Beyond Borders: An Egyptian-American Dialogue

Cairo, Egypt
May 2-3, 2008

Americans for Informed Democracy (AID) and the Project on Middle East Democracy (POMED), along with the Center for American Studies and Research, the Egyptology Club at the American University in Cairo, and the Annual Conference for Engineering Students (ACES) of Ain Shams University are now accepting applications for the conference “Beyond Borders: An Egyptian-American Dialogue.” This two-day conference will be a multilingual dialogue on a variety of topics related to journalism, civic participation, and several facets of U.S. policy in the Middle East. Bringing together Egyptian and American experts on media, political party participation, youth mobilization and citizen journalism, participants will engage the speakers in debate and hold small group discussions. The participants will also develop and ratify policy recommendations.

Topics will include:

• Foreign Aid and Its Implications
• Al-Jazeera v. YouTube: Changes in Mass Media
• Egypt’s Role in the Arab World
• Culture, Communication, and Information Technology

The conference will take place in Cairo, Egypt from May 2-3, 2008. American and Egyptian students and young professionals ages 21-28 are encouraged to apply. We seek an ideologically and geographically diverse group of participants. Space is limited, and up to 50 participants (25 Americans and 25 Middle Easterners) will be chosen by a competitive application process.

There is no participation fee to take part in the conference, and lodging and meals will be provided to all participants. Participants are responsible for arranging their own transportation to and from the conference. A limited number of modest travel scholarships are available for highly qualified applicants.

The application may be submitted electronically or in hard copy. To submit electronically, please fill out the online application in English or Arabic. Alternately, e-mail a complete application in English or Arabic to: cairoconference@pomed.org.

Candidates will be accepted on a rolling basis until March 31, 2008. After this date, additional applicants may be accepted, space permitting. Applications may be submitted in English or Arabic. If you have questions, please e-mail cairoconference@pomed.org.