On May 2nd-3rd I had the pleasure and honor of representing the University of Puget Sound at a conference in Cairo, Egypt. I applied for Beyond Borders: An Egyptian-American Dialogue, a multilingual and cross-cultural dialogue that brought together young Americans and Egyptians. The conference was sponsored primarily by two organizations, Project on Middle East Democracy (POMED) and Americans for Informed Democracy (AID). Out of all those who applied, only 25 Americans and 25 Egyptians were selected to attend. I was the only person from the entire western half of the United States. I was also surprised to find myself as one of the only undergraduate Americans there. Many were graduate students or had been working for some time. I flew a in day before the conference so I went and did some of the prerequisite touring. Honestly, though, my favorite thing was just walking around and talking to people. I met an Egyptian working at the American Embassy in Cairo and talked with him on the street for about an hour over tea.
Although only two days, the conference was a worthwhile experience because it provided a unique opportunity to interact with people of different culture and society. The conference was well organized and formatted to address a variety of different issues. There were four main panels that addressed changes in mass media, communication through art, Egypt's role in the Arab world, and the implications of U.S. foreign aid to Egypt. The panels brought together a wide range of different speakers. Each panel had a diverse and well-rounded group of people heavily involved in the issues of that panel. For example, the panel on mass media brought together a BBC journalist, a reporter for Egypt Today, the president of Soliya (a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving inter-cultural understanding between the "West" and the "Muslim world" through internet technology). While they were well put together, I felt the panels took up too much of the time. By far, the most enjoyable aspect of the conference were the small group discussions. Although we discussed the panel topics and possible improvements and suggestions in those areas, the real value of these discussions was that they provided us with a forum to simply talk to one another. I learned so much about Egyptian society and the Egyptian people in just two days.
The other major part of the conference was the crafting of policy recommendations. Two participants (one American and one Egyptian) were selected to present a compiled conference report in Washington D.C. at the end of July. The report was drawn up through a process of discussion in small groups, a general session for voting and amendment on recommendations, and a final session to ratify each proposal. The report will serve as a departure point for advocacy on U.S. policy towards the Middle East. The two ambassadors will serve as representatives of the conference. They will participate in a two-day retreat on leadership development and advocacy and will meet with foreign policy and development experts in the region. Afterwards, these leaders will meet with State Department officials involved with the Middle East Partnership Initiative, USAID officials working in the Middle East and North Africa region on democracy and governance, and legislators concerned with diplomacy and democracy in the region.
Personally, I gained three specific things from the conference. First, I learned much more about Egyptian society, culture, and politics than in the majority of my academic study. The second was learning more about advocacy and how people can influence their local politicians and policy makers to enact changes that can have a national or global impact. I found this very important because it is something concrete that I can apply right here in Tacoma in order to help people on the other side of the world. Finally, I established ties to people in all different parts of the world. This network will be very helpful for me later in my life when I am looking for a job. It also provides additional resources for me if I need help with something in the future.
Something I did not expect to happen, but which will be a very major decision in my life, is that I am now considering going to graduate school abroad. I have known for a while now that I wanted to pursue a Master's degree in Middle Eastern Studies. However, I have always looked at going to graduate school inside the United States. There are several programs that appeal to me here. I never really considered going abroad to do my graduate studies. As of now, it is still more likely that I will go to a program in the U.S., but now I will apply for a program in the Middle East as well. I spoke to several people from the American University in Cairo about their program in Middle Eastern Studies. I began seriously thinking about the benefits of doing an areas studies degree in the region itself. While this is all tentative right now, as I do not plan on attending graduate school for some time, it marks a substantial shift in my ideas for the future. With this in mind, I also began to plan out everything I am going to be doing for the next ten years. Meeting with and talking to people who had either been down the road of work or graduate school, and shared my passion for the Middle East, helped me to think more in depth about what I want to do and where I want my life to go.
I would highly recommend this experience to anyone in the future. The conference covered my meal and living expenses during the two days of the conference (I had to pay for the hostel on the other nights, but it was cheap). Of course, the big thing is plane tickets, but there are a variety of options for financial aid. I was able to get aid from the Politics & Government department, ASUPS, and the University Enrichment Committee (which provides travel grants for students). The conference also gave me a small scholarship for travel. So even though the financial issues may be really difficult to work through, there are multiple avenues open for students to help fund their interests. My biggest complaints about the conference is that was too short and there was not enough discussion time. But overall I believe that the idea of a cross-cultural dialogue that this conference represents is a great leap forward in ways to help connect Americans and Middle Easterners. POMED and AID hosted three conferences last year and the Cairo conference this year is the second one (there was one in Rabat last month and still one in Amman this month). I also hope that some of the things I've said here will encourage people to seek out similar opportunities in any area they are interested, as well as helping people realize that there are many options for financial assistance to support these endeavors. Please feel free to email me with any questions you might have. My ups email is ccronin@ups.edu. Thanks, hope everyone has a great summer!
Colin Cronin
