.S. Embassy:

Boussoufaa@state.gov

Create a Create a video short that completes the phrase “Democracy is…” The Prize

An all-expense-paid trip to Washington, D.C., New York and Hollywood.

Gala screenings of the winning videos in Hollywood, New York and Washington

Exposure to filmmakers and the U.S. film and television industry. Meetings with democracy advocates from government, media and civil society. The Timeline

SUBMISSION DEADLINE - MIDNIGHT GMT JANUARY 31, 2010.

Challenge semifinalists will be selected on or about March 31, 2010.

An independent jury will narrow down the semifinalists to 21 finalists on or about May 15, 2010.

The general public will vote online for the winning videos May 15 – June 15, 2010.

Seven winners – one each from the Western Hemisphere, Europe, Middle East/North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, South & Central Asia, East Asia/Pacific and one anonymous winner – will be announced in mid-June 2010. The six publicly identified winners, one from each of the six geographic regions, will travel to the United States to claim their prize in the fall of 2010. The Details You must be 18 or older to enter. Videos can be any style: fiction or documentary, animated or live action. Videos must be no longer than three minutes. Videos must be in English or have English subtitles. Contestants may enter anonymously, but anonymous winners cannot collect the grand prize. See contest site for a complete list of rules, www.videochallenge.america.gov.

DEPARTMENT OF STATE

Man Up as “a brilliant campaign which

captures the heart of young peo-

ple. Using music and soccer as a catalyst

for change is the best way to motivate

young leaders to transform how women

and girls are treated in every country, in

every city, in every home around the

world.”

“Violence against women is not just a

women’s issue, it affects all of us,” says

Jimmie Briggs, Man Up’s Co-Founder,

Executive Director and renowned

author, journalist and activist. “Everyone

needs to be part of the solution. We

owe it to our daughters and their daugh-

ters.”

Man Up’s call for applications falls during

16 Days of Activism to End Gender

Violence, an annual campaign that has

been used as an organizing strategy

Man Up Calls on Young Leaders to

Stop Violence Against Women at

Global Summit, World Cup 2010

Immediate Call for Applications

NEW YORK, December 9, 2009 –

During The World Cup 2010 in South

Africa, Man Up will bring together 200

young men and women from 50 coun-

tries at the launch of a five-year cam-

paign to stop violence against women

and girls. The call for applications to

become a delegate to Man Up’s Young

Leaders Summit is being announced

today.

Delegates to the Summit will learn how

to plan and execute initiatives in their

native countries and will be offered a

multitude of resources and guidance

from renowned non-governmental

organizations, athletes, musicians and

artists throughout the five-year cam-

paign. This same cadre of delegates will

gather again in Brazil at The World Cup

2014 to share their experiences and

demonstrate how youth can make the

world a safer place for women and girls.

“Half the world’s population is at risk,

and has been since the beginning of

recorded history,” declares Karen

Robinson, Co-Founder, Managing Direc-

tor of Man Up, and former Education

Director at Amnesty International,

referring to the statistic that one out of

every three women around the world

has been beaten, coerced into sex, or

otherwise abused in her lifetime. “Man

Up is committed to changing this persis-

tent injustice by supporting young peo-

ple in leading a grassroots, but globally

connected and supported movement.”

Yvonne Chaka Chaka, legendary South

African musician and UNICEF Goodwill

Ambassador who performed at the

opening ceremony of the FIFA Confed-

eration Cup in South Africa, describes

around the world to call for the elimina-

tion of all forms of violence against

women.

Visit Man Up’s website to download the

application: www.manupcampaign.org.

About Man Up

Man Up is an international campaign that

mobilizes young leaders in a movement

to stop violence against women and

girls. Harnessing the universal power of

music and sport, Man Up provides

innovative training, resources and sup-

port to young men and women and the

organizations that collaborate with

them.

Man Up was announced at the Clinton

Global Initiative in September 2009 in

partnership with Vital Voices Global

Partnership. Man Up is funded, in part,

by NoVo Foundation, V-Day and Ms.

Foundation, and is fiscally sponsored by

the Alliance for Peace Building, a 501(c)

(3) public charity.

For further information, contact:

Jessica Greer Morris

Communications Director

jessica@manupcampaign.org

ManUp Campaign a global initiative

ManUp is an international campaign that

mobilizes young leaders in a movement

to stop violence against women and girls