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‘Salaam’ to build cultural accord

DUBAI - Exchange of students is a critical solution to the burgeoning issue of the cultural divide between the Arab world and the US, feels AIESEC, the international platform for young people to discover and develop their potential.

On September 11, 2003, AIESEC US, Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia and the UAE got together in cooperation with the United States' Department of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and launched the ‘Salaam Programme’ which aims to build cultural understanding and to increase cooperation among the next generation of leaders in the Arab world and the US.

This programme continues to provide talented enthusiastic students from the UAE, Egypt, Tunisia and Morocco with opportunities to do summer internships in the United States and vice versa with the aim of building economic and cultural ties among the participating countries.

At the same time, this programme in the UAE is run exclusively for UAE nationals which is a unique opportunity for their personal and professional development as individuals and in their future careers. The first year of ‘Salaam Programme’ saw five UAE nationals students experiencing international traineeships through the programme in the US. Three students from the Dubai Men’s college and two from the EDAAD scholarship programme were the participants in Salaam in 2004 from the UAE.

Ibrahim Al Najjar, a student at the Dubai Men’s College who returned to Dubai from a summer internship in the United States, says: “The opportunity that AIESEC gave me through the Salam Programme shook and impacted my life so much that I was amazed to find myself with new understandings and values. It has definitely helped me reach a better level of harmony and understanding of the world we live in.”