Alumni in Gaza meet with high school students during Youth Empowerment Day!

Youth Empowerment Day was a successful peer to peer exchange event and a fun experience as a result of various leadership activities! The event brought students from different economic backgrounds to work together as a team, all the while experiencing what it means to be a leader in society.

The alumni were assigned to lead different groups of students, and each started with an icebreaker activity. Students were then asked to identify an important role model, as well as their chosen personal goals and values in life, and share their responses through drawings on poster boards that were presented to the group. After this first set of activities, snacks were served and students were able to get to know each other.

The next activity was an advising session presented by AMIDEAST staff, during which several educational opportunities offered by AMIDEAST and through EducationUSA were discussed. Alumni distributed brochures about the YES program, and a short presentation was given by the alumni on their exchange experience.

The final activity was a movie screening of the film, “Remember the Titans.” After viewing the film, alumni talked about the main themes and story plot that revolved around a history of racism in the United States. The students really enjoyed the film, and were able to relate to it as a result of their own experiences living in the Gaza strip. One student even said that the film was “a great choice!” He went on to say that it was “meaningful and so inspiring.”

This event achieved its main goals through leadership activities, group discussions, and team work. It also expanded students' knowledge of Black History Month celebrated in the U.S., along with discussions on how to eradicate racism around the world.