Bonjour d’Algérie Morning TV Show with Youth Leadership Program (YLP) Participants

Following the return of 25 students and 3 teachers from an intensive month-long YLP experience in Reno, Nevada, 5 YLP participants and Cultural Officer Valerie Wheat appeared on Bonjour d’Algérie to talk about the program. While a documentary film produced entirely by the students played in the background, the participants shared stories of their time in the U.S., and described the benefits they received through intensive English language learning, leadership and civic engagement exercises, and diversity training. The students were exemplary “Junior Ambassadors”, demonstrating the importance of promoting tolerance and understanding of other people, and encouraging future participation in this annual program open to all youth across Algeria.

Footage provided by the US Embassy in Algeiria. http://algiers.usembassy.gov/
Pictured above are Mohamed Ouamoussa and Chanez Hendel, both of Algiers. Interview includes Valerie Wheat of the US Embassy, Amina Boumaza (English teacher from Algiers), Yasser Meghari (Blida), and Tinhinane El Kadi (Algiers). The “Bonjour d’Algérie” morning show is broadcast by Canal Algérie (the Algerian state television’s European and American satellite channel).

Ambassador Pearce's Comments regarding the Youth Leadership Program for Algeria

The Youth Leadership Program (YLP) for 2009 started officially on July 12 2009 at the Embassy with the 25 selected students coming in to the consular section for their visa interviews, followed by a lunch buffet hosted by the Ambassador at his residence in Algiers. The morning also included an information session for the students and their parents, led by the Northern Nevada International Center, the official implementer of the program. The session provided time for the many questions prior to the travel of these “junior Ambassadors.” This year the program will commence with the 2 week English language/orientation in Setif, 4 hours southeast of Algiers, and then 4 weeks in Reno, Nevada.

Ambassador David D. Pearce's comments at the Luncheon on July 12 2009:

"Welcome to the U.S. Embassy and to the official opening of the Youth Leadership Program 2009. Congratulations to the 25 students and 3 Teachers and Chaperones selected to participate in this program. We commend you for your talents and skills that were demonstrated during the application and interview process. We are counting on each one of you to take full advantage of this opportunity to improve your English language skills and your leadership skills, and to learn firsthand about the United States and its people.

This is the 5th year of the Youth Leadership Program in Algeria. The USG commends the support that the Ministry of National Education has provided in the past, and we look forward to a relationship of mutual support and cooperation. We have 25 excellent students this year, up from 20 last year, and we hope that with each year, the number of students selected will increase.

This year we have the support of the Northern Nevada International Center and “Le Club scientifique de la Faculte des Sciences Medicales” who are are partners in the U.S and Setif for this program. We thank these two organizations for their dedication and commitments.
Now I would like to ask that Mr. Joaquin Roces of the NNIC, and Dr. Khalil Sakhri come forward to say a few words of welcome.

Thank you very much, and once again, congratulations to the 25 students and 3 Teachers and Chaperones."

President Bush nominated David Pearce, a 26-year veteran of the Foreign Service with long experience in the Middle East, as the U.S. Ambassador to the People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria in June 2008. Ambassador Pearce was confirmed by the Senate in August 2008.Ambassador Pearce entered the Foreign Service in January 1982, serving first as a vice consul and political officer in Riyadh. From 1984 to 1985, he was a watch officer in the State Department Operations Center, followed by a 1985-87 tour as a country desk officer for Greece. In 1987-88, he studied Arabic at the Foreign Service Institute field school in Tunis, then became chief of the political section at the U.S. Embassy in Kuwait. During the Gulf War, Ambassador Pearce worked as a liaison officer with the Kuwaiti government-in-exile in Taif, Saudi Arabia. He returned to Washington in 1991 to become a special assistant to the Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs. From 1994-97, he was Consul General in Dubai and from 1997-2001 he served as Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Damascus. From September 2001 to July 2003, he was Director of the Department of State’s Office of Northern Gulf Affairs, with responsibility for Iraq and Iran. In May-June 2003, Ambassador Pearce served with the Coalition Provisional Authority in Baghdad. He was Chief of Mission and Consul General at the United States Consulate General in Jerusalem from September 29, 2003 through July 2005, and then Minister Counselor for Political Affairs at the United States Embassy in Rome from 2005-2008.

Ambassador Pearce was born in Portland, Maine on June 9, 1950, and received his bachelor’s degree from Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine in 1972 and an M.A. in journalism from Ohio State University in 1973. He has been married since 1978 to the former Leyla Baroody. The Pearces have two children: Jennifer, who recently received her master’s degree in community and regional planning at the University of Oregon, and Joseph, who is studying for a master’s degree in Arabic studies at Georgetown University.

Speech at the residence of the US Ambassador to Algeria : 12 July 2009

These short comments were made at the residence of the US Ambassador to Algeria, David Pearce, in Algiers, Algeria. It was during a luncheon Ambassador Pearce hosted for the participants and families of the Youth Leadership Program for Algeria. In attendance were the 28 participants, their parents, embassy and consular staff, and representatives from Algeria's Ministry of Education.

"Since I arrived here in your country as a guest, I have learned what Valerie and the Ambassador already know: that the American and Algerian people share a great many common things. Both our countries were born out of a desire by our founding fathers to break free of the yoke of colonialism and imperialism. Our national identities have been shaped by that struggle for freedom and desire for independence.

In 1957, Senator John Kennedy publicly denounced French colonialism in Algeria and as president, he was the first to recognize a free and independent Algeria and to officially meet with your country's first president, Monsieur Ben Bella.

As I look out at the fresh young faces of the participants, I am reminded of the words of President Kennedy which hang in our library at the University of Nevada Reno. The torch now passes to you, a new generation of Algerians born in this century, the first generation of this new millennium and like your American counterparts in Reno, you too, have been tempered by war and disciplined by a hard and bitter peace, both our nations are proud of our ancient heritage and rich history, and unwilling to watch the slow undoing of those democratic principles to which both our countries and people have always been committed to , and remain committed to today, at home and around the world.

Kennedy's words electrified the Afro-Arab world and the Muslim people of Algeria long remembered his courageous words that helped carry them through the "darkest period" of their armed struggle against the French. Now, that torch has been passed to you, the next generation, to light the way and lead our countries into the future. In closing I wish to read a passage from the Al Baqarah in the Koran:

"Those that gave their wealth for the cause of God can be compared to a grain of corn which brings forth seven ears, each bearing a hundred grains."

(Original Arabic quote was read by an interpreter, Houda Bouhidel)

Each of you here today is like that grain of corn, a seed of peace, in whom the dreams of both of our countries rests. May Allah bless our joint venture so that each seed of peace we plant here and in America yield a hundred years of peace and friendship between our two countries."

25 Algerian Students to Visit Northern Nevada, Will Stay with Local Families By Jennifer Burton

(The following appeared in the July 2009 issue of Positively Northern Nevada with Jennifer Burton http://www.positivelynorthernnevada.com/)

If you could tell 25 students from North Africa something about the America, what would it be? Ten local high school students and about a dozen host families will have that chance when 25 Algerian high school students arrive in Reno for a three week conference on leadership and media later this month.

Algeria is 99 percent Muslim and the students, who speak French, English and Arabic, will have a chance to share their their culture with ours and vice versa.

“I was impressed by their level of English and comprehension and their grasp of pretty complicated concepts of American History,” said Joaquin Roces who reviewed the essays the students wrote to be considered for the program.

Roces, who is with the Northern Nevada International Center, left for Algeria last week to meet the students and will bring them to Reno at the end of July. Once here, they’ll participate in the Algerian Youth Leadership conference, which is sponsored by the U.S. State Department.

In addition to the Algerian students, ten local high school students will also participate in the program. “I think it’s going to be a very interesting dynamic in exchange between the American students and the Algerian students,” Roces added.

Each Algerian student had to write an essay in English to be considered for the program. One 17 year old boy says in his essay that he looks forward to exchanging ideas and learning about America. He also likes soccer and watches NBA basketball, which he calls “spectacular.” Another 17 year old is excited about the chance to meet people and learn to communicate across cultures.

The students will learn about media and how it fits into society, and each will help produce a three minute mini-documentary. Local families who signed up to host the students will get a chance to learn about Algeria and meet kids who they might not otherwise come in contact with. Be sure to check back on PNN for more about the program after they arrive in Reno.

This entry was posted on Monday, July 6th, 2009 at 12:56 pm by PNN and is filed under Community events, News Items, Northern Nevada Living, Northern Nevada News, Uncategorized.