Emerging Arab Leaders Embark on New Democracy Program

Leaving warm weather, good jobs, and their families temporarily behind, 22 emerging leaders from the Middle East and North Africa converged on Washington, DC, and New York as the inaugural group of MEPI’s Leaders for Democracy Fellows (LDF) program.

“People need to have a say in their future, not to have it dictated to them,” Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said, while welcoming the LDF fellows to the State Department. She told the fellows that they represented the founding fathers and mothers of democracy in the region.

The LDF fellows, who range in ages from 22 to 40, include lawyers, doctors, journalists, educators, information technology specialists, and human rights advocates, among other professions.  They come from Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman, the Palestinian territories, Qatar, Syria, Tunisia, and Yemen.

This new MEPI-funded and organized program began with an orientation visit to Washington, where the fellows learned more about the branches of US government.  In addition to meeting Secretary Rice and others at the State Department, they visited the White House and Congress, as well as attending a reception hosted by the Embassy of Jordan.

“We are living an outstanding experience,” said one of the participants from North Africa.  In some cases, individuals quit jobs and left spouses and children at home to come to the United States and receive training on democratic governance.

From Washington, the LDF fellows moved to New York last month to begin four weeks of training at the Maxwell School of Syracuse University.  Here they are participating in classes, lectures, panel discussions, and simulation exercises, while studying the foundations of a democratic society and gaining valuable leadership and management skills. 

“The quality of the lectures and the high level of discussions reflect everyone’s commitment to bringing about positive change,” said another one of the participants.
Coursework focuses on three primary subjects: comparative politics and the development of democratic institutions; leading and managing democratic states; and citizenship, private action, and private enterprise.  This unique program offers participants the opportunity to discuss with experts and their counterparts from other countries in the region sensitive topics that often cannot be raised openly in their own countries.

Following the lectures and group activities in Syracuse, the fellows will participate individually in specially designed internship programs, either in New York or Washington.  These three-month on-the-job assignments will be conducted in government agencies, media outlets, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), or American businesses that match each fellow’s skills and professional interests.