New MEPI Fellows Speak Favorably of Experience

The inaugural class of participants in MEPI’s new Leaders for Democracy Fellowship (LDF) program recently returned from four months spent learning and working in the United States – and the experience had a profound impact on them all.

“It really changed my life,” said Khaled Koubaa, a Tunisian IT specialist and one of 21 fellows from 12 Arab countries who took part in the program, which ran from January to May.  “I see things differently now and have a new perspective on world affairs.”

After arriving in Washington for a brief orientation – and the chance to meet US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and other officials from the State Department, White House, Congress, and Supreme Court – the fellows moved to New York for one month of academic training at the Maxwell School at Syracuse University.  Topics included comparative politics and the development of democratic institutions; leading and managing democratic states; and a focus on civil society and private enterprise. 

“From the academic courses I learned what is meant by policy analysis, how policies are made, and how they analyzed,” said Biner Aziz, an Iraqi fellow who plans to develop a think tank to offer policy recommendations to his government. “This experience gave me the opportunity to understand the relationship between the worlds of ideas and policy.”

The fellows next engaged in three-month internships in their fields of practice.  Sixteen fellows were placed in non-governmental and public policy organizations or think tanks in Washington D.C., while the other five worked in Syracuse with media outlets, civil society organizations, and the county government.

“This program widened my knowledge of how NGOs function and how I can help implement educational programs in Bahrain similar to the ones in the United States,” said Lubna Selaibeekh, a fellow working in the field of civic education. “It provided me with the opportunity to experience real democracy, whether by participating in an organized peaceful demonstration that exhibits the different levels of tolerance or by mingling with average Americans in the subway or on the streets.  I have a much clearer view of how Americans live an why they are proud of their democracy.”

The fellows, aged 22-37, were selected through a competitive application process based on their leadership skills, professional experience working on democratic reform issues, and commitment to continued advocacy work in the future.  They represented a wide array of professional backgrounds, including those working in the fields of civil society, media, human rights, politics, law, technology, and education.

“We learned a lot but were also able to do some teaching,” said Slim Gomri, a teacher himself from Tunisia, who explained how he and his LDF colleagues gave a presentation called “The Middle East: Do you really know it?” to Syracuse students.  “It was very well received and the students were pleased to have a chance to speak with us and learn from us about what is going on in our parts of the world.”

A second class of 25 fellows from 12 countries in the Middle East and North Africa was recently selected for next year’s LDF program, scheduled to begin in March.