Greetings!
The Civic Initiative is back! After a COVID-induced lull, we are running three virtual programs this summer.
We have two Study of the United States Institute (SUSI) programs for Pakistan Young Leaders. Under the leadership of Academic Directors Shaheen Pasha and Tom Fricke, we have combined the two groups. Along with the 11 mentors, we have virtual sessions with over 60 people. Attendance and interest have been outstanding, and the group is currently working on various public policy classes and preparing for a campaign simulation. We have all been pleasantly surprised at the level of engagement and interest. Students the world over are tired of virtual classes but this group has found the material new and challenging.
The U.S. students are also very excited about the program. Here are some sample comments from our “weekly mentor report”:
"The first week of SUSI was very informative and fun. It was great to see so many new faces from across the world. Not only was I able to get closer to my group, I felt like I learned something new about everyone present in the meeting as a whole. Even though I am a Political Science major, I feel as if I learned a whole new slew of information about policy in the United States."
"As far as my observations from the meetings and group, it’s very clear that every member wants to participate and has a lot to say. I believe that’s wonderful for the program and we should make it our utmost priority to have these voices be heard. My group is very friendly, they did a great job in continuing the conversation so it wasn’t awkward. They are all from different parts of Pakistan (Karachi, Quetta, southern Pakistan, etc)."
The enthusiasm, effort, and engagement are also evident with our Entrepreneurship & Economic Development program. This is another SUSI program, and we are partnered with Meridian International on this effort. We have a cohort of 20 students – four each from Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, and Tunisia. Academic Director Arbab Kasi, along with Becky Howland and a team of five U.S. student mentors, is developing the students' entrepreneurial and analytical skills. One student looks forward to helping their community:
"The thought of becoming an entrepreneur has always been an interesting one for me. My business idea stems from my belief in the value of the individual’s role in creating a society that is more conscious, cultured, and thus more productive. SUSI EED Program is a milestone that gets me closer to achieve my dream of establishing a social enterprise focusing on human development by which I can develop the community by developing its main component. That enterprise relies on some partnerships with governmental institutions which especially those related to education. The enterprise offers educational solutions services in entrepreneurship, career development and personal skills through training, mentorship, coaching, project management and networking events."
We are also very grateful to have received a new grant from the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad. This program is designed to improve the reporting, technical, and business skills of young Pakistani journalists. We are very happy to be working with the UMass School of Journalism through our longtime colleague Dr. Razvan Sibii as well as our former grants partner, Sarah Alam (originally from Karachi, now in Toronto). We will engage the journalists with content from the United States and partnerships with established online content providers in Pakistan. We are excited to start this new work in September.
COVID is still making travel and in-person programming uncertain and difficult. The State Department has been very flexible with program structure and we – all of us – really look forward to making our programs a genuine two-way exchange again.
