Multi-Country Programs
The following lists both ongoing and completed programs involving two or more countries. [MEPI program areas are listed in parentheses.]
Ongoing Multi-Country Programs
Arab Women's Legal Network (AWLN) [Women] – Coordinated by the American Bar Association (ABA)/CEELI, this program supports a professional association for women who work in the legal profession in the region. AWLN will enable exchange of expertise and support on some of the key issues affecting women and the law, including the lack of information for women in the legal profession, including networking and mentoring; insufficient awareness of women's legal rights and issues concerning equality before the law; and the need for comparative interpretations and applications of Sharia' law. Launched in July 2005,AWLN is registered and based in Jordan, but has a regional focus.
Middle East Legal Development Initiative [Governance] – this program educates foreign public defenders, prosecutors, and judges on critical principles of code reform for criminal and civil law, constitutional reform, human rights, and methods to preserve judicial independence. It will foster the creation of a Middle East Justice Institute, a regional framework to support capacity development of individuals and organizations working in the judicial and legal sphere.
G-8 BMENA Global Learning Portal [Education] – in partnership with Sun Microsystems and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the Academy for Educational Development (AED) is engaged in an educator-focused private-public alliance to provide modernized and improved curricula and teaching methods for schools across the Middle East and North Africa. Working with MEPI, AED is developing the Arabic version of the portal.
Student Organizations Building Civil Scoity [Governance, Education] - The program establishes student organizations to build civil society participation and drive the creation of civil society organizations in the Gulf.
Building a Network of Civil Society Organizations in the Arab World [Governance]- The grant supports the creation of a network of civil society organizations organized around themes of constitutional and electoral reform, rule of law, the role of the media, participation of women and youth in political reform. Capacity-building activities include: 1) creation of a Web site and an independent regional committee for elections monitoring; 2) workshops on media and elections and women and youth in the political process; 3) research on civil society and democracy in the Arab world; 4) an annual meeting for the new network; and 5) a conference of civil society organizations, researchers, business representatives, and government officials.
U.S.-Middle East University Partnership Program [Education] – in cooperation with the Association Liaison Office for University Cooperation in Development (ALO) and U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), this program supports institutional linkages between U.S. and regional colleges and universities. The aim of this initiative is to strengthen programs in such disciplines as business and economics, information and communication technology; government and legal studies, teacher education, and gender studies
MEPI Student Leaders Study of the U.S. Institutes [Education] – In cooperation with the Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA), this intensive five-week programs introduces highly motivated students from the Middle East and North Africa to American culture and values, and provides instruction in leadership, problem-solving, and entrepreneurial skills. In January 2005, the alumni of the Summer 2004 MEPI Student Leaders Institutes attended an alumni conference in Tunis, where students presented the projects they designed and implemented in their local communities.
Beyster Institute
Middle East Entrepreneur Training in the U.S. (MEET US) [Economic] – This program provides skills training, professional networking, and alumni support systems to increase the managerial and entrepreneurial leadership skills for growing companies. The program, which takes place in the United States, helps promising executives, managers, and entrepreneurs throughout the Middle East and North Africa realize their aspirations to build successful, growing enterprises that will contribute to economic growth and community well being.
Businesswomen Summit [Economic] - Nearly 250 dynamic businesswomen from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) joined women executives from the United States for the 2006 MENA Businesswomen’s Summit October 29-November 1 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. At the summit, participants expanded their networks, discussed real-world experiences and built management and leadership skills as they took entrepreneurship in the region to a new level.
Technical Assistance for Trade [Economic] – In this program, Booz Allen Hamilton provides expert technical analysis of existing trade institutions and legal and regulatory regimes as identified during bilateral discussions in support of Trade and Investment Framework Agreements (TIFA) and Free Trade Agreements (FTA) with the U.S. Government. Following the identification of any weaknesses and/or desired restructuring, the program will help governments throughout the Middle East and North Africa eliminate these gaps.
WTO Accession and Compliance Technical Assistance [Economic] - This program helps countries bring commercial laws into compliance with WTO obligations. Workshops bring customs and trade officials together to discuss priorities for technical assistance and have informed officials of the meaning and implications of trade policy concepts. The program also promotes the benefits of WTO accession to Saudi Arabia and Yemen.
Democratic Strengthening Project [Governance] – under the Consortium for Elections and Political Process Strengthening (CEPPS) arrangement, the U.S. based NGOs the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES), the International Republican Institute (IRI), and the National Democratic Institute (NDI) are conducting a wide-sweeping, multi-year program intended to bolster democratic institutions throughout the Middle East and North Africa. Program activities include providing consultations with party officials, organizing focus groups, coordinating workshops on the focus group feedback and party contact methods, and developing and distributing videos on constituency outreach, among numerous other activities.
Regional Campaign Schools [Women] – This Program will provide political skills training for Arab political leaders, with an emphasis on female candidates, drawing potential candidates for office from the region and providing them with skills for effective operation in increasingly participatory societies. Training will include campaigning, managing organizations democratically, monitoring elections, and more. The International Republican Institute and the National Democratic Institute, with MEPI support, conducted the first of these political skills training courses, for more than 50 women from Kuwait, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Yemen and Qatar, in Doha from February 13-18, 2004. The Partners in Participation program, of which the Doha school was the first event, hosted a second such event in Tunisia in July 2004 for women from Tunisia, Morocco, and Algeria.
Arab Civitas [Education] - Funding supports a civic education program in elementary and secondary schools throughout the region. The program utilizes the center's Project Citizen Curriculum and materials, as well as its Foundations of Democracy, both adapted and translated for use in each country. The program enhances the quality of education and strengthens democratic processes by fostering public awareness and acceptance of civic rights and responsibilities. Students are active in their school and local communities through service projects that work to solve problems.
Civic Democratic Initiatives Support Foundation
Welfare Arab Reform Porgram [Governance] - This program builds the capacity and expands the outlook of welfare-oriented organizations in the Gulf and Yemen to incorporate good governance, democratic, and human rights reform principles. Program activities include a series of train-the-trainer workshops and the establishment of six national NGO support networks. The program builds a regional network, including an information clearinghouse to exchange ideas, share training, support internal changes, advocate national reform agendas.
Chugach
MEFC Due Diligence [Economic] – led by Chugach System International, this program involved conducting of a legal, corporate structure, and accounting and economic governance due diligence of the proposed Middle East Finance Corporation (MEFC). Upon completion of the due diligence review, reports were compiled for the use of the MEFC’s board and management. Changes to the original conception of MEFC required to accommodate the facts discovered on the ground were incorporated into a revised MEFC concept paper.
Partnership Schools - Due Diligence and Education Summit [Education] – a due diligence review was completed for the Partnership Schools Program, including a regional analysis of current educational systems and technological capacity, the identification of the lowest cost, most effective technologies, a review of the innovations in education currently under development in the region, and a review of key implementation hurdles and challenges in this sector to promote access to quality education for young people, especially girls. The review’s success became clear in a recommendation for the most efficient and cost effective opportunities for MEPI funding to support.
Commercial Law Development Program [Economic] – The Commercial Law Development Program of the U.S. Department of Commerce supports countries in the Middle East and North Africa in their efforts to accede to the WTO. This program provides technical assistance in areas such as intellectual property rights, sanitary policies, standards and metrology, and the translation of submissions to the WTO Working Party to help develop and implement liberalized economic policies consistent with future WTO obligations.
Partnerhsip Schools Program [Education] - The program provides education experts to the Partnership Schools Program (PSP), which offers creative, innovative alternatives for improving the quality of and access to education for children at the primary and secondary school levels. Partnership Schools serve as models to demonstrate to governments, businesses, and communities that truly transformed schools can produce educated young people with skills to contribute to their society and economy. The program works with governments and educators in the region that are ready to address challenges in education and that are committed to implementing educational reforms. Education reform trends that have been identified through the Partnership Schools Program include needs for: effectively using technology in teaching and learning; improving teacher preparedness and performance; and enhancing the capacity of school administrators and managers.
ECA
English ACCESS Microscholarships for English Language Students [Education] – In partnership with the Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA), this program provides the opportunity for underserved youth to improve their English language skills and to gain a better future through access to expanded education environments. English language instruction is given in the context of American history and democratic principles, thereby improving mutual understanding between countries in the Middle East and North Africa region and the United States.
Reforming Family Law [Women] - This program focuses on family law reforms in Bahrain and Kuwait. Country experts evaluate and assess legal practices in these Gulf countries concerning the family code and women's rights. Together with key local women's groups, they produce and distribute women's rights advocacy manuals in an effort to both strengthen the case for reform as well as create a unified voice for change. The goal is to help the women who are leading the charge harness opportunities for reform and achieve their goals.
Partnership for Financial Excellence Part II [Economic] – Through the Financial Service Volunteer Corps (FSVC), this program provides technical assistance to strengthen the financial systems of selected countries in the Middle East and North Africa. This second part of the program includes regional training promoting dialogue among market participants and supervisory authorities in the region. It builds on the foundation laid by FSVC in Part I, which included work to improve commercial banks’ capacity to provide credit and other financial services, particularly to small and medium-sized enterprises; strengthen the region's central banks; facilitate the eventual privatization of large state banks; and invigorate the region’s securities markets.
The Middle East Associative Rights Initiative [Governance] - This program develops a corps of local experts on reforming laws governing associative rights and the legal establishment of civil society organizations. Programs include: 1) fellowships for civil society leaders from the region to conduct research on best practices in civil society law; 2) a two-day associative rights and civil society law workshop in Beirut for a broad network of civil society leaders; and 3) technical assistance grants for law reform efforts and capacity-building by participants in their home countries.
Gulf Civil Society Law Reform [Governance]- ICNL works with regional and international experts to examine the role of civil society in democratic societies, and the legal framework necessary to enable and protect it. A regional workshop examines samples of existing and draft laws governing civil society from the region, Europe, and the United States, and common components of effective legislative frameworks. Follow-on activities in two selected Gulf states expand seminar participation to include stakeholders from government, Parliament, civil society, and the legal profession, and seek to launch drafting groups that ultimately draft and advocate for new, model legislation.
Elections Assistance [Governance] – under this program, the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) is assessing the political climate and technical capacity for democratic elections in select countries in the Middle East and North Africa. The assessment results will form the basis for a draft regional strategy. Different obstacles have prevented IFES from visiting Algeria, Bahrain, and Tunisia, but they provided MEPI with assessments for Morocco, where a successful visit was made, and for Yemen, where IFES has an office in place
Women in Technology [Women] - This program builds on a turn-key model of sustainability for women’s organizations in the Gulf by providing them with cutting-edge business and technology training. In addition to improving their own skills, each organization will, in turn, be responsible for training other women in their community. Participating groups will receive the training and resources necessary to (a) diversify the economic structure, (b) more effectively serve their existing clientele, and (c) attract, educate, and mentor a new, younger audience. As a result, with a cost-recovery model in place, the groups will reinforce their economic and political engagement and broaden their role in the advancement of a pluralistic society.
MENA Media Program [Governance] – In this comprehensive media program, the International Research and Exchanges Board (IREX) will provide legal and advocacy support for improved press laws and protection of journalists throughout the Middle East and North Africa. The program targets the commercial and regulatory concerns of the media industry by injecting needed legislation support, funds, business tools, and training into the field to accelerate independence, diminish the existing media oligopoly and to support local demands for democratic institutions.
Junior Achievment InternationalEconomic Education and Job Skills Training in the Middle East [Economic] - The program develops self-sustaining organizations to help young people gain the skills required to build and succeed in their nations' economies and to become productive and participative citizens. Young people throughout the region will complete at least one of 20 programs to gain a fundamental understanding of business, economics, and entrepreneurship.
Middle East and North Africa Investment for Development Initiative [Economic]- The key objective of the program is to mobilize investment as a driving force for economic growth and employment in the Middle East and North Africa region. The program supports reform efforts of MENA governments to enhance the investment climate by strengthening country capacity for designing, implementing and monitoring investment policy reforms; creating a network for policy dialogue among investment policy makers from MENA and OECD countries; creating a favorable environment for employment creation through financial sector development; improving intra-governmental policy coordination and cooperation between ministries; and reinforcing the impact of development initiatives supported by international, regional and bilateral funds.
Scholastic, Inc. My Arabic Library [Education] – through Scholastic Inc., the world’s largest publisher and distributor of children's books, MEPI funds this program as the first major effort using classroom libraries to develop independent reading, critical thinking, and analytical skills in young readers in the region, including Bahrain, Jordan, Lebanon, and Morocco. My Arabic Library includes fiction and non-fiction titles (translated and adapted from their original English) as well as teacher training and curriculum materials. To maximize the effectiveness of the reading materials, the program also aims at engaging school principals, parents, and local communities to support early independent reading, as well as providing sustainable resources for classrooms.
Seeds of Peace
Building School Environments that Encourage Responsible Citizenship in Youth [Education] - This project introduces teachers and school administrators to new curricula and methodologies for educating youth to be socially responsible; sensitive to gender equality; open to diverse opinions; able to think critically; tolerant of ethnic, cultural and religious differences; and prepared to participate actively in their schools, communities and greater civil society. Groups of students from participating countries meet for skill development and leadership training, returning to their countries to develop action plans that promote democratic civic life in school communities.
Syracuse University, Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs
Leaders for Democracy Fellowship Program [Governance] - This is a U.S. based program that will provide 25 emerging democratic reform leaders from across the Middle East and North Africa with the opportunity to complete both academic coursework and a skill-building internships in their field of choice.
Global Democracy Barometer Project [Governance] - The program conducts survey research related to democracy and democratic processes and institutions in Arab countries. Activities also include training and capacity building programs in survey research methods.
Civil Society Strengthening [Governance] - The project brings together civil society activists from the region to outline a plan of collective action for the ministerial meeting at the preparatory meeting to the G-8 BMENA Forum for the Future
Partnership for Financial Excellence Part II [Economic] - The program implements a supervision training program for junior- to mid-level bank supervisory staff. U.S. participants include the U.S. Federal Reserve, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and the Treasury Department. Treasury's Office of Technical Assistance places resident and intermittent advisors throughout the region to provide sustained assistance to ministries of finance and central banks. The advisors focus on government debt and capital markets, financial institutions and regulation, and financial crimes.
Enhancing the Role of Arab Women in the Legislative Process [Governance] – this program strengthens the practical skills and leadership of Arab women in the legislative process through the creation of joint plans of action prepared by Arab women across the region, designed to influence legislation that addresses women's rights. Through a series of workshops and consultations, the Center will also expose Iraqi women to practical skills of women who have worked in countries in the MENA region to influence legislation within the framework of existing constitutions, family laws, and civil codes based on Shari'a.
Completed Regional Programs
Arab Women's Forum [Women] - This project follows up on a U.S.-sponsored conference that brought together 25 women activists from 14 Middle Eastern countries. The forum includes sessions focused on developing advocacy, political activism, communication and media skills.
Survey of Women's Freedom [Women] - The program funds a unique publication on the status of women in 17 countries in the Middle East and North Africa to serve as a foundation to build the Middle East Partnership Initiative's women's empowerment strategy. It provides a comparative evaluation of the major challenges to women's rights protections, examines the causes and consequences of gender-based discrimination in law and in practice, and makes concrete recommendations on how to remove the obstacles to women's human rights in the region. The program engages local stake holders to develop action plans based on the survey recommendations in Bahrain, Yemen and Egypt.
Partnership for Financial Excellence Part I [Economic] - The program provides technical assistance to strengthen the financial systems of countries in the Middle East. It includes regional training promoting dialogue among market participants and supervisory authorities in the region. The training efforts are customized to reflect regional needs such as: bank regulation and training seminars; advanced risk management, underwriting, and credit analysis training for executives of publicly-owned commercial banks; and international and intra-regional exchange programs for banks supervisors and regulators. This training is held in cooperation with regional partners, which may include the Arab Monetary Fund in Abu Dhabi and the Institute of Banking and Finance in Manama, Bahrain. For more information, see http://www.pfe-mena.org/index.htm .
An Initiative for Open and Pluralistic Media in Five Arabic Speaking Countries [Governance] – this project was designed to enhance local media capacity in Algeria, Bahrain, Lebanon, Morocco, and Tunisia through specific training, thereby developing the skills of individuals and local NGOs. The goal was to increase the ability of the participants to support the creation and growth of pluralistic and open media.
Building Womens' Trade Union Participation [Women] - This program empowers working women to take a more active role in shaping union and public policies. Through versatile gender-specific training modules, the program trains a cadre of trade union women to lead local workshops for working women seeking larger political and leadership roles in their unions and communities.
Bahrain
Multi-Country Programs
