El Djazair Alumni Newsletter - October-November 2010
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Transcript of El Djazair Alumni Newsletter - October-November 2010
gression of our respective com-
munity projects, to show all the
obstacles we had to face in
achieving our goal, but no mat-
ter what are the difficulties, I
learned through the program
that a real leader never gives up
his goal, and that what makes
him a good global leader.
Now, I keep going on with my
cause hoping that I will have an
effective impact on people‟s
minds, with my leader soul.
Rached Zeghlache
I am Rached Zeghlache, and as a
former participant of the Alge-
rian Youth Leadership Program ,
I would like to share this experi-
ence through few comments
that would summarize how
fruitful, this program was for me
as a teenager but also as a citi-
zen of the world. Participating in the Algerian
Leadership Program was a very
important achievement for me,
it was a big opportunity to de-
velop my leadership skills.
Among the activities we dealt
with, there were those that
made me more social, aware of
my duty as a citizen; such as
working with the community
organizations of Reno and Vir-
ginia city (Nevada). I also took
part to their cause by making
videos with the help of the
global mentors. These videos
showed the importance of each
organization within the commu-
nity. During my 2010 summer
session at the university of Ne-
vada, Reno, I acquired some
tools in using the power of so-
cial media which is, today, the
most efficient way to gather
people. Through this month in the US, I
met people from different cul-
tural and religious backgrounds,
I had a view on the American
history and culture… the diver-
sity of the world is represented
in the US. That is when I found
out that saying “the US is a
melting pot” wasn‟t just words,
but a fact. Upon my return to Algeria, I
was eager to start practicing the
tools I acquired during the sum-
mer program. My mates and I
worked on our community
project which was about pov-
erty. Through our progression
in this work I knew that poverty
was not just a local issue but it was a reality all over the world,
taking initiatives on this issue
proved that we were effectively
citizens of the world, the same
skills that we learned and ap-
plied in the US could be applied
in my home town. That is the
reason why AYLP was a turning
point in my life of global citizen.
Above all, what I learned during
this program, one thing I feel I
should mention here is that
each one and everyone has a
role to play in his community,
everyone has something to give
to improve the living of the
others. At the beginning of November,
we organized a three day camp
in Algiers where I met my AYLP
mates, we presented the pro-
AYLP: Experiencing Leadership.
DEPARTMENT OF STATE
October / November 2010 Volume I, Issue 12
El-Djazair Alumni Newsletter
Inside this issue:
AYLP, Experiencing
Leadership. 1
Event: CCC Making
the Difference. 2
Road to ACCESS 3
Advising Centers
Launch 3
Fighting Violence
Against Women. 4
Muslims In America 4
Rached Zeghlache
The Competitive College
Club was launched this
month by the Public Affairs
Office of the U.S. Embassy
in Algiers. November 23,
2010 was the date for the
first CCC meeting to which
were invited 12 participants
who are now part of this
challenging program.
The CCC consists of series
of activities, courses and
advising sessions that pro-
vide students with support
and preparation. it was first
thought about when having
students coming back from
US based short period train-
ing and willing to return to
the US for their studies, as
most of them were told that
they had to wait a two-year
period in order to apply.
These students kept on re-
turning for advice and guid-
ance a thing that lead to
create the Competitive Col-
lege Club.
The main purpose of the
competitive College Club is
to give organized group
advising sessions that aim to
prepare and guide students
throughout the application
process.
Students showing interest
are encouraged to join the
Club, their commitment is
obviously shown through
their attendance to the
classes, and they will also be
requested to carry out
some community worth
actions either as groups or
individually. Other activities
include test preparation,
writing skills, universities or
colleges‟ selections, life in
campus…etc.
But the greatest achieve-
ment of the CCC is that it
enables students to know
who they are and where
they are going to.
For the records, the CCC‟s
opening was chaired by
Lawrence Randolph, the
Public Affairs Officer and
Marissa Scott, the Cultural
Affairs Officer, who both
have had great enthusiasm
and support to starting the
CCC in Algeria as it has
shown great success in
many countries in the re-
gion such as Tunisia and
Morocco.
A.B
Event: CCC Making the Difference.
“The greatest
achievement
of the CCC is
that it enables
students to
know who
they are and
where they are
going to”
Page 2 El-Djazair Alumni Newsletter
The CCC’s First Participants.
Lawrence Randolph’s discusses commitment. An Enthusiastic Marissa Scott welcoming the group.
The 2010 Access graduation
season is completed and stu-
dents who have successfully
completed the program had
their certificates during special
ceremony organized in a close
collaboration between the
Public Affairs Section of the
U.S. Embassy, Algiers and the
Access host institutions in Al-
geria. Since 2004 the Access Micro-
scholarship program has been
teaching English to promising
students from underserved
populations. Starting with 4
schools, today the Access
schools are in 8 different cities
of Algeria which are Algiers,
Batna, Bechar, Bajaia, Constan-
tine, Oran, Ouargla and Setif,
reaching out to more than 300
students. During the graduation ceremo-
nies, in each of the visited
schools, students showed a
great command of the English
language, as a result of their
efforts during the tuitions, pro-
vided by teachers who also
benefited of special standard-
ized training. Presentations were given by
the Access graduates on differ-
ent topics such as the planet
protection, community ser-
vices, poetry, music…etc. Congratulations to all and yet,
the best is still to come.
A.B.
tionUSA Advisor based at the
U.S. Embassy in Algiers, this
will be an opportunity to im-
prove students‟ knowledge on
many aspects, among which and
more importantly, the process
to apply and get financial aid in
order to study in the U.S. a
dream that many Algerian stu-
dents wish to fulfill. The first EducationUSA Advis-
ing Center was opened on
November 22, 2010 in TRANS-
FAST, a private language school
located in one of the most
popular neighborhood in Al-
giers and A. Boussoufa, the
Educational Advisor and
Within the U.S. Embassy‟s end-
less efforts to reach a greater
number of young Algerian stu-
dents and promote U.S. Educa-
tion, the Public Affairs Section
in Algiers has launched a cam-
paign to open Advising Centers
al around the city of Algiers. The Advising Centers are
equipped offices, funded by
EducationUSA, and devoted to
give students unbiased advising
and guidance to help them
reach U.S. education. They will
be provided with free com-
puter access, books and one-to
-one or group advising. Regularly visited by the Educa-
Alumni Coordinator at the U.S.
Embassy gave a presentation to
a number of local students, in
collaboration with the U.S.
Embassy‟s Consular section
representative. The presenta-
tion covered the subject of U.S.
education, life in an American
campus and the visa proce-
dures for international stu-
dents.
Other Advising Centers are
opened or opening soon,
Transfast, In-Tuition, Language
Services Institutes, ALC, Hope-
land and Berlitz.
A.B
Road to ACCESS
Advising Centers Launch
Page 3 Volume 1, Issue 12
Presentation at TRANS-
FAST Advising Center.
Bejaia
Bechar
Setif Algiers Batna
This story can fit 100-150
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The subject matter that ap-
pears in newsletters is virtually
endless. You can include sto-
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nologies or innovations in your
field.
You may also want to note
business or economic trends, or make predictions for your
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If the newsletter is distributed
internally, you might comment
U.S. Embassy Algiers http://algiers.usembassy.gov/
Alumni Coordinator/Educational
Advisor at the U.S. Embassy [email protected]
DEPARTMENT OF STATE
not acceptable.‟” Over the course of five days, Ab-delhamid spoke with hundreds of
Algerians from across the country. Included in her tour were visits to the Emir Abdelkader University of
Islamic Sciences in Constantine and the El-Chaab Center for Strategic
The status of Muslims in American
political life dominated questions directed at Maram Abdelhamid during a recent American Embassy-
sponsored speaking tour of Algeria. Abdelhamid, a seasoned political consultant based near Washington, fielded Algerians‟ questions about
opposition to building an Islamic community center in Manhattan, the status of Muslim women in the United States and a proposed
Quran burning in Florida. “He does not speak for all Ameri-cans,” Abdelhamid said of Pastor Terry Jones, who has since re-
tracted his threat to desecrate the Quran. “A lot of Americans, includ-ing Jewish Americans, actually
stood with the Arab and Muslim community and said, „No, this is
Studies in Algiers. Throughout her talks, Abdelhamid stressed the rule of law in protect-ing Americans of all faiths from discrimination. Whether it comes to building houses of worship or wearing a hijab, the law of the land allows for freedom of religious expression. Politics did not always dominate Abdelhamid’s conversations with Algerians. Students at a school in the U.S. State Department’s English Access Micro Scholarship program asked her about life for Muslim children in America and even about her favorite television shows.
By M. Scott Bortot
Muslims In America
Maram Abdelhamid
Marking the International
Day for the Elimination of
Violence against Women,
the U.S. Embassy in Algeria
organized a movie screening
related to this subject.
The event was an opportu-
nity to feature the works of
a young Algerian director,
Yanis Koussim, who pre-
sented two short movies
connected to the struggle
and sufferance of Algerian
women. “Khouya” (my
brother) and Okhti (my sis-
ter) are moving reflections
on women situation in Alge-
ria, two different views on
the same subject, violence
against women.
Following the movies, dis-
cussion started with direc-
tor, Yanis Koussim, who
explained his views on
violence against women
today and the way in pre-
senting this issue through
these short stories.
"Khouya"
My brother was probably
the most appalling of both
movies, it shows the dis-
tress of three sisters,
Yamina, Nabila and Imen,
who travel from the ex-
treme violence of their
brother to developing their
own, which we witness at
the end when all three
reacted by giving back the
same violence they have
been receiving from him.
“Okhti”
My Sister is a strong relfec-
tion on women status in
the Algerian society,
through the eyes of a men-
tal hospital young female
doctor, we witness how
women are seen differently
and how they act to live up
and disclose the contradic-
tions they face every day.
A.B
Fighting Violence Against Women.
Yanis Koussim.