el djazair alumni newsletter - december 2010

8/8/2019 El Djazair Alumni Newsletter - December 2010

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Algerians who had came from the

same background as them and who are

living, as they described, the Ameri-

can Dream. The program was a great

opportunity to promote science and

technology, improving knowledge on

U.S. education and available opportuni-

ties for Algerian students and re-

searchers.

On December 5, the U.S. Embassy in

Algiers organized an academic advising

session presented by a panel of the

Algerian-American Foundation for

Culture Science and Technology for

Algerian students interested in the

fields of science.

The session started by a brief intro-duction by Ms. Marissa Scott, the

Cultural Affairs Officer in Algiers

followed by a description of the educa-

tional advising services by Abderrah-

mane Boussoufa, the Educational

Advisor & Alumni Coordinator.

The presentation was opened by Dr.

Farid Amirouche, University of Illinois,

followed by a self introduction of each

of the Algerian-American scholars.

The scholars are all members of the

Algeria-American Foundation for

Culture, Education, Science, and Tech-nology, formally launched at the Na-

tional Academy of Sciences on January

15, 2010 in Washington, DC. The

Chairman of the organization is Dr.

Elias Zerhouni, Presidential Envoy for

Science and Technology. Algerian

Ambassador the U.S., Abdallah Baali,

and U.S. Ambassador to Algeria, David

Pearce, are both Honorary Co-

Chairman of the organization.

The organizations president, Dr. Farid

Amirouche, and the Director General

of the Algerian National Agency for

Scientific Research, Dr. Hafid Aoureg,

led the conference. The mission of

the foundation is to address the fol-

lowing objectives: develop and foster

strategic relations of cooperation

between Algeria and the USA; pro-

mote progress of science, technologyand health between the two countries;

advance the national interest in educa-

tion in both countries; encourage

innovative ideas whenever they arise;

explore and identify opportunities and

resources to promote training and

community relations; and to promote

Algerian and American cultural ex-

change activities.

Six members of the organization spoke

to students about their life as students

in Algeria and how they transitioned

to student life in the U.S. Studentsasked questions about entrance into

U.S. schools and about how their

current education could help them to

get scholarships to study in the U.S.

The CAO and Educational Advisor

talked to students about becoming

more competitive and about packaging

themselves as students.

Students left the two-hour session

excited and honored to be among

Algerian-Americans Get Connected

DEPARTMENT OF STATE

December 2010Volume 2, Issue 13

El-Djazair Alumni Newsletter

Inside this issue:

Algerian-Americans GetConnected

1

U.S. Officials Visit to AC-CESS

2

U.S.-Maghreb Entrepre-neurship Conference

2

Educational Advisor

Visits A.C. Oran

3

Lets Play Some One-On-One. 3

Message to Alumni 4

Dr. Farid Amirouche, President of AA-

FEST, introduces the panel.

AAFEST Panel

Panel Poses With Students

Amina, Access Alumna, asks question

to the panel.

AAFEST panel contact info is available on

U.S.Embassy Algiers-Alumni & Education Advising


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On November 30, Assistant Secre-

tary for Economic, Energy, and

Business Affairs Jose Fernandez and

Special Representative for Com-

mercial and Business Affairs

Lorraine Hariton spoke to English

Access program students in Algiers.

The two traveled to Algeria for the

U.S.-Maghreb Entrepreneurship

Conference hosted by the Depart-

ment of State and the U.S.Alge-

ria Business Council. Fernandez

spoke to the students about his

background and his passion for

artistic entrepreneurship. He

spoke about establishing the first

Hispanic Theatre Festival in NewYork and managing the first 24-

hour all jazz station in New York.

To the students surprise Fernan-

dez revealed that English was not

his first language and that he did

not learn the language until he was

ten years old. Because of this

experience, he was able to under-

stand the Access students dedica-

tion and commitment to learning

English.

Hariton spoke about her career at

IBM and being the CEO of a tech-

nology company. She also shared

with the students the importance

of entrepreneurship and to thinking

critically about not just getting a

job but also creating jobs in their

country.

After Fernandez and Hariton intro-

duced themselves, the students

asked questions about U.S.Alge-

ria relations, the difficulty in start-

ing businesses, and the role that

education played in their success.Fernandez and Hariton recognized

that the students researched their

backgrounds and were impressed

that the students asked them ques-

tions directly related to their pas-

sions, careers, and objectives of

their visit.

In an effort to expose Access stu-

dents to U.S. officials and native

English speakers, the Public Affairs

Section at the U.S. Embassy in

Algiers, often includes a visit to one

of the Access program Schools to

give students the opportunity to

practice their English skills and to

show the visitors the impact that

the Access school has on Algerian

youth and American public diplo-

macy.

Minister of Industry, Investmentand SMEs, H.E. Minister Mohamed

Benmeradi and US Assistant Secre-tary of State Mr. Jose W. Fernan-dez, with a very warm welcome

from the Chairman of the US-Algeria Business Council, Mr. PaulMikolashek and the US Ambassa-

dor to Algeria, H.E. Ambassador

David Pearce. One of the greatestoutcomes of this important confer-ence was the desire to spin out of

the trans-Maghreb networkingbetween young entrepreneurs. TheUS-Algeria Business Council is

hopeful that at the next round ofthe US-Maghreb EntrepreneurshipConference, many new trans-

Maghreb success stories will beannounced.

The US-Algeria Business Council is

a non-profit, independently fundedbusiness association composed of

nearly 100 Algerian and US mem-bers. The mission of the US-AlgeriaBusiness Council is to expand anddiversify US-Algeria trade while

On December 1-2, 2010, the US-Algeria Business Council and the

US Department of State organizedthe 2010 US-Maghreb Entrepre-neurship Conference in Algiers,

Algeria. This conference was thefirst of its kind in the region andfeatured the voices of numerous

young entrepreneurs, globally

recognized business leaders andexperts, key government officialsand international press figures.

Participants came from Algeria,Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, theUnited State and Tunisia, as well as

the European Union and the MiddleEast. Far from being an isolatedevent, this conference was the first

official follow-on conference to the2010 Presidential Summit on Entre-preneurship hosted by President

Barak Obama in Washington, DC,

and the first of many ongoing US-Maghreb Entrepreneurship Confer-

ences to be held annually.

The keynote address at this confer-ence was presented by the Algerian

representing the interest of ourmembers as a whole. Through the

year the USABC hosts eventsfeaturing key figures in US-Algeriatrade and organizes sector-specific

trade missions. Companies operat-ing in US-Algeria trade are encour-aged to contact and join the US-

Algeria Business Council and bene-

fit from its outstanding network ofmembers and partners. More infor-mation about the USABC can be

found atwww.us-algeria.org .

U.S. Official Visit to Access School

U.S.-Maghreb Entrepreneurship Conference

Page 2 El-Djazair Alumni Newsletter

Fernandez greets stu-dents after their discus-

sion

Hariton talks about her

experience

View of the Meeting

U.S. Entrepreneurship Con-

ference Opening

Assistant Secretary of StateJose Fernandez speaks to stu-

dents about entrepreneurship
http://www.us-algeria.org/http://www.us-algeria.org/


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As part of the efforts to increaseAlgerian students interest in the

U.S. Education, A. Boussoufa, the

Educational Advisor at the PublicAffairs Section visited the American

Corner in Oran on December 22,

2010.

The main purpose of the visit wasto meet with local students and to

give a presentation on U.S. Univer-sities and Colleges and the processof application for international

students.

Students from all fields such as

science, technology, medicine or

humanities, attended the presenta-tion and showed great interest in

the subject but also on the U.S.Department of States sponsored

programs and EducationUSA ser-vices for international students.

Most of the topics were new for

the audience as they learnt how tomore efficiently find an institution

that fit their requirements, but alsohow to compare both the Algerianand American system, which for a

majority seemed to be an impor-tant part in making up their choices

for their academic future.

The application process has taken abig part of the Q&A that followed

the presentation, as students werevery interested to have tips on howsuccessfully apply to U.S. institu-

tions; they also exposed somedifficulties they can encounter withsuch a process, this presentation

was also attended by Barbara

Rumbinas, the English Language

Fellow in the University of Oran.

The American Corner in Oran wasa perfect venue for such presenta-tion; it has a strategic location inthe Faculty of Medicine in the Es-

Sania, Oran and is run by a verydynamic team led by Mrs. FatimaKazi, the Corner was first opened

to the public on June 6, 2008.

over the next year, with the ulti-

mate goal of establishing a basket-

ball academy in Algeria for junior

high school students.

The next two visits will occur in

the spring and summer of2011. The opening ceremony was

attended by Ambassador Pearce

and the Chef du Cabinet of the

Ministry of Youth and Sports.

The members of the One on One

team were extremely impressed by

the energy and talent of the chil-

dren and their coaches. Arthur

Jackson, the President of One-on-

In conjunction with the Ministry of

Youth and Sports (MYS), the Alge-

rian Basketball Federation, and the

Algerian Embassy in the U.S., Em-

bassy Algiers sponsored a group of

six basketball coaches and players

from Washington-based NGO One-on-One Basketball to conduct a

basketball camp December 16-20

at the Salle de Sport in Staoueli

(Algiers).

Participants included approximately

120 students aged 11-14 and their

coaches. This is one of three visits

One-on-One will make to Algeria

One, noted, An impressive im-

provement in the way the kids

were playing in just five days of

training thanks to their determina-

tion to learn.

All the coaches were thrilled withthe hospitality and new friendships

they found in Algiers, and are ex-

cited to come back in the spring.

Educational Advisor Visits American Corner Oran

Lets Play Some One-On-One

Page 3Volume 2, Issue 13

Arthur Jackson, Presidentof One-On-One

American Corner Oran Advising Session

Answering students

questions


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U.S. Embassy Algiershttp://algiers.usembassy.gov/

Alumni Coordinator/Educational Advisor at theU.S. Embassy

[email protected]

Dear Alumni,

The El Djazair Alumni Newsletter, is celebrating its first anniversary after hav-

ing been published the first time on December 2009.

On the eve of our first year anniversary but also the New Year, we would like to

thank all of the Alumni who contributed with their writings and also the grow-

ing number of readers for their comments, support and interest in this product

and in the activities of the Public Affairs Section at the U.S. Embassy in Algiers.

Our wish is that you will continue to support our work and to receive more

information about your contributions to the Algerian American relationship

featured in your newsletter.

More contributions are needed from you all. Send your stories on U.S. Spon-

sored programs you attended and being Alumni back in Algeria.

Contribute to the Newsletter! Visit our Facebook page! Stay active!

Happy New Year.

DEPARTMENT OF STATE

Nassira Nouioua

NESA Yasmina Boumerah

MEPI

Mohamed TabboucheIVP Fewzia Bejaoui

TESOL

Mouloud Mouhoubi

YES Isma Hadji

SUSIWalid Baba Ahmed

NESALatifa Krachi

FLTA

Women 2 WomenBetween the Lines

Rached Zaghlache

AYLPAA FEST

[email protected]

el djazair alumni newsletter - december 2010

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