MEPI Regional Office-Tunis Conferences

Tunis RO organizes and coordinates regional conferences. Working with the MEPI central office in Washington, the Abu Dhabi RO, international and local partners, and other reformers.

The following provide information on these regional events.

Business Women’s Summit (May 2005)

The first ever Business Women’s Summit for the Middle East and North Africa drew more than 200 women from 15 countries in the region, plus American entrepreneurs and government officials, for three days of intensive discussions, training sessions, and networking opportunities. 

“This is the first time we’ve been able to bring Arab women from the entire Arab world together, from the Gulf countries to the Maghreb countries of North Africa,” a participant from Bahrain said of the event, held May 24-26, 2005, in Tunis, Tunisia, as reported in the Washington File.  The Summit received extensive media coverage, including more than 40 newspaper articles published in Arabic, English, and French, as well as interviews of participants carried by local radio and television outlets. 

The MEPI Regional Office-Tunis organized the Summit, which was co-sponsored by MEPI grantee, the Beyster Institute of San Diego, California, and by the Women Entrepreneurs, Inc.  MEPI received considerable assistance from the U.S. Embassy in Tunis and from AMIDEAST, which hosted a related conference May 22-23 in Tunis for women from the region who had earlier participated in the MEPI-sponsored Business Internship Program for Young Middle Eastern Women.

Many of the participants invited to the Business Women’s Summit had taken part in the MEET US program and other previous MEPI-sponsored events, both in the United States and in countries throughout the region.  Most importantly, these women were selected for their personal achievements and pioneering advances in the business world.  The attendees represented a wide array of businesses, from lawyers and retail managers, to high tech experts, oil executives, and a chocolate manufacturer.

In addition to sharing business experiences and tips for success, the participants engaged in a series of workshops and panel discussions.  These included building leadership skills, raising capital, becoming an entrepreneur, and creating a businesswomen’s coalition, which several of the participants agreed to launch at the close of the event. 

Joining women from the region to share their own experiences were several businesswomen and government leaders from the United States.  The American delegation to the conference was led by Under Secretary of State for Global Affairs Paula Dobriansky, Assistant Secretary of State for Education and Cultural Affairs Patricia Harrison, and Vice Chair of the Export-Import Bank April Foley.

Student Leaders Alumni Conference (January 2005)

Camaraderie, brainpower, and innovative ideas were in abundance when 42 Arab students from 11 countries plus the West Bank gathered in Tunis, Tunisia, in January 2005 for a MEPI educational event. The Student Leaders Alumni Conference held in January 2005 achieved several positive results, including strengthening a network of potential Arab entrepreneurs and future political leaders throughout the region.

The three-day conference, implemented by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA), with considerable support from the Tunis-based MEPI Regional Office, reunited Arab high school and undergraduate university students. These students participated last summer in Student Leaders Study of the United States program at three American universities – Georgetown, Purdue, and the University of Delaware – organized by ECA.

This intensive five-week program introduces top-ranked students in the region to American culture and values, while providing instruction in leadership, problem-solving, and entrepreneurial skills.  Upon return to their home countries, students share what they learned with their colleagues and communities through creative outreach activities such as newsletters and campus clubs.

During the alumni conference, the students gained theoretical and practical knowledge from Arab scholars and business leaders, took part in hand’s on leadership and management training, and presented the civic engagement projects they designed last summer.

The students, aged 17-22, came from Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, and the West Bank.  ECA plans to conduct another Student Leaders Summer Institute program this summer.

A second Alumni Conference was held February 5-8, 2006 in Abu Dhabi, organized by the Embassy, ECA, and MEPI R.O Abu Dhabi.