Selected Activities in 2010

Young Professionals Study Tour to Libya - August 17-22, 2010

• Our program done in conjunction with the opening of 2010 United Nations International Year of Youth and funded by the Libyan National Youth Council.
• The FAST delegation to the Libyan National Youth Celebration will be primarily Fulbright grantees and alumni ages 22-40.  They come from nine US states and two other countries. 
  
• The group includes experts in government, medicine, law, urban planning, geographic information systems, software engineering, business, archeology, environmental management, communications.
  
• About 1,000 people are expected at the program, and most members of the 20 person FAST delegation are young professionals, though some graduate students are participating as well. Some are based in the USA, others in Europe.

• In 2007, FAST co-organized a 3-day workshop in Rabat, Morocco on access to digital information - focusing on impacts to science, education and culture - with major support from the US National Science Foundation, UNESCO and the Moroccan Government.
  
• Institutional and individual members of FAST took the lead on follow-up activities.  The US Civilian Research & Development Foundation (CRDF) was awarded $5 million in June 2010 to help fund their Global Innovation through Science and Technology (GIST) initiative in Africa.
• One of the three main activities is follow-up on FAST's Maghreb Digital Library work, because " the establishment of digital libraries in the Maghreb region of North Africa will fill critical gaps in access to international research, improve the communication of research outcomes and support regional and international collaboration among scientists."  (CRDF Press Release)
• FAST is now expecting a $40,000 award from the US National Science Foundation to bring Fulbright scholars and other experts to Washington, DC for a meeting in November/ December 2010.  

Major Conference in 2011 (in Morocco??)

• Some of the $5 million to CRDF is to help organize a major 2011 science and technology innovation conference to identify and establish research priorities and construct the necessary framework to support and sustain collaboration.   
• FAST expects to be working with CRDF and Fulbright scholars who work for US stakeholders and institutions in the region to help assure that the unique knowledge and expertise of Fulbright alumni are being tapped.

2011 - Egypt-US Year of Science & Technology

•  In May 2010, the Egyptian and US Governments announced that 2011 will be the Egypt-US Year of Science & Technology.
• This year-long enterprise will celebrate US Egypt engagement in science, promote interest among Egyptian youth in science-related careers and research, and promote digital engagement among the Egyptian science community with US peers and institutions.

FAST Study Tour to Egypt - May 2010

• Our Exec Director spent one week in Cairo and Alexandria meeting with staff from the Fulbright Commission, the Egyptian Science & Technology Development Fund, and government officials from Egypt and USA, including the US Ambassador to Egypt. 
  
• The announcement of the Egypt-US Year of Science & Technology took place during the study tour.
• One-on-one meetings with alumni were also arranged, as FAST is seeking alumni to serve on FAST's International Advisory Council.
• FAST submitted three funding proposals to the Egyptian Government for activities to link Fulbrighters in Egypt with alumni in other countries.  

The Science Diplomacy activities highlighted on this page focus on North Africa and the "Muslim World" - a region that stretches from Morocco to Indonesia.  

FAST is particularly active in this region because several Fulbrighters with an interest in this region became active in FAST in 2006 - our first year of full-time operation. They included alumni based in the USA and those living in North Africa, and one became a member of our Board of Directors.  In 2009, two more FAST members interested in the region joined the board.

FAST's activities are also influenced by the political process.  In June 2009, President Obama made a major speech to the Muslim World during a visit to Cairo University.  One year later, the State Department issued a Fact Sheet on U.S. Government Science and Technology Engagement With the Muslim World - Progress in Realizing the President’s Vision of Enhanced Science and Technology (S&T) Partnership in the Muslim World. (PDF File)

Past projects include:

•  A three-day workshop in Doha, Qatar on Nursing Education in the Middle East, with 75 experts, including deans from 12+ schools of nursing.  This 2008 meeting was funded by the Qatar Foundation.
• A contract from the US Department of State to repair the telescope at the Rabat Observatory in Morocco. The work was done by staff from NASA. 
• A grant to bring 18 Libyan US-based graduate students to the FAST 2008 Annual Conference, held in Boston, with the goal of building ties between scientists in Libya and the USA.
  
• A three-day workshop/conference in Rabat, Morocco on establishing a Maghreb Digital LIbrary, with 100+ experts from eight countries.  The seed funding for this event came from the US National Science Foundation, and our local partner was a Fulbrighter working at the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research.