AMIDEAST Staff Post: Matthew Guckenberg attends the Enrichment Seminar in Philadelphia

I had the great pleasure to attend the Fulbright Enrichment Seminar in Philadelphia this year, which focused on Civic Engagement in the Arts. The event started with a highly energetic and passionate presentation from Jane Golden, Executive Director of the City of Philadelphia, Mural Arts program. The students were engaged and excited about their next day’s activity, where they would get to take part in painting one of the thousands of murals that Jane helped bring to Philadelphia. 

  

 

Following the painting of some of the sections of the murals, which are painted onto parachute cloth and then pieced together and glued to the side of a building, we took a trolley tour of some of the more famous murals in Philadelphia. One of which is a four story painting of former NBA Basketball Player, Dr. J, wearing a suit. 

 
The final day of the seminar concluded with a great presentation by me and Megan Ames from the Institute of International Education (IIE), followed by a dance workshop. The dance workshop was great fun as well as very informative. We got to see how MindLeaps, a new NGO, uses dance education to help better the lives of young people in Rwanda. Following the viewing of a short documentary and discussion about the MindLeaps program, the students were led through one of the same workshops that are used with the Rwandan children.

 

The Fulbright Enrichment Seminar in Philadelphia was a great opportunity to visit with students from all over the world and to learn about all the great things they are planning to do to increase civic engagement in their own communities.

Matthew Guckenberg works for the Fulbright team at AMIDEAST in Washington, DC.

Fun Travels with the Utah Fulbright Chapter

 The Utah Fulbright chapter arranged a hike and a one-night stay at the Capitol Reef National Park, which is one of five national parks in the state of Utah. The chapter organized most of the trip logistics, and we had some suggestions as we went along the trip.

We carpooled to Capitol Reef and it was an interesting four-hour drive as it was full of discussions and fun games. As soon as we arrived at our destination, we checked in the inn and went for a quick walk to discover the small town for a while. The next morning after breakfast we all went on an amazing hike at Capitol Reef National Park where we saw petroglyphs, red rocks, and historic structures. The scenery was spectacular and it reminded me of Jordan’s Wadi Rum, which is also known as the valley of the moon.

We left the park after dinner and arrived back in Salt Lake City a little before midnight. It was a wonderful trip to southern Utah, and sharing it with other Fulbrighters added uniqueness to the experience.

Khalid Ahmed is a Jordanian Fulbrighter who is pursuing an MS in Computational Engineering and Science at University of Utah.

Volunteering with the New Orleans Community

On Tuesday, May 12, 2015, I joined a group of Tulane Fulbright Scholars to help assist New Orleans Area Habitat for Humanity, and AmeriCorps in New Orleans. We left the university at 7:00 AM and headed to America Street in New Orleans, where volunteers were already hard at work. NOAHH is planning a ten-day, ten-home blitz build this month in commemoration of the decennial anniversary of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, and so our job was to help lay the foundations for some homes and prepare them for wall-raising.

Most of us didn't have any construction experience and some of us had never even held a hammer before. However, the AmeriCorps staff were very patient with us and immediately put us to work. With my friends from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia and Uzbekistan, we built walls, put together windows and hammered in so many nails. We learned terms such as “flush”, “plum” and “king jack”. I helped put in five porches in five different houses, after mastering the circular saw and the electric screwdriver. Even though I cut myself on power tools, sweated in 86-degree weather and got a spectacular sunburn, I enjoyed myself a lot and I was proud to know that I helped build a new home for someone in need. In the past year, I have been part of an incredible community and I loved to give back, even if just a little, to New Orleans. New Orleans is an amazing city, incredibly resilient, and I’m very proud to be part of the ongoing effort to rebuild the city that has become my home.

Tamam Tawk is a Lebanese Fulbrighter who is pursuing an LLM at Tulane University.

The 2014 United Nations Climate Summit

Visiting the United Nations headquarters was one of my childhood dreams. This dream came true in 2010 when I participated in Middle Eastern Partnership Initiative (MEPI) program in the USA and had the opportunity to visit the headquarters for the first time. Since then, I promised myself that I would work hard to return not only as a visitor, but even for a better opportunity like a job position. 

At the United Nations Headquarters July 2010

A year prior to my arrival to the United States as a Fulbrighter, I had heard about the UN Climate Summit being held on September 23rd, 2014, but I never thought that I would have the opportunity to participate as attendance was by invitation only. Then, upon my arrival, I heard that at the request of the UN Secretary-General's Climate Change Support Team, the United Nations Non-Governmental Liaison Service (UN-NGLS) issued an open call for nominations of civil society speakers and attendees for the 2014 UN Climate Summit. I was so excited to apply and was an optimist as always. I was one of the 544 nominees who were submitted, and I was nominated amongst 76 semi-finalists. I was so honored to be invited along with 120 country leaders including the U.S. president. 

U.S. President Barack Obama committing to climate action like never before during the Climate Summit at the UN headquarters in NYC

I was so honored to attend this summit and have the opportunity to network with different youth organizations and civil society from around the world. I also was so delighted that I surprisingly was reunited with some of my friends and colleagues who I hadn’t seen for some time.

On September 21st, 2014, the biggest Climate Change march in history was held in the streets of New York City and 162 countries around the world. I was so proud to be a part of it. I joined more than 400,000 people who showed up in the streets of New York to voice the loudest, strongest, clearest call for action on climate change the world has ever seen. There's never been a march for climate justice of that size before. Some notable participants including Ban Ki Moon, Leonardo Di Caprio, Mark Ruffalo, Emma Thompson, Susan Sarandon, Brad Pitt, Evangeline Lilly, Edward Norton, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Sting, Paul Bettany and the former Vice President Al Gore were there.

The march was intended to positively influence the negotiations taking place during the Climate Summit.

Being in the United States at the time of the summit was a priceless gift from my Fulbright program. Fulbright gave me this unique opportunity to make this happen and I am eagerly waiting for what this wonderful experience still has for me. 

Selma Chirouf is an Algerian Fulbrighter who is pursuing a Master’s in Organizational Leadership at Manhattan College.

International Week at Texas A&M University

Last week was International Week at Texas A&M University, which included many activities to show on-campus diversity at our school to educate students about different cultures. I volunteered at 3 events, which were called I-History, I-Exhibit, and I-Fashion. 

At I-History, I gave a 10-minute presentation on the rich history of Bahrain. There were only 9 countries represented in this event. The audience was so pleased to hear about Bahrain and learn about its history and culture.

At I-Exhibit, I joined forces with the Arab Student Association and showcased many items about Bahrain that were displayed alongside other Arab countries at the event. I volunteered at the booth and answered any questions from visitors. It was set up in a very live and vibrant place where many students walked by.

At, I-Fashion I wore traditional clothing of my home country and carried the flag on stage, alongside other participants from different countries. This was the biggest event of International Week, and it was done at a large theater and attended by many people. Everyone enjoyed the diversity and the show that was put together in this event.


Ahmed Almulla is a Bahraini Fulbrighter who is pursuing an MBA at Texas A&M University.