African Middle Eastern Leadership Project

Programs: Awareness raising among more than 5000 people across the us about how young leaders in the middle east and africa (mea) are taking action on human rights and pluralism (at least tens of thousands more were reached through print and online articles). Since amel's founding in november 2016, keynote addresses and discussions were held at approximately 20 community gatherings, conferences, seminars and campus events across the country, including the public launch of the organization on july 19, 2017 in washington dc. Following another series of 5 events in late summer and early fall, the organization's full operations began in november 2017.

development and launch of the amel speakers bureau to provide public speaking training for activists of middle eastern & african descent living in the united states. Following this training, the activists will be empowered with the storytelling skills necessary to spread voices of pluralism and hope in communities, college campuses, and places of worship across the us. Sharing their unique stories of activism and bridge- building, they will inspire dialogue, empathy, and cooperation among diverse audiences, while building their leadership skills and profiles. Project activities (including curriculum building and application development & dissemination to recruit the first 5 activists) began in november 2017. However contractual delays prevented the relevant grants from being included in the 2017 filing.

amel nexus brings together young leaders from the middle east and africa (mea) with american peers, policymakers, and influencers to learn from one another and collaborate on issues of mutual concern. The goal is to raise awareness amoung u. S. Leaders and the public on mea-related issues in order to create relationships and policies based on human rights values. Throughout 2017, working groups from sudan, syria, and yemen were convened periodically and engaged nearly 100 young leaders, activists, influencers, experts, and policymakers. Through such groups, and strategic networking activities and events, amel is accelerating the leadership journeys of mea activists, while at the same time contributing to the discourse about this region and its peoples. Note on donated services: during the course of 2017, legal and professional services, valued at 285,804, were donated to the organization. Per irs instructions, this amount is not included in this return.