In a January 1943 published letter which would ultimately lead to the creation of the historic United Negro College Fund (UNCF), Dr. Frederick Patterson of Tuskegee University wrote that the “nominal contribution of one dollar per person” could be enough to help improve the educational standards of young disenfranchised African-American children around the United States for generations to come.
Empowering Under-served and Vulnerable Populations: Bidoon and Beyond
Since the very inception of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in 1972, education has been viewed as a primary tool for building a knowledge-age economy for this young desert nation.
Leadership in the Middle East: The Story of Women in Lebanon
Leila Saad and Emily Nasrallah are Lebanese women whose impact on women has been remarkable and yet not well-known. Leila has established schools on six continents while Emily is the most frequently included female author in Lebanese textbooks. In most regions, leaders in politics, business, education, and literature arise from among those who have the educational qualifications for entry positions. From there, outstanding people demonstrate the ambition, character, and knowledge to move into leadership positions.
Struggling for the Center: Teacher-Centered vs. Learner-Centered Practices in Palestinian Higher Education
Alongside the struggle for an independent Palestine, not to mention the internal power struggles between the rival Fatah and Hamas movements, another struggle — largely absent from local news headlines and talk on the streets — is unfolding in classrooms in Palestinian higher education. Faculty are pushing back against the hegemony of teacher-centered instruction and embracing, in principle if not in practice, the global movement toward learner-centered pedagogy.
Women’s education in the Arab world has increased substantially in the last several decades, both in absolute terms and relative to men. However, when looking at the Arab world, understanding that there are vast differences culturally, politically, and socially among the countries is essential. This essay looks at the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, where women share a similar cultural and socio-economic context.
Private Contractors in Conflict Zones: The Good, the Bad and the Strategic Impact
In Iraq and Afghanistan, the United States has vastly expanded its use of contractors in conflict zones without serious consideration of their strategic impact. While the presnece of contractors is not new, the number and types of tasks they are executing is. This discussion will examine what is good about contractors, what problems they cause and then the largely unexamined strategic impact of contractors — both armed and unarmed — on current and future conflicts. It concludes with policy recommendations for the use of contractors in future conflicts.
The Israei-Syrian Conflict over the Occupied Golan Heights: Myths and Realities
Dr. Yigal Kipnis, an Israeli author, geographer, historian, and leading expert on the Israeli-Syrian conflict over the Golan Heights will discuss the current state of Israeli settlements on the Golan, and related topics.
The Middle East Institute is proud to host Ambassador Robert E. Hunter, Senior Adviser at the RAND Corporation, to present a new study that lays out the criteria and parameters for a new security structure for the Persian Gulf region. His recent study, Building Security in the Persian Gulf, makes recommendations for a new security structure for the region in order to promote long-term stability while also reducing
