that its benefits will last. It will
tremendously affect my career,
as it has greatly affected my
opinion about the American
people.
Fella Benabed
I was selected by the US em-
bassy in Algiers to be one of the
18 participants in the Study of
the United States Institute
(SUSI) on Contemporary
American Literature, hosted by
the University of Louisville
(Kentucky) from June 17 to July
30, 2011.
From the first day until the last,
both faculty and staff ha worked
hard to offer us the best possi-
ble experience in the USA. The
organization of the Institute was
perfect; every possible question
that the participants could ask
was answered in a detailed bro-
chure that we were given upon
arrival.
The seminars on contemporary
US literature, based on intensive
reading and rich discussions,
were intellectually challenging.
They were always related to the
other arts, like painting, cinema,
and music, providing us with a
comprehensive view of contem-
porary US culture. The meeting
with publishers, poets and nov-
elists was also a special experi-
ence which allowed us to see
the literary works from differ-
ent perspectives than the only
one offered by a book.
During the seminar, we also had
the opportunity to travel to
different US cities, like San Fran-
cisco (California), Santa Fe
(New Mexico), Cincinnati
(Ohio) and Washington D.C.
We visited sites related to the
contents of our seminars; we
met writers and professors who
live and/or teach in those cities;
we had, of course, plenty of
time to visit sites of individual
interest.
One of the major benefits of the
Institute was meeting partici-
pants from 18 different coun-
tries, of different faiths and
tongues, with Americans from
different backgrounds. Our peaceful coexistence and fruitful
collaboration for six weeks has
fostered our understanding of
each other‟s culture and per-
sonality, and I personally made
my best to be a good cultural
ambassador of my country in
the United States of America.
From this firsthand experience,
my understanding of US litera-
ture and culture is much deeper
now, and it will certainly have an
impact on my teaching and re-
search, as I returned home with
many ideas and documents con-
cerning future syllabi, confer-
ences and publications.
The wonderful experience is
now over, but like other partici-
pants in the program, I am sure
The SUSI Experience
DEPARTMENT OF STATE
October 2011 Volume 2, Issue 20
El-Djazair Alumni Newsletter
Inside this issue:
The SUSI Experi-
ence
1
SILA 2011 2
PAO Visits Oran 3
IRC’s 100th Member 3
EducationUSA Ad-
vising Center
4
F. Banabed Awarded with
SUSI certificate by K. Orchin-son (SUSI Program Officer).
SUSI participants 2011 .
The end of the month of Sep-
tember witnessed one of the
major events of the Algerian
academic year, the 16th Annual
Algiers International Book Fair
better known as the „Salon
International du Livre d’Al-
ger’ (SILA). This event is more
than appreciated by the Alge-
rian population from all parts of the country and all fields as it
attracts not only students but
researchers, professionals,
parents, children and book
authors. The U.S. Embassy in Algiers
hosted a booth at SILA as it is
considered one of the coun-
try‟s greatest outreach oppor-
tunities.
The book fair drew a crowd of
over 1 million visitors, and the
Embassy‟s booth was consis-
tently packed with people ea-
ger to learn more about the
U.S. Embassy programs in Alge-
ria. This was the Embassy‟s second
participation in the fair and was
aimed at advertising the new
Information Resource Center,
its American Corners, ex-
change programs, educational
advising services and alumni
activities. The booth featured
“mini” IRC and American Cor-
ners, where visitors were able
to explore the various kinds of
books available at these Ameri-
can Spaces. The Embassy‟s staff
and volunteers, and even the
American Corner coordinators
from Oran and Ouargla were
on hand to answer questions.
Cultural Affairs Specialist Nadia
Ouhenia held information ses-
sions on the Fulbright and
Hubert Humphrey programs.
Education Advisor and Alumni
Coordinator, Abderrahmane
Boussoufa conducted im-promptu advising sessions with
more than 400 Algerian stu-
dents eager to find out how to
pursue their studies in the
United States. Special guest, Dinaw Mengustu,
American writer, spoke during
SILA and presented his works
to the Algerian public and
made many conferences and
interviews to promote Ameri-
can culture. The Embassy also used the
booth as an opportunity to
advertise its virtual presence, with laptops available for visi-
tors to check out the Em-
bassy‟s website and Facebook,
Twitter, and YouTube pages
right at the booth. Visitors
were able to “like” the Em-
bassy‟s new Facebook page and
sign up for the IRC‟s email
distribution. Bookmarks con-
taining information on the Em-
bassy‟s various social media
sites. Photos from the book
fair were posted daily on the
Embassy‟s Facebook page, and
the Educational Advisor ran a
daily Facebook trivia contest
where winners came to the
booth to claim their prize, an
EducationUSA t-shirt.
Through the number of visitors
and the greater interests
showed by the Algerian public,
SILA has, undoubtedly, become
one of the major outreach
tools used to promote pro-
grams and different opportuni-
ties available to the Algerian community.
A.B
SILA 2011
Page 2 El-Djazair Alumni Newsletter
U.S. Embassy booth, SILA 2011.
Educational Advisor’s Corner.
Writer, D. Mangustu posing with an
EducationUSA t-shirt winner.
U.S. Ambassador, H. Ensher visiting the
booth.
A view of the U.S. Embassy booth.
Public Affairs Officer, Tashawna
Bethea, and the Cultural Affairs
Specialist, Zahira Amarouche,
traveled to Oran on September
7 for the Access Graduation
Ceremony at Sibawaih Lan-
guage School in Oran, Algeria.
This visit is the PAO‟s first visit
to the western city. During her visit, the PAO met with the
director of the school and with
the Access school teachers.
The PAO reiterated the basic
principles of the Access pro-
gram and the importance of
English as a tool to communi-
cate the students‟ ideas, cul-
ture, and contributions to soci-
ety.
The Access Program is the
Department of State‟s most
successful and noted English
language program. The pro-
gram started in 2004 at Si-
bawaih Language School. Si-
bawaih also serves as a TOEFL
Test Center. The Access Pro-
gram provides a foundation of
English language skills to moti-
vated high school students
from disadvantaged back-
grounds through after-school
classes and intensive summer
course.
Skills gained through the pro-
gram lead to better employ-
ment and higher educa-
tion opportunities for alumni.
Several of the graduates from
Oran have participated in
Model UN, Fulbright, NESA,
and the Algerian Youth Leader-
ship Program.
During the same visit, the new
PAO in Algeria, Tashawna Be-
thea, also visited the American
Corner located at the Univer-
sity of Oran Es-Senia. This visit
was also an opportunity to
meet with the American Cor-
ner Coordinator, Fatima Kazi-
Aoul, and AC volunteers to
discuss the programs and suc-
cesses of the corner.
The American Corner is a
dedicated information space that helps to introduce visitors
to the American culture, the
AC provides a multifunctional
platform for public diplomacy
programs and offers access to
print, multimedia, and other
materials. The partnership with
the university helps to engage
with students, professors, and
community leaders.
A.B
shared cake with the 100th
member and some IRC visitors
who happened to be in the
right place at the right time.
The IRC announced its new
membership program at the
Algiers International Book Fair
in late September. That adver-
tising proved successful, as the
IRC has been bustling ever
since the fair ended.
On October 24, 2011, three
short weeks after initiating its
membership program, the IRC
reached its 100th member. The
IRC and PAS staff marked the
occasion by surprising the lucky
member with gifts and an im-
promptu party. Deputy Chief
of Mission Elizabeth Aubin gave
Radhia Hadji, a university stu-dent from Batna, a selection of
IIP “Outline” series books and
an EducationUSA t-shirt, along
with her new membership
card. PAS staff greeted and
PAO Visit to Oran
IRC’s100th Member
Page 3 Volume 2, Issue 20
PAO, T. Bethea poses with graduating Access students.
PAO meeting with the AC Oran staff and
volunteers.
DCM, E. Aubin and IRC’s 100th mem-
ber, R. Hadji
DEPARTMENT OF STATE
arship availability. Each of these five Advising Centers is funded
by EducationUSA and located
in private schools. These
schools are, Algerian Learning
Center, Berlitz, In-Tuition,
Language Services Institute and
Transfast. These centers offer
full and free access to the Edu-
cationUSA website, U.S. educa-
tional institutions information
and standardized tests prepara-
tion material (TOEFL, SAT and
GRE), and individual face time
On October 15, 2011, Greta
Holtz, Deputy Assistant Secre-
tary for Near Eastern Affairs,
paid a visit to EducationUSA
Advising Center located in the
American Learning Center, one
of the private schools partner-
ing with the U.S. Embassy.
Greta Holtz is responsible for
coordinating and supporting
Public Diplomacy activities in
the region, however, her visit
to Algeria was to support the
efforts of the Public Affairs
Section at the Embassy in Al-
giers and meet with Govern-
ment Officials in Algeria to
express the US Government's
commitment to continued
cooperation. The Deputy As-
sistant Secretary, Holtz, was
accompanied by the Deputy
Director of NEA/PPD Ana
Escrogima, Lavenia Holland,
and Sheila Coleman.
The EducationUSA Advising
Center is one of five advising
poles and offers a regular out-
reach opportunity for the Edu-
cationUSA Adviser, equipped
with computers and advising
material for students, to share
knowledge about academic
opportunities and exchanges,
including financial aid and schol-
with the advisor himself. Greta Holtz showed a great
interest in the explanations
given by ALC management on
the Advising Center but also
on the greater interest of the
Algerian public in learning the
English Language. She asked
many questions about the num-
ber of students and their level
and insisted that more efforts
should be done to respond to
these expectations.
Deputy Assistant Secretary Visits EducationUSA Advising
Center.
U.S. Embassy Algiers
PAO, T. Bethea and DAS, G. Holtz listening to ALC General
Manager, H. Chaib.
U.S. Embassy Algiers
U.S.Embassy Algiers-Alumni & Education Advising
U.S.Embassy Algiers Access Program
US Embassy Algiers
STATE ALUMNI
EducationUSA
Alumni Coordinator/Educational Advisor
Visit the new Facebook page created to provide you with direct information on the U.S. Embassy‟s
activities, communities, culture and news. Check out:
U.S. Embassy Algiers
A New Facebook Page in Town.
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