Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Another American Contribution to the Pals.

This is what's known as a "public-private effort" the intent of which is to "spur opportunity in future Palestinian state":

Palestinian Youth Center Shows U.S. Commitment to Mideast Peace

...Under Secretary of State James K. Glassman...joined Partnership co-chairs Ziad Asali, president of the American Task Force on Palestine, and Jean Case, chief executive officer of the Case Foundation, at the November 17 opening ceremony of a new youth development and resource center in the West Bank town of Beita. The center is the first of four that the partnership is working to expand. Also working on the expansion are the Palestinian Authority’s Ministry of Youth and Sports and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).

“The partnership is working to create youth centers for Palestinian young people, promote job creation projects, and encourage investment in the Palestinian economy,” Glassman said. “The kind of economic and social progress that the partnership is working to achieve is laying the foundation for a sustainable, prosperous and independent Palestinian state.”

The four primary centers, along with a network of more than 60 affiliated youth centers across the West Bank, will be able to deliver services to more than 7,500 Palestinian youths. The centers will provide young Palestinians with Internet connections and training in information technology, English language classes and sports and recreation programs.


Is the CIA supervising those Internet connections? You know, Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran...

What is this initiative?

Created in the weeks following the November 2007 Annapolis Conference by President Bush, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and USAID Administrator Henrietta Fore, the U.S.-Palestinian Partnership is a unique mix of U.S. government agencies and American businesses, as well as nonprofit organizations and other private sector entities dedicated to helping the Palestinian Authority promote new economic opportunities and build new governing institutions. U.S. development aid for the Palestinian Authority is a key pillar of the Annapolis process...


And some get to visit the US:

Glassman also announced a new State Department–sponsored exchange program that will enable senior managers of the Palestinian youth centers to travel to Washington and Atlanta, where they will partner with the Boys and Girls Clubs of America for hands-on training in developing youth programs, managing facilities and finance and making the youth centers a true part of their local communities by working with volunteers and engaging parents. The Boys and Girls Clubs of America, are a leading youth services nonprofit organization that have delivered recreational, academic and other services for more than 100 years to some 4.8 million American children at more than 4,300 youth centers located in all 50 states and on U.S. military bases worldwide.

No comments: