gression of our respective com-

munity projects, to show all the

obstacles we had to face in

achieving our goal, but no mat-

ter what are the difficulties, I

learned through the program

that a real leader never gives up

his goal, and that what makes

him a good global leader.

Now, I keep going on with my

cause hoping that I will have an

effective impact on people‟s

minds, with my leader soul.

Rached Zeghlache

I am Rached Zeghlache, and as a

former participant of the Alge-

rian Youth Leadership Program ,

I would like to share this experi-

ence through few comments

that would summarize how

fruitful, this program was for me

as a teenager but also as a citi-

zen of the world. Participating in the Algerian

Leadership Program was a very

important achievement for me,

it was a big opportunity to de-

velop my leadership skills.

Among the activities we dealt

with, there were those that

made me more social, aware of

my duty as a citizen; such as

working with the community

organizations of Reno and Vir-

ginia city (Nevada). I also took

part to their cause by making

videos with the help of the

global mentors. These videos

showed the importance of each

organization within the commu-

nity. During my 2010 summer

session at the university of Ne-

vada, Reno, I acquired some

tools in using the power of so-

cial media which is, today, the

most efficient way to gather

people. Through this month in the US, I

met people from different cul-

tural and religious backgrounds,

I had a view on the American

history and culture… the diver-

sity of the world is represented

in the US. That is when I found

out that saying “the US is a

melting pot” wasn‟t just words,

but a fact. Upon my return to Algeria, I

was eager to start practicing the

tools I acquired during the sum-

mer program. My mates and I

worked on our community

project which was about pov-

erty. Through our progression

in this work I knew that poverty

was not just a local issue but it was a reality all over the world,

taking initiatives on this issue

proved that we were effectively

citizens of the world, the same

skills that we learned and ap-

plied in the US could be applied

in my home town. That is the

reason why AYLP was a turning

point in my life of global citizen.

Above all, what I learned during

this program, one thing I feel I

should mention here is that

each one and everyone has a

role to play in his community,

everyone has something to give

to improve the living of the

others. At the beginning of November,

we organized a three day camp

in Algiers where I met my AYLP

mates, we presented the pro-

AYLP: Experiencing Leadership.

DEPARTMENT OF STATE

October / November 2010 Volume I, Issue 12

El-Djazair Alumni Newsletter

Inside this issue:

AYLP, Experiencing

Leadership. 1

Event: CCC Making

the Difference. 2

Road to ACCESS 3

Advising Centers

Launch 3

Fighting Violence

Against Women. 4

Muslims In America 4

Rached Zeghlache

The Competitive College

Club was launched this

month by the Public Affairs

Office of the U.S. Embassy

in Algiers. November 23,

2010 was the date for the

first CCC meeting to which

were invited 12 participants

who are now part of this

challenging program.

The CCC consists of series

of activities, courses and

advising sessions that pro-

vide students with support

and preparation. it was first

thought about when having

students coming back from

US based short period train-

ing and willing to return to

the US for their studies, as

most of them were told that

they had to wait a two-year

period in order to apply.

These students kept on re-

turning for advice and guid-

ance a thing that lead to

create the Competitive Col-

lege Club.

The main purpose of the

competitive College Club is

to give organized group

advising sessions that aim to

prepare and guide students

throughout the application

process.

Students showing interest

are encouraged to join the

Club, their commitment is

obviously shown through

their attendance to the

classes, and they will also be

requested to carry out

some community worth

actions either as groups or

individually. Other activities

include test preparation,

writing skills, universities or

colleges‟ selections, life in

campus…etc.

But the greatest achieve-

ment of the CCC is that it

enables students to know

who they are and where

they are going to.

For the records, the CCC‟s

opening was chaired by

Lawrence Randolph, the

Public Affairs Officer and

Marissa Scott, the Cultural

Affairs Officer, who both

have had great enthusiasm

and support to starting the

CCC in Algeria as it has

shown great success in

many countries in the re-

gion such as Tunisia and

Morocco.

A.B

Event: CCC Making the Difference.

“The greatest

achievement

of the CCC is

that it enables

students to

know who

they are and

where they are

going to”

Page 2 El-Djazair Alumni Newsletter

The CCC’s First Participants.

Lawrence Randolph’s discusses commitment. An Enthusiastic Marissa Scott welcoming the group.

The 2010 Access graduation

season is completed and stu-

dents who have successfully

completed the program had

their certificates during special

ceremony organized in a close

collaboration between the

Public Affairs Section of the

U.S. Embassy, Algiers and the

Access host institutions in Al-

geria. Since 2004 the Access Micro-

scholarship program has been

teaching English to promising

students from underserved

populations. Starting with 4

schools, today the Access

schools are in 8 different cities

of Algeria which are Algiers,

Batna, Bechar, Bajaia, Constan-

tine, Oran, Ouargla and Setif,

reaching out to more than 300

students. During the graduation ceremo-

nies, in each of the visited

schools, students showed a

great command of the English

language, as a result of their

efforts during the tuitions, pro-

vided by teachers who also

benefited of special standard-

ized training. Presentations were given by

the Access graduates on differ-

ent topics such as the planet

protection, community ser-

vices, poetry, music…etc. Congratulations to all and yet,

the best is still to come.

A.B.

tionUSA Advisor based at the

U.S. Embassy in Algiers, this

will be an opportunity to im-

prove students‟ knowledge on

many aspects, among which and

more importantly, the process

to apply and get financial aid in

order to study in the U.S. a

dream that many Algerian stu-

dents wish to fulfill. The first EducationUSA Advis-

ing Center was opened on

November 22, 2010 in TRANS-

FAST, a private language school

located in one of the most

popular neighborhood in Al-

giers and A. Boussoufa, the

Educational Advisor and

Within the U.S. Embassy‟s end-

less efforts to reach a greater

number of young Algerian stu-

dents and promote U.S. Educa-

tion, the Public Affairs Section

in Algiers has launched a cam-

paign to open Advising Centers

al around the city of Algiers. The Advising Centers are

equipped offices, funded by

EducationUSA, and devoted to

give students unbiased advising

and guidance to help them

reach U.S. education. They will

be provided with free com-

puter access, books and one-to

-one or group advising. Regularly visited by the Educa-

Alumni Coordinator at the U.S.

Embassy gave a presentation to

a number of local students, in

collaboration with the U.S.

Embassy‟s Consular section

representative. The presenta-

tion covered the subject of U.S.

education, life in an American

campus and the visa proce-

dures for international stu-

dents.

Other Advising Centers are

opened or opening soon,

Transfast, In-Tuition, Language

Services Institutes, ALC, Hope-

land and Berlitz.

A.B

Road to ACCESS

Advising Centers Launch

Page 3 Volume 1, Issue 12

Presentation at TRANS-

FAST Advising Center.

Bejaia

Bechar

Setif Algiers Batna

This story can fit 100-150

words.

The subject matter that ap-

pears in newsletters is virtually

endless. You can include sto-

ries that focus on current tech-

nologies or innovations in your

field.

You may also want to note

business or economic trends, or make predictions for your

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If the newsletter is distributed

internally, you might comment

U.S. Embassy Algiers http://algiers.usembassy.gov/

Alumni Coordinator/Educational

Advisor at the U.S. Embassy Boussoufaa@state.gov

DEPARTMENT OF STATE

not acceptable.‟” Over the course of five days, Ab-delhamid spoke with hundreds of

Algerians from across the country. Included in her tour were visits to the Emir Abdelkader University of

Islamic Sciences in Constantine and the El-Chaab Center for Strategic

The status of Muslims in American

political life dominated questions directed at Maram Abdelhamid during a recent American Embassy-

sponsored speaking tour of Algeria. Abdelhamid, a seasoned political consultant based near Washington, fielded Algerians‟ questions about

opposition to building an Islamic community center in Manhattan, the status of Muslim women in the United States and a proposed

Quran burning in Florida. “He does not speak for all Ameri-cans,” Abdelhamid said of Pastor Terry Jones, who has since re-

tracted his threat to desecrate the Quran. “A lot of Americans, includ-ing Jewish Americans, actually

stood with the Arab and Muslim community and said, „No, this is

Studies in Algiers. Throughout her talks, Abdelhamid stressed the rule of law in protect-ing Americans of all faiths from discrimination. Whether it comes to building houses of worship or wearing a hijab, the law of the land allows for freedom of religious expression. Politics did not always dominate Abdelhamid’s conversations with Algerians. Students at a school in the U.S. State Department’s English Access Micro Scholarship program asked her about life for Muslim children in America and even about her favorite television shows.

By M. Scott Bortot

Muslims In America

Maram Abdelhamid

Marking the International

Day for the Elimination of

Violence against Women,

the U.S. Embassy in Algeria

organized a movie screening

related to this subject.

The event was an opportu-

nity to feature the works of

a young Algerian director,

Yanis Koussim, who pre-

sented two short movies

connected to the struggle

and sufferance of Algerian

women. “Khouya” (my

brother) and Okhti (my sis-

ter) are moving reflections

on women situation in Alge-

ria, two different views on

the same subject, violence

against women.

Following the movies, dis-

cussion started with direc-

tor, Yanis Koussim, who

explained his views on

violence against women

today and the way in pre-

senting this issue through

these short stories.

"Khouya"

My brother was probably

the most appalling of both

movies, it shows the dis-

tress of three sisters,

Yamina, Nabila and Imen,

who travel from the ex-

treme violence of their

brother to developing their

own, which we witness at

the end when all three

reacted by giving back the

same violence they have

been receiving from him.

“Okhti”

My Sister is a strong relfec-

tion on women status in

the Algerian society,

through the eyes of a men-

tal hospital young female

doctor, we witness how

women are seen differently

and how they act to live up

and disclose the contradic-

tions they face every day.

A.B

Fighting Violence Against Women.

Yanis Koussim.