U.S. Center for Citizen Diplomacy

Arab American Business Fellowship Program

Young Arab Leaders Visit Des Moines

The U.S Center for Citizen Diplomacy hosted seven young Arab leaders from the Middle East to attend the Arab American Business Fellowship pilot program in 2007.

The seven participants represented five countries: Bahrain, Egypt, Oman, Palestine, and United Arab Emirates.

This pilot, private sector funded program is a part of a broader effort by the U.S. Center for Citizen Diplomacy, based in Des Moines, Iowa, to promote understanding and respect between American and Arab societies.

As a joint effort between the U.S Center for Citizen Diplomacy, Business for Diplomatic Action, and the National U.S. Arab Chamber of Commerce with Young Arab Leaders in Dubai, this program was designed to help create an environment in which information, opinions, and knowledge could flow both ways.

The program consisted of an orientation program in New York, two weeks with host businesses in Des Moines and New York, and a final three days in Washington D.C. Splitting the trip was designed to enhance the experience by showing two distinctly different areas of the U.S.: a metropolitan city on the East Coast and the Midwest Heartland.

Mr. Hamed Al-Hamdan of Oman (pictured above on the left), one of the participants at the program, said that the "whole experience was mesmerizing."

"Never have I thought that 24 days in the USA would tremendously enhance my perspective of the United States of America", he said.

Photos from the 2007 Event

To read the final report of Global Action Forum: Arab American Dialogue, 2008, held in New York, please click here.