Arab Democracy Fellows Start Program with High-Level Meetings in Washington

Washington, January 30-February 2, 2007: The inaugural group of Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI) Leaders for Democracy fellows spent the first week of a four-month program gaining firsthand knowledge of the American executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government. Their visit to Washington included stops at the White House, the State Department, Congress, and the Supreme Court, as well as receptions hosted by the Embassy of Jordan and the Maxwell School of Syracuse University.

The fellows, who come from Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman, the Palestinian territories, Qatar, Syria, Tunisia, and Yemen, are participating in an academic and professional development experience that includes a month at Syracuse followed by a three-month skill-building fellowship in New York or Washington.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice welcomed the MEPI Leaders for Democracy fellows to the State Department. She told the fellows they would be founding fathers and mothers of democracy in the Middle East because “people need to have a say in their future, not to have it dictated to them.” She also spoke of the long journey of democracy in the U.S., a journey that excluded some citizens in the beginning but that put institutions in place so democracy could develop and flourish. With this in mind, Secretary Rice said, “We come as Americans, with humility, not arrogance” as we assist those seeking greater freedom and opportunity in the Middle East. During the discussion, the fellows asked a number of questions on topics ranging from Internet privacy to women’s empowerment. Secretary Rice was joined by Assistant Secretary of State David Welch, who also took questions from the fellows.		Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Scott Carpenter, who is the coordinator of broader Middle East and North Africa initiatives, spoke with the fellows about the goals of the President’s Middle East Partnership Initiative, which has invested more than $293 million in reformers in the region who are working so democracy can spread, education can thrive, economies can grow, and women can be empowered. Following this session, the fellows had conversations with Alberto Fernandez, director of press and public diplomacy for the Near Eastern Affairs Bureau, and Middle East specialists from the Office of International Religious Freedom and the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons.
On February 1, White House press secretary Tony Snow spoke with fellows about the role of free and independent media in the U.S. system. He also answered questions about his career in journalism, his service to three presidents, and his goal of increasing the number of interviews U.S. officials participate in with foreign news organizations. He said his philosophy in the job is “getting as much information out as possible about what we’re doing” and “what our policies are.”		On February 2, the MEPI Leaders for Democracy fellows visited Capitol Hill, where they met Alan Makovsky, a senior professional staff member who works for the chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Rep. Tom Lantos of California. Mr. Makovsky took questions about the legislative process, talked about the committee’s priorities, and asked the fellows about their MEPI experience. The fellows then went to the Supreme Court for a briefing about the judicial branch of government by Supreme Court fellow Terence Lau.

 State Department Photos