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About IYLEP
IYLEP 2008: How to get involved
2008 Annual Youth Conference: Kansas City
2008 Legacy International: The Global Youth Village
Overview of IYLEP 2007
IYLEP 2007: Message from Iraqi Students
Contact IYLEP Program Coordinator
"Our dream is that the new generation will be a bright and secure future for our country. We have hope that one day the Iraqi people will live in peace and equality between all kinds of Iraqi people. Our dream is to become the future leaders of a new Iraq. Our dream is to see Iraqis smiling again, and living a normal life without fear."
~ IYLEP 2007 participant
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Healing the wounds of distrust that exist between nations must start with young people. This has been the model (and goal) of Sister Cities International since its inception. The goals of the Iraqi Young Leaders Exchange Program (IYLEP) are:
- To promote mutual understanding between the United States and the people of Iraq.
- To develop a sense of civic responsibility and commitment to community development among youth.
- To foster relationships among youth from different ethnic, religious, and national groups.
2007 was the first year of the IYLEP program and the 22 high school students who participated came from all over Iraq, including Baghdad, the North and the South. They were Sunni, Shia, Christian and Kurdish, and ranged in age between 15 and 17 years old.
Sister Cities International IYLEP partners include the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, U.S. Department of State, AMIDEAST, Legacy International, and its own member organizations, the Denver Regional Council of Governments (2007), and the Gainesville-Duhok Sister City Program (2008).
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IYLEP 2008: How to Get Involved
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During the summer of 2008, Sister Cities International will again be an integral part of this momentous program, hosting 28 students in July and August. IYLEP 2008 participants will attend the 2008 Sister Cities International Youth Conference in Kansas City, Missouri, where they will meet and mingle with youth from around the globe, and specifically with youth involved in Sister Cities.
The Gainesville-Duhok Sister City Program will host the IYLEP students for a 2 week community stay in Gainesville, Florida. After their community stays, students will travel to Bedford, Virginia to take part in Legacy International's program, the Global Youth Village. The youth's trip to the United States will end with a Civic Education Week in Washington, D.C., hosted by our offices.
Sister Cities International members are encouraged to recruit youth from their community to attend the annual Youth Conference in Kansas City, and also to apply to attend the Global Youth Village, hosted by Legacy International.
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2008 Annual Youth Conference: Kansas City
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Kansas City is a vibrant, metropolitan city with a long and diverse history. Students will take part in workshops addressing this year's theme, "Global Action: Taking Community Service Abroad." The Youth Conference takes place in tandem with Sister Cities International's Annual Conference for adults. At the conference, youth will learn how they can improve their own towns and communities through service, and will build leadership skills for an increasingly connected world. Possible site visits include Kansas City's famous jazz clubs and the City Market on the Missouri River. Please visit the 2008 Kansas City Youth Conference website for more details!
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2008 Legacy International: The Global Youth Village
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Are you anxi
ous to build bridges of mutual understanding between Americans and Iraqis? The Global Youth Village offers youth an opportunity to get to know Iraqi students in an intimate, outdoor setting during this special week long program. Students will learn Arabic, attend classes on conflict resolution, and take part in team-building and leadership activities. Legacy International is dedicated to selecting a group of participants representing U.S. diversity. Applicants of color, first generation Americans, recently settled immigrants, refugees, Americans, and youth from the inner city are especially encouraged to apply. Please visit Legacy International's website for more details and to apply. Photo used with permission of photographer,
M. Shadee Malaklou
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Overview of IYLEP 2007
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IYLEP 2007 marked the first of many Iraqi Young Leadership exchanges. In 2007, 22 Iraqi high school students came to the US from all over Iraq, including Baghdad, the North and the South. They were Sunni, Shia, Christian and Kurdish, and ranged in age between 15 and 17 years old.
The students spent two weeks in the Denver area living with host families. During the community stay, students learned about American culture and grass-roots democratic institutions and processes. Participants describe the host family stay as the most memorable and rewarding part of their experience in the United States.
Host family, Lisa and Daniel Sabey, speaking to a reporter
Photo used with permission of photographer, Tom Madden
Photo used with permission of photographer, Tom Madden
Following their time in Denver the students traveled to Bedford, Virginia where they participated in a week long Iraqi-American Global Citizens Camp. The camp brought teens from the US and Iraq together where they had a chance to meet, learn about each other's life and culture, and explore what it means to be a global citizen. Together the teens from both nations engaged in dialogue, participated in daily workshops such as understanding across cultural and religious differences, took language classes in either Arabic or English and participated in fun activities such as sports and a talent show.
The student's final week was spent in DC learning about civics. The students visited historical landmarks, non-profit organizations, and culturally significant neighborhoods. Sites in DC were selected to show examples of democracy, the struggle for civil rights and equality in the US, the various bodies of local and federal government, individual?s right and access to the government, and the role of media in a democracy.
The student's final week was spent in DC learning about civics. The students visited historical landmarks, non-profit organizations, and culturally significant neighborhoods. Sites in DC were selected to show examples of democracy, the struggle for civil rights and equality in the US, the various bodies of local and federal government, individual?s right and access to the government, and the role of media in a democracy.
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IYLEP 2007: Message from Iraqi Students
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During their stay in Denver, IYLEP 2007 participants expressed concern about America's perception of Iraq. The following are first-person narratives from the participants journals. They serve as a list of what we, as Americans, can do to help ease their civil war.
We Iraqis are living in a hell on earth, no matter where we are and what we do, as long as we're inside Iraq we're going to die. We know that our country is a place where terrorists do their activities but we want you to know that most of the terrorists are not Iraqis. Foreigners, such as Al-Qaida, come to Iraq to destabilize the situation for their own reasons and benefits. The terrorists are using divided religions and money as a cover to brainwash the vulnerable Iraqis.
One truth the Americans should know about the Iraqi people is that we are good people and love life. We are all Iraqis-- not Sunni or Shi'a or Kurd or Christian. We all live in one IRAQ. We do not have a strong central government to prevent crime, so smaller groups called militias, take over and kill people unjustly. Part of the solution is to have a strong government with equal power between different groups. These people in power should have term limits so that the citizens have the ultimate power.
Currently Iraq has been put into a state of chaos. Militias and gangs have put themselves into power by taking control of local areas. The only thing holding back these militias in certain parts of Iraq has been the presence of United States troops. As of yet the Iraqi army is not prepared to defend these areas, let alone the country as a whole. We want America to stay until we can make Iraq safe, control the situation, and rule our country by ourselves.
We want to get our message to the American people that not all of us are terrorists, and that we are not in control of the situation in our country! The militias are in control. It is the foreign terrorists that are causing the conflict. We are just like American kids. We like the same things, and have many of the same interests. We just want safety for our country, and we want the killing to stop.
Good teachers have left the schools because of the bad situation. We have the same books that our fathers studied! Our English classes teach us only grammar, not conversation. We are falling behind kids our age in the rest of the world. We want Americans to know that we need their help to improve our education situation.
We want Americans to know that Iraqis don't understand freedom in the right way. We have to teach them the right meaning of freedom by educating the children. Their fathers used their freedom in a selfish way. We have to teach them that freedom does not mean the freedom to kill and steal. Freedom is to choose who we want to choose.
Our dream is that the new generation will be a bright and secure future for our country. We have a hope that one day the Iraqi people will live in peace and equality between all kinds of Iraqi people. Our dream is to become the future leaders of a new Iraq. Our dream is to see Iraqis smiling again, and living a normal life without fear. We must shut the borders--we are fearful of our neighbors. We must build a strong army that is loyal to Iraqis and not to the government. We must increase employment so money can't buy murder. We need to create a safety net by demanding term limits. We need to rewrite the laws and put troops at every part of Iraq. We need better hospitals and better education. We must get rid of the terrorists and the militias.
We want justice. We want equality.... But we need America's help.
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Contact IYLEP Program Coordinator
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For more information, please contact Erica Sewell,
Youth & Education Program Coordinator-IYLEP
esewell@sister-cities.org
202-347-8630 x 8634
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