Community College Initiative – CCI

CCI Alumni win Department of State’s Innovation Fund for a Project entitled: “Youth Empowerment for a Democratic Egypt”

Maysa Ismail, CCI alumna (AY2009-2010), who studied Global Business at Northeast Wisconsin Technical College, and both Kareem Arafa, CCI alumnus (AY2009-2010) and Mahmoud Abdel Razek, CCI alumnus (AY2009-2010), who studied  Computer Networking at Spokane Community College have won the Innovation Fund, furnished by the Alumni Affairs Office of the U.S. Department of State, to implement a project that aims at raising the awareness of democracy among Egyptian youth, what it means, and how it could be practiced.

The project targets Egyptian youth 18 to 22 years of age, via the conduct of 5 seminars in Egypt’s largest universities, Cairo, Alexandria, Menofia, Suez and Assuit universities. The target group was chosen based on the age factor. Age is very critical, since people 18 years of age will be able to vote, and need to understand what lies ahead of them. Ismail, Arafa and Abdel Razek believe that Egyptian youth need to be empowered with knowledge, in order better to prepare them to practice their new found freedom in Egypt, after the revolution, and decide the kind of future they want for themselves, and their country.

Like many Egyptians, they are motivated by the revolution to do something for their home country. Understanding that 30-years’ oppression may lead people to making wrong decisions based on lack of knowledge, they propose to use knowledge as the key to combat any remnants of the old regime.

Through their participation in the Global Leadership Program during their study at the U.S., which is part of the CCI Program, Ismail, Arafa and Abdel Razek were able to gain and appreciate a better understanding of volunteerism, democracy, leadership and the value of one’s participation in the community, in addition to participating in voting processes and elections, “Now is the time to make a difference…your vote is an investment in your future”, according to Arafa. Ismail was also able to comprehend that minorities need to have a strong understanding of democracy and its practice, through her experience of the Hispanic culture in the U.S., “Democracy does not mean that the majority should rule, and what they dictate be taken for granted. On the contrary, it also entails respect towards minorities, what their needs are, and their acceptance, regardless of the differing ideologies.” Abdel Razek was also able to realize the importance of youth via his participation in CCI in the U.S., which triggered his approach to this project. “Our target group is youth, they started the revolution, and so others can be motivated to do something for their country…we will also incorporate the use of public figures who are not affiliated to any movements, political directions or political parties. Also a TOT concept will be used, where those who attended the seminar can educate others, and student union presidents can be motivated to think of ways to disseminate the message of democracy.”

In each seminar, 2000 attendees are targeted, while 12 workshops will also be conducted, 100 attendees each to serve as community leaders to educate others. Material including flyers, articles and pamphlets will be printed and given to attendees to spread the word among other youth. NGOs will participate as well. One is called El Taharraok Al-Igaby (Positive Movement), which also works on raising the awareness of the public about democracy, and conducts seminars that act as a playground for different political parties to publicize their agendas.

When they were asked how their experience in CCI helped in the vision they developed for their project, they all asserted that since the goal under CCI was not only academic, but also cultural, their attendance of intercultural communication classes made them aware of how Egyptians are viewed in the U.S., and how diverse reactions to their culture are, as some were not aware of the Middle East in the first place, while others approached them and showed keen interest in learning more about Egypt, Egyptians and Islam. Abdel Razek was motivated after realizing how much information was provided to their peers in the U.S. through these classes, and thought that perhaps it would even be better to help people here, in his home country. Ismail benefitted greatly from the fact that she had to engage as a volunteer in several projects in Wisconsin. “This motivated me to do this type of work when we come back.” As for Arafa, volunteerism in the U.S. made him aware of the fact that volunteer and community work in Egypt is quite minimal, and he wants to increase the level and value of volunteerism in Egypt, “the culture of community work is not evident in Egypt…when you travel abroad and you love your country, you want to come back and see your country the same…”