Fellowship looks to new opportunities

Amanda Ripps - Staff Writer
Des Moines, IA

Business Record

"Aiwa,' pronounced like 'Iowa,' means 'yes' in the Egyptian dialect of Arabic.

Ann Schodde, executive director of the U.S. Center for Citizen Diplomacy in Des Moines, said "yes," or "aiwa," she believes the Arab and American Business Fellowship Program was successful.

The AABF program is a pilot project designed to pair young professionals from various Arab countries with businesses in Des Moines, New York and Chicago. Seven participants visited the United States in the end of October through mid-November to gain insight, build relationships and increase understanding between Arab and American business people.

"All of their misperceptions (about Des Moines) were dispelled," Schodde said. "They were pleased with their Des Moines experience as compared to the other components of their visit: the objectives, meeting with companies and the willingness of officers to commit time and resources to them, and share information in an open and forthright manner. They did not expect that. They were also amazed at friendliness and openness of Iowans."

Participants discussed corporate culture, management tactics and daily business experiences with American companies. Despite the differences between the business communities, such as company size, policies, advertising and management, the participants found many similarities.

Sherin Al Wardi, assistant manager of the investment services department for the Bank of Bahrain & Kuwait, from the Kingdom of Bahrain, said that there are more similarities than differences; even the issues for women are the same globally.

"We do business very much the same," Al Wardi said. "We all want to achieve results; we might differ in the means, but we all want results."

Dalia Masad, a market analyst for Wataniya Palestine Telecom Co., from Ramallah, Palestine, said that there may be "opportunities for cooperation" between her company and a business she visited in New York.

Principal Financial Group Inc. and MidAmerican Energy Co. represented companies in Greater Des Moines, visiting and working with the participants.

The AABF program provided a means for Principal, a global company, to "better understand culture and business in an area where we don't have much exposure," said Jim DeVries, senior vice president for human resources.

Chuck Montgomery, a senior managing attorney for MidAmerican Energy and a member of the U.S. Center for Citizen Diplomacy board, said the program "raised the business IQ on both sides.

"We do not do business there, but this raised our insight in an international sense and began to pave way for (MidAmerican)," he said. We exchanged information and put both sides on a personal level, and that helps business all around."

A conference call between the AABF program's sponsoring organizations - Business for Diplomatic Action, the U.S. Center for Citizen Diplomacy and the Arab Chamber of Commerce in cooperation with Young Arab Leaders, representing 22 countries - is scheduled for Nov. 29. Participants will discuss the program's future.

"I can tell you with some surety that YAL wants to, one, continue and, two, expand the program through the development of young Americans going over there," Schodde said.

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