From 10 June to 25 June, the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) Fellowship programme will welcome its new group of fellows. Twelve emerging leaders from across the Middle East and North Africa will visit European and American cities. These include Berlin, Paris, Brussels, New York City, Washington D.C. and Philadelphia.
Like previous years, this year’s fellows have been carefully selected by the programme’s selection committee from a large number of applications.
The UNAOC’s Fellowship Programme focuses on creating opportunities for young leaders, across the Arab world and the West, to increase mutual understanding through experiential learning and direct interaction with civil society. This intense programme is expected to be intellectually and humanly enriching for all the fellows as well as for the participants in the organized meetings.
The Fellows will be travelling to six cities in 15 days, meeting with decision makers, media leaders, local communities, grassroots, and government officials along the way. The aim of the visits is to create new alliances, enhance cross-cultural cooperation, and improve understanding between the Western and the Arab world.
The journey will begin in the United States. On May 10, in New York City, the fellows will have a chance to meet with Dr Jeffrey Sachs. They will then volunteer at the Bowery Mission, a faith based organization. Following this, they will visit a number of American cities, including Washington D.C. and Philadelphia. In Washington, the fellows will meet with US State Department officials.
In Berlin, the group will participate in a federal press conference given by Angela Merkel’s spokesperson, Mr. Steffen Seibert. In Paris, the fellows will visit a French suburb, and in Brussels, the fellows will meet NATO staff members.
More information will be posted these coming days including their bios and the fellowship blog to follow us in this experience! For now please follow us on Facebook!
For more info on the programme please visit our fellowship page!
The programme is made possible thanks to a grant of the Federal Foreign office of Germany and the Hermes Foundation and is developed in partnership with the League of Arab States, the British Council, Islamic Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO), Qatar Committee for the Alliance of Civilizations, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), the Institute for International Education and The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Jordan.
The Fellowship Programme is the first and only young leaders’ exchange programme developed jointly with partners and resources from the Arab and Muslim world, Europe, and the United States.