By Mahdi Kurdi
It was March 1st when I headed to the Erbil International Airport to fly to Jordan to attend a conference there. The Middle East Partnership Initiative Alumni Professional Conference was held in the Marriott Hotel in the Dead Sea in Jordan from March 1st, to march 5th. The conference lasted for five days. The event was a reunion for about 90 students in the Middle East and North African countries who participated in the MEPI Undergraduate Leadership program in the U.S. during the summer 2011.
All the students who submitted their project that they were doing in their countries and communities were invited to the conference. Peshawa Ahmed and I as the two AUIS students, who were the summer 2011 participants of the MEPI program, were invited to the conference. We presented our poster presentation about the Business Plan Competition that we are currently managing at AUIS. It was great honor for us to introduce ourselves as the two AUIS students. A large number of participants were really eager to understand about our project within AUIS and asked us about AUIS and our project.
It is worth mentioning that we achieved a great outcome from the conference since we were not the only two students who presented poster presentations. Each participant had his own poster presentation and talked about his or her project that he or she was doing. It was great to see how enthusiastic those young leaders were while they were talking about their projects. I, personally, was so encouraged to do whatever I could do to my community after I attended that conference by the great passion and effort that each participant shared with us during the conference. I used to have one idea and one method to apply that idea into practice to my country. However, the conference taught me to have several strategies to implement my ideas to practice. Any poster presentation I observed taught me a different way to build my team work, create my project plan, and implement my project.
Beside the poster presentations, we had several lectures that were presented during the conference. The lectures were all provided to update the participants with the new ideas and projects to make changes, off course for good, in their communities. We were introduced to the way that the famous leaders like Martin Luther King struggled to change the world. We were taught how to benefit and learn from such great leaders and apply the knowledge we achieve from them to change our societies for better.
Beside the academic activities, it was great to meet with all the MEPI participants again. It was great to sit with each of them and talk about the current situation that is going on in several countries in the Middle East and North Africa. It was an amazing time to listen and to share the experience that each of us had in our countries.
More to the point, it was just a great and unforgettable time to have lunch and dinner in the Marriott Hotel that served us with a great food. I still taste Masnaf, the most special and famous Jordanian food. Moreover, it was just an amazing feeling to experience the great whether of the Dead Sea and walk into the Dead Sea.
Last but not least, through the five days of the conference, I got the opportunity to meet with new students whom I have not been able to see during the summer. I met with so many potential future leaders who will be absolutely great resources to learn from them how can I be an active civil servant for my community. Furthermore, the conference introduced me many other MEPI alumni who participated in the MEPI program in the past. I learnt a lot from them since each of them attended the conference and shared their great project that each of them provided to their communities. I left the program with a spirit that there was no way for me to not have a project for my community from that moment on. The conference really encouraged me to do whatever I can do to help my community and people have better life.
All the students who submitted their project that they were doing in their countries and communities were invited to the conference. Peshawa Ahmed and I as the two AUIS students, who were the summer 2011 participants of the MEPI program, were invited to the conference. We presented our poster presentation about the Business Plan Competition that we are currently managing at AUIS. It was great honor for us to introduce ourselves as the two AUIS students. A large number of participants were really eager to understand about our project within AUIS and asked us about AUIS and our project.
It is worth mentioning that we achieved a great outcome from the conference since we were not the only two students who presented poster presentations. Each participant had his own poster presentation and talked about his or her project that he or she was doing. It was great to see how enthusiastic those young leaders were while they were talking about their projects. I, personally, was so encouraged to do whatever I could do to my community after I attended that conference by the great passion and effort that each participant shared with us during the conference. I used to have one idea and one method to apply that idea into practice to my country. However, the conference taught me to have several strategies to implement my ideas to practice. Any poster presentation I observed taught me a different way to build my team work, create my project plan, and implement my project.
Beside the poster presentations, we had several lectures that were presented during the conference. The lectures were all provided to update the participants with the new ideas and projects to make changes, off course for good, in their communities. We were introduced to the way that the famous leaders like Martin Luther King struggled to change the world. We were taught how to benefit and learn from such great leaders and apply the knowledge we achieve from them to change our societies for better.
Beside the academic activities, it was great to meet with all the MEPI participants again. It was great to sit with each of them and talk about the current situation that is going on in several countries in the Middle East and North Africa. It was an amazing time to listen and to share the experience that each of us had in our countries.
More to the point, it was just a great and unforgettable time to have lunch and dinner in the Marriott Hotel that served us with a great food. I still taste Masnaf, the most special and famous Jordanian food. Moreover, it was just an amazing feeling to experience the great whether of the Dead Sea and walk into the Dead Sea.
Last but not least, through the five days of the conference, I got the opportunity to meet with new students whom I have not been able to see during the summer. I met with so many potential future leaders who will be absolutely great resources to learn from them how can I be an active civil servant for my community. Furthermore, the conference introduced me many other MEPI alumni who participated in the MEPI program in the past. I learnt a lot from them since each of them attended the conference and shared their great project that each of them provided to their communities. I left the program with a spirit that there was no way for me to not have a project for my community from that moment on. The conference really encouraged me to do whatever I can do to help my community and people have better life.
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