US hosts summit for young Middle Eastern, N African leaders

The US State Department, in partnership with the American Council of Young Political Leaders, is hosting a 10-day Active Citizen Summit for 60 young leaders (ages 18-35) from the Middle East and North Africa from October 21-31, the State Department announced here Friday. The State Department said in a statement that the program will feature "leadership development workshops, short internships, policy discussions, and capstone presentations." "The program will begin with two days of communications and leadership development workshops in San Francisco, and will be followed by short internships in California, North Carolina and Utah," it added. According to the statement, the program will also "culminate with a two-day session in Washington, D.C. featuring discussions with U.S. government officials and presentations from the delegates," which a small number of American youth counterparts and young leaders from Arab-American Diaspora communities will also participate in the program. The Active Citizen Summit "provides an exciting opportunity to positively respond to the opportunities and challenges facing youth in the Middle East and North Africa," the statement affirmed.w