Alliance of Civilizations International Fellowship Programme (AoCIF)

Dim lights Embed Embed this video on your site


In spring 2010, the first round of Alliance of Civilizations International Fellows have completed their programme, which took these 24 emerging leaders to the Middle East, North Africa, Europe and the United States. During a two-week inaugural traveling programme in each direction, they have developed extensive knowledge of political, economic, and social institutions and issues facing the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), Europe and the United States.

The AoCIF is a joint effort, launched by the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations in cooperation with the British Council, the League of Arab States, the Islamic Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO),the government of Qatar and the German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMF). Modeled after GMF's longstanding Marshall Memorial Fellowship (MMF) programme, AoCIF's objective is to provide young leaders from both the West and MENA with a broad, firsthand experience of institutions and societies in their counterpart region. Through extended travel, fellows have gained a more thorough understanding of attitudes, politics, business, culture, and society by meeting a variety of people and participating in their way of life. Fellows were also able to pursue individual fields of interest and meet professional counterparts.

"As emerging leaders are agents of change, participants will be in a position to bring to bear in-depth understanding of diverse societies on current debates and allow others to benefit from their perspectives," said Jorge Sampaio, High Representative, UN Alliance of Civilizations.

The programme educates emerging North American, European, Middle Eastern, and North African leaders on the importance of international cooperation, and encourages them to collaborate on a range of international and domestic policy challenges. Fellows are selected through a competitive nationwide and regional process and come from politics, government, media, business, and the nonprofit sector. North American and European fellows spend 12 days traveling to five cities across the Middle East and North Africa in Egypt, Morocco and Qatar; similarly, the Middle Eastern and North African Fellows spend 12 days traveling to six cities in Europe (Bruxelles, London and Paris) and the United States 9 (Raleigh, NC; Roanoke, VA; Washington DC and New-York) learning about the institutions and people that drive the regions, cities, countries, and multilateral systems through meetings with local counterparts.

Overview
The AoCIF was created recognizing the need to build bridges between cultures and societies through dialogue and cooperation and to reinforce the political will and collective commitment to live together by strengthening mutual awareness and respect. It is intended to contribute in particular to a better mutual knowledge and understanding between peoples and societies from Muslim-majority countries, mainly from the Arab World, and from Europe and North America. The programme therefore allows emerging leaders from each of these societies serious opportunities to get acquainted with the diverse realities and cultural environments of the others, is a particularly powerful and experiential approach to dialogue, increasing mutual understanding, and improving intercultural relations.

Programme details
A group of 12 to 15 candidates gains real-world exposure to the media, culture, politics, civil society, and religion of several countries in the other region during the course of their 15-day visit. During the inaugural phase of the programme, leaders from Muslim countries will visit countries in Europe and the United States; while leaders from North America/Europe are expected to visit one country in the Mashreq, one country in the Maghreb, and one country in the Gulf. An alumni network of Fellowship candidates will then be set up upon completion of the trip to share observations, perspectives, and insights on the experience and ways to improve cultural relations between the countries.

For more information on the programme, please visit www.gmfus.org/aocif/ or contact the Fellowship Programme Officer, Lamis Khalilova, at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , or the AOC Strategic Partnership Manager, Jean-Christophe Bas, at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

View biographies of the 2010 Middle Eastern & North African Fellows here, and of the 2010 European & North American Fellows here.

Partner institutions
British Council; German Marshall Fund of the United States; Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO); League of Arab States; UN Alliance of Civilizations