MEPI Student Leaders Program

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The Office of the Middle East Partnership Initiative in the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs (NEA/PI) announces an open competition for applications (RFA) requesting support for a rigorous program of continuous learning to advance reform efforts in the Middle East and North Africa by preparing a cadre of future leaders. As a result of this program Student Leaders will be equipped to facilitate civic engagement and reform in their own communities and across the region. Additional information on student leader selection and requirements may be found by going to http://www.mepi.state.gov, click on Current Opportunities, and click on “Student Leaders Program-Supplementary Information” link.The Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI) Student Leaders program is implemented by up to five host institutions that annually receive a multinational group of exemplary undergraduate students from the Middle East and North Africa (a total of 110 to 120 students divided among the host institutions). The principal objective of this Student Leaders Program is to develop the participants’ leadership and collective problem-solving skills through a six week academic residency and field study program. NEA/PI seeks to partner with uniquely designed, highly interactive, and thematically coherent programs that emphasize the concepts of individual and civic responsibility, leadership, volunteerism, and community involvement. Successful applicants under this RFA will host their MEPI Student Leaders Programs during the summer of 2008. Programs should be designed to give participants the opportunity to gain first-hand experience in the development of leadership and civic engagement skills that they can apply directly, effectively, and immediately upon their return home. Upon students’ return home, they will be encouraged to participate in embassy/consulate outreach programs, speak with prospective students at U.S. advising centers, develop and implement civic-minded projects, and comment on their experience in the course of their campus leadership activities.NEA/PI will support the logistical and administrative management of the program, and various follow-on activities under a separate award (not included in this RFA). Support will include participant recruitment, ALL international travel, health insurance, and Washington D.C.-based activities. In addition, approximately six months after the conclusion of their U.S.-based summer program, Student Leader alumni will gather at an alumni conference in the Middle East or North Africa as part of a MEPI program to share feedback on their experiences and to participate in additional leadership training.

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