MUPPET DIPLOMACY
Muppet Diplomacy – 2010 Arab-U.S. Policymakers Conference
from NCUSAR on Vimeo.
Mr. H. Melvin Ming − Chief Operating Officer, Sesame Workshop.
Sesame Workshop shares a common mission with the National Council on U.S.- Arab Relations – to promote awareness, knowledge, and understanding of the Arab countries and the Islamic world. Referring to its work as “Muppet Diplomacy,” Sesame Workshop has been creating captivating youth programming that has reached across divides for over forty years. More than thirty countries, including Egypt, Palestine, and Jordan, have developed local co-productions of Sesame Street. With the help of furry and fuzzy Muppets, these programs reach children by focusing on the unique educational needs of each country – interspersing lessons on basic reading and math with lessons in cooperation, mutual respect, and understanding.
GLOBAL EDUCATIONAL CHALLENGES: WHAT FUTURE ARAB EMPLOYMENT PROSPECTS?
CHAIR:
Ms. Anne Joyce – Vice President, Middle East Policy Council; Editor, Middle East Policy.
SPEAKERS:
Dr. Mody Al Khalaf − Director of Social and Cultural Affairs, Saudi Cultural Mission, the Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia.
Ms. Magali Rheault − Senior Analyst with the Gallup Center for Muslim Studies.
Ms. Maggie Mitchell Salem − Executive Director of Qatar Foundation International; former Regional Director for the MENA region at the International Foundation for Electoral Systems; first Director of Communications and External Relations for the Middle East Institute; former Foreign Service Officer, United States Department of State.
COMMENTATOR:
Mr. John Moran – Career Member of the U.S. Senior Foreign Service, United States Department of State; Distinguished Diplomat in Residence, National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations.
VIDEO
DISTINGUISHED LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD FOR PEACE, JUSTICE, AND MULTI-FAITH COOPERATION IN THE MIDDLE EAST
Distinguished Lifetime Achievement Award – 2010 Arab-U.S. Policymakers Conference from NCUSAR on Vimeo.
Presented to: Dr. Landrum Bolling
Dr. Landrum Bolling is Director at Large and Senior Advisor to Mercy Corps working out of its Washington, D.C. office. His long career has spanned the academic world − where he was President of Earlham College for fifteen years; the foundation world – where he served as President of the Lilly Endowment, one of the largest grant-making foundations in the world, and Chief Executive Officer of the Council on Foundations; the world of ecumenical relations – where he was Director of the Tantur Ecumenical Institute in Jerusalem; and the world of “non-official” diplomacy – where he has long served as a communications channel between the White House, the State Department, and Palestinian leaders.
“DEVELOPMENT AND EDUCATION”
Chair: Ms. Harriet Fulbright − President of the J. William and Harriet Fulbright Center, a non-profit organization which serves to continue Ms. Fulbright’s life’s work in global education and to advance the work of her husband, former longtime U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman and National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations National Advisory Board Chairman Senator J. William Fulbright.
Speakers:
The Hon. Theodore H. Kattouf − President and Chief Executive Officer, AMIDEAST – America-Mideast Education and Training Services; former United States Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates (1998-2001) and Ambassador to Syria (2001-2003); career Foreign Service Officer serving as Deputy Chief of Mission in Damascus, Syria and Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Dr. Juan R.I. Cole − Richard P. Mitchell Collegiate Professor of History, University of Michigan; author of, among other works, Engaging the Muslim World, Napoleon’s Egypt: Invading the Middle East, and Sacred Space and Holy War: The Politics, Culture and History of Shi`ite Islam; blog author, “Thoughts on the Middle East, History, and Religion;” President, Global Americana Institute.
Dr. Mody Al-Khalaf − Director of Cultural and Social Affairs, Saudi Cultural and Educational Mission, Embassy of Saudi Arabia in Washington DC;former Professor of Linguistics, Princess Nora University, Prince Sultan University and The Arab Open University, Riyadh; Editor-in-Chief, Al-Mubtaath, a monthly magazine launched in 1978 by the Saudi Cultural Mission covering a range of topics of interest to Saudi students in the United States.
Commentator:
Dr. Abdulrahman H. Al-Saeed − Advisor to The Royal Court of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Director, Office of Special Projects for HRH King ‘Abdallah Bin ‘Abdalaziz Al Sa’ud, Custodian of the Two Holy Places and King of Saudi Arabia.
Dr. John Duke Anthony appeared in a roundtable discussion on This is America, a weekly public affairs television series hosted by Dennis Wholey. This is America is distributed throughout the United States, Canada, and the world via PBS stations, the AmericanLife TV Network, and Voice of America Television. The program featureed a round table discussion on the complex nature of the Arab world with HM Queen Noor, Amb. Wendy Chamberlin, President of the Middle East Institute, John Duke Anthony, President and CEO of the National Council on U.S. Arab Relations, George Washington University Islamic Scholar Dr. Sayyed Nasr, Hisham Melham of Al-Arabiya Television and Laila Al-Qatami the former communications dir. for the Arab Anti-Defamation League.
“DEVELOPMENTAL AND EDUCATIONAL DYNAMICS”
Chair: H.E. Marwan Muasher, Senior Vice-President of External Affairs, World Bank; former Foreign Minister of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan; former Ambassador of Jordan to the United States; author of The Arab Center: The Promise of Moderation
Speakers:
Educating Each Other (I): “Arabia’s Challenges and Opportunities”
HRH Prince Turki Al Faisal − Chairman, King Faisal Centre for Research and Islamic Studies, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; former Saudi Arabian Ambassador to the Court of St. James and the United States of America; former Director General, General Intelligence Directorate, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Educating Each Other (II): “The Human Rights Agenda”
H.E. Houda Ezra Nonoo − Ambassador of the Kingdom of Bahrain to the United States. In 2006, Ambassador Nonoo was appointed by His Majesty the King, Shaikh Hamad Bin Salman Al Khalifa to the Shura Council; serving on the Committee for Finance and Economic Affairs.
Educating Each Other (III): “Preparing a New Generation of Leaders”
Mr. David D. Arnold − President, American University in Cairo; former Vice President, Institute of International Education (IIE); former Ford Foundation Representative in India.
Commentator: Ms. Muna Abu Sulayman − Co-Host Kalam Nawaem (“Softly Speaking”), MBC-TV; Managing Director, HRH Prince Awaleed Bin Talal Kingdom Foundation
H.E. Marwan Muasher AUDIO (.mp3)
HRH Prince Turki Al Faisal AUDIO (.mp3)
H.E. Houda Ezra Nonoo AUDIO (.mp3)
Mr. David D. Arnold AUDIO (.mp3)
