Amideast annonce l'ouverture d'un programme du mepi qui offre des stages dans des entreprises us a de jeunes femmes/ cadres du monde arabe, âgées de 22 a 30 ans. Communiqué en Anglais
Mepi u.s. business internship program for young middle eastern women summary: The bureau of educational and cultural affairs is pleased to announce the fy 2004 competition for the middle east partnership initiative(mepi) u.s. business internship program for young middle eastern women. the program is designed to provide 40 talented young women, ages 22-30, an opportunity to learn management and business skills. the project will include a four-week multidisciplinary academic orientation that will be followed by internships in american corporations. participant recruitment will be conducted by amideast. the deadline for applications is april 5, 2004. finalists will be announced in early may 2004. participants will begin the program on august 1, 2004.
2. background: the fy 2004 mepi u.s. business internship program for young middle eastern women is the inaugural year for the program. the project is supported through funding from the middle east partnership initiative (mepi). mepi is a presidential initiative to support economic, political, and educational reform efforts in the middle east and champion opportunity for all people of the region, especially women and youth.
3. program design: the program will begin on august 1, 2004, in washington, dc, with a three-day orientation program. following the orienation participants will attend a four-week interdisciplinary academic program, including coursework in management, finance, accounting, business strategy, marketing, organizational behavior, information technology, governance and ethics. on or about september 1, 2004, participants will begin three or six-month management internships, depending on their professional background, or three-month entry-level internships in american corporations. cultural enrichment and monitoring will be provided throughout the program. the program will fund international and domestic travel, housing and living stipends in the u.s., and health insurance. the u.s. portion of the program will be administered by a u.s. non-profit organization and/or a u.s. university. eca and nea/ppd are paneling proposals from 17 partner organization program proposals that were received.
this eca panel will select the u.s. partner organization in march 2004. copies of these proposals are available from robert greenan ([email protected]), if interested.
4. eligibility: the mepi u.s. business internship program for young middle eastern women is open to participants between the ages of 22 and 30 from algeria, bahrain, egypt, iraq (excluding iraqi expatriates), israel (limited to the israeli arab sector), jordan, kuwait, lebanon, morocco, oman, qatar, saudi arabia, syria (funding for syrian participant will come from eca), tunisia, united arab emirates, west bank/gaza and yemen. the program is intended for participants who have received, at a minimum, an undergraduate degree from a recognized academic institution in one of the eligible countries and have demonstrated an interest in professional growth in the business sector of their economies.
applicants who are currently enrolled in a u.s. academic program, who are living and/or working in the u.s., and/or who have previously participated in a program sponsored or funded by the u.s. government and who have not fulfilled their two-year home residency requirement by the time of application are not eligible for program. competition for the program will be open, merit-based, and fair to all applicants. applicants will be evaluated based on academic excellence, leadership potential, proficiency in written and spoken english (with a minimum toefl score of 550), maturity, and flexibility and suitability to operate successfully in an american corporate environment. selected applicants must also demonstrate a sufficient level of information technology knowledge and word processing ability to operate in a u.s. business at the appropriate entry or management level.
5. recruitment: recruitment and nomination of candidates for this project are the responsibility of amideast in collaboration with eca. amideast should work closely with the u.s. embassy public affairs sections throughout the recruitment and selection process, especially in those countries where amideast does not have a permanent presence. recruitment will begin on february 27, 2004. recruitment efforts will specifically target young middle eastern women outside of the traditional urban areas in economically disadvantaged sectors.
6. selection: in-country interview panels will be comprised of representatives from the public affairs section of u.s. embassies, embassy economic/commercial sections, locally qualified businessmen/women, ngo officials, and alumni of usg exchange programs. a review panel in washington d.c., including representatives of eca and mepi, will make the final selection of participants. eca anticipates supporting40 participants.
7. pre-departure orientation: amideast will provide a pre-departure briefing, including distribution of explanatory materials on the u.s. given the heightened security issues facing foreign visitors and travelers to the u.s., this pre-departure orientation may also include the participants, immediate and extended families.
8. alumni activities: amideast will be required to promote communication and networking among the alumnae through an enrichment workshop. this workshop will be held approximately six months after the participants have returned to their countries and will last 2-3 days. the exact date and location for the workshop has not yet been determined. the workshop will enable the participants to network and to advance the skill sets they acquired during the internship project. amideast will also create and edit a quarterly newsletter for the anticipated alumnae network. the contents will encompass professional information as well as alumnae reports. the bureau and post will be closely consulted during the development and implementation of the alumnae activities.
9. additional information: ds 2019s for the program participants will be issued by the u.s. partner organization. the program does not support j-2 visa for spouses or dependents of program participants.
Eca and mepi look forward to working with posts on this new initiative. questions should be directed to eca program officer robert greenan at : [email protected] powell .
