MEPI in UAE

Ongoing MEPI Programs

The following provides descriptions of ongoing programs in Bahrain, as well as a list of Regional Programs in which Bahraini organizations or individuals participate.

UAE Programs

Dubai Men’s College

Building Teacher and Student Leadership Academies - Dr. Christine Coombe, English Faculty/Assessment Leader at the Dubai Men’s College (a post-secondary school in the UAE), will establish a UAE Teacher Leadership Academy (TLA) with an initial training program to be conducted in the UAE during the 2008-9 academic year.  Once established, the TLA plans to work in establishing a Student Leadership Academy.  The TLA will focus on leadership training for 50 local English language teachers at all levels (primary, secondary and tertiary) of an institution and/or organization and encourage women to take up leadership roles at their respective schools.  TLA trainees will then go on to develop a planned student leadership academy.  This MEPI-funded local grant project covers the set-up of the first phase of the Student Leadership Academy.

RAK Men's College

Students Examine the Role of the UAE Federal National Council in Public Policy - Mr. Ray La Bonte, Dean of Ras Al Khaimah (RAK) Men’s College, will lead a project through which RAK students will compare legislative processes in the UAE and the U.S., and examine the role and function of the UAE Federal National Council (FNC).  Students will then turn to the issue of education development and reform in the UAE as public policy issue through which to develop an in-depth understanding of the actual and potential role of the FNC in a public policy issue.  The project will combine academic course work, meetings with FNC and government officials, and participation in a mock FNC meeting. 

Dr. Fatima Al-Sayegh

Seeking Women’s Civic Activism in the UAE - UAE women are making strides in the business world and gaining recognition for their efforts and accomplishments in the private sector.  Their impact in civil society, however, is neither comparable to their impact in business, nor comparable to the civic impact of women in many other countries in the region.  This project will help identify key causes of limited civic activism among Emirati women, and address them with efforts to expand women’s contributions to civil society.  UAE University Professor, Dr. Fatema Al Sayegh, with the assistance of a polling expert and student volunteers, will implement a poll examining the knowledge and attitudes of Emirati University and professional women toward civic activism and NGOs.  Her summary report and analysis of the polling data will be the basis of a public seminar, and will be incorporated into a workshop for selected women on how to found and operate new NGOs in the UAE.  

City of Hope/Blue Feathers Pictures

Youth Engage in Anti-Trafficking Efforts- Dubai-based Blue Feather Pictures, will produce a short feature documentary film about human trafficking.  The film will include interviews and narratives with experienced human rights activists, victims of human trafficking, and other experts on the subject. Through City of Hope network of contacts, copies of the film will be offered to Embassies/Consulates of countries of trafficking origin for distribution in their home countries.  

ELS Language Center 

From Language Skills to Leadership Skills - Tools for Tomorrow's Leaders - This project will develop tomorrow’s leaders by encouraging the development of leadership skills, and raising awareness of and interest in civic engagement. The participants are high school seniors who have previously taken part in the MEPI-funded English Access Micro-scholarships Programs through ELS Language Centers. Having raised their English abilities, these 300 students will be invited to write a short essay on – “My Future as a Citizen and Leader in the UAE”. Ten winning students will receive additional English language instruction from ELS, together with communication and public speaking training and then the winning students will be interviewed for a chance to attend the MEPI Student Leaders Program. The culmination of this, will be an event where all ten students will give a presentation based on their essay, to which the press, MEPI Student Leader Alumni, current English Access Program students and the Alumni, teachers, students, parents and interested public officials will be invited to attend. The presentations will also be uploaded on to the ELS Virtual Access Club Website.

Regional Programs

UAE individuals or groups participate in the following programs, which take place in two or more countries in the region (Click Here to see descriptions of regional programs). MEPI reform pillars are listed in parentheses.

• ABA/CEELI - Arab Women's Legal Netwrok (AWLN) [Women]
• ABA/CEELI - Middle East Legal Development Initiative [Political]
• Academy for Educational Development and Sun Microsystems - G-8 BMENA Global Learning Portal [Education]
• Association Liaison Office - U.S.-Middle East University Partnerships [Education]
• Beyster Institute - Middle East Entrepreneur Training in the U.S. (MEET U.S.) [Economic]
• Booz Allen Hamilton - Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) and Free Trade Agreement (FTA) Technical Assistance [Economic]
• Chugach - Middle East Finance Corporation Due Diligence [Economic]
• Chugach - Partnership Schools Due Diligence and Education Summit [Education]
• CLDP - Commercial, Judicial, and Legal Reform [Economic]
• FSVC - Partnership for Financial Excellence Part II [Economic]
• ICNL - Middle East Associative Rights Initiative [Political]
• International Finance Corporation - G-8 BMENA Technical Assistance [Economic]
• IREX - Middle East North Africa Development Initiative Alliance (MENA Media) [Political]
• IREX - Media Sustainability Index [Political]
• No Peace Without Justice - Strengthening the Democracy Assistance Dialogue [Political] 
• Junior Achievments - Economic Education and Job Skills Training in the Middle East [Economic]
• OECD - Middle East and North Africa Investment for Development Initiative [Economic] 
• The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars - Enhancing the Role of Arab Women in the Legislative Process [Political]
• UNDP -  Global Democracy Barometer Project [Political]