Tunisian Comedy Club Event - Sign Up Now!

Attention American Corner visitors,

Do you like telling jokes? Do you have a good sense of humor? Can you make your friends roar with laughter? Do you see the funny side of everything? If so, this is the event for you:

The American Corner is organizing a stand-up comedy event called Tunisian Comedy Club. This event will take place on Monday January 31, 2011 at 4PM at AMIDEAST.

As part of this event, budding, young, amateur comedians will perform their comedy acts for an audience of other members of the AC. Each comedy act must be around 10-15 minutes in length. This is a great way to make a start in the field of comedy and to give your peers the laugh of their lives. We may even have some prizes for the funniest comedians… ;-)

I am also working to trying to get members of the famous "Axis of Evil"comedy group to speak to the AC and give comedy tips and techniques to AC patrons as part of this event.

If you are interested in participating in this Comedy Club event, please e-mail me (rkaneriya@amideast.org) your name, e-mail, and phone number. And start working on your comedy acts!

AC CLOSED for Christmas Break

FYI: The AC will be CLOSED between December 24 and January 3.

We will open again on January 3rd at 2PM (so a half-day open), and then we will continue our regular schedule.

Theater Club will also be canceled during this break. It will start up again after.

Week of 12/20 Events

Mon 12/20 - 4PM Conversation Hour: Dean Obaidallah and Comedy about the Arab World

Tues 12/21 - 3PM-6PM America Corner Christmas Party!!!!!!!!!! - featuring gingerbread house design contest, Christmas quiz competition, AC Theater Club skit, and Secret Santa gift exchange (buy a gift around 20TD if you want to participate in Secret Santa)

Wed 12/22 - 4PM Debate Club: Sex Education in Schools

Thurs 12/23 - 4PM Conversation Hour: Animal Rights

Fri 12/24 - AC is CLOSED for Christmas break

Sat 12/25 - THERE IS NO THEATER CLUB MEETING DUE TO CHRISTMAS BREAK

American Corner Christmas Party!!!!!!!!!!!

When: Tuesday 12/21 from 3PM-6M
Where: AMIDEAST main building basement (Central Park Room)

You know you have been waiting for this, and it's coming: the American Corner Christmas party!!!!!!!!

This party will include either a snowflake design or a gingerbread plus a Christmas quiz contest plus a small Christmas skit performed by the AC Theater Club plus plenty of socializing, merriment, and fun!

We will also be holding a Secret Santa Gift Exchange that is voluntary. If you want to participate, you must buy a gift that will be given to someone else. This gift must cost around 20-25TD, and you must wrap the gift but not put your name on it. We will place all the gifts together in a pile. Each person participating in Secret Santa will receive a number. The person with # 1 will choose a gift and open it. People who go after can either steal the gift of someone who has already opened a gift or pick a new gift from gifts pile. No gift may be stolen more than twice. You can only participate in Secret Santa if you have purchased a gift for someone else. At the end, participant will have a gift. Google "Secret Santa" if you want to know more about how this game works.

See you there and feel free to bring any food or gifts for your own friends if you want! Hope you will have a wonderful time!

Amazing New Resource Available at the AC for Research

With the help of the US State Department, the AC has obtained access to the Virtual Library Database. This website allows you to access dozens of different databases ranging from topics like music, arts, history, English language learning, culture, environment, business, American society, and many more (pretty much anything you can think of).

Please feel free to come by the AC and use this new database for your academic and research purposes. You must come to the AC to access it.

12/12 Week Events

Mon Dec 13- Conversation Hour: Imagining the World in 200 Years @ 4PM in AC

Tues Dec 14- AC Debate Club: Abortion @ 4PM in AC

Wedn Dec 15- Guest Speakers: Abdullah Yildiz and Oumima Guesmi present about Turkey @ 4PM in AC

Thurs Dec 16- Cultures of America: Alfredo Mehia presents on the Guatemalans @ 4PM in AC

Fri Dec 17- Film: District 9 @ 3PM in AC

Sat Dec 18- AC Theater Club @ 1PM in AMIDEAST Main Building Basement

Week of 12/6 Events

Monday 12/6: 3PM - Henry Mendelsohn presents a lecture entitled "Beyond Google, Searching the Internet Effectively" (*** This event will move to Tuesday if Ras al-Am is on Monday)

Tuesday 12/7: Closed for Ras al-Am

Wednesday 12/8: 4PM - Debate Club: Racism is Tunisia

Thursday 12/9: 4PM - Natalie Brown will facilitate a discussion on women's empowerment

Friday 12/10: 3PM - Screening and discussion of the documentary "Jesus Camp"

Saturday 12/11: 1PM - AC Theater Club in AMIDEAST main building basement

Saturday 12/11: 2:20PM - Meet in front of AC to head as group to see the film "Amreeka" at Hotel Africa. First 15 people get discounted tickets at 1.5TD and others pay 2.5TD.

Sunday 12/12: 2:20PM - Meet in front of AC to head as group to see the film "Freedom Riders" at Hotel Africa. First 15 people get discounted tickets at 1.5TD and others pay 2.5TD.

American Corner Partners Sought

The American Corner is starting a new initiative called "American Corner Partners". As part of this initiative, the American Corner is looking for interested student clubs, associations, schools, institutes, and other civil society and non-governmental organizations with which it can form collaborative partnerships to help bring the American Corner experience to people all over Tunisia, whether they live in Tunis, Sfax, Gabes, Gafsa, Djerba, or anywhere else.

How would these partnerships work? As a first step, the American Corner will collaborate with official American Corner Partners to provide discussion topics and conversation hour articles, activities, and ideas. This means that other organizations around Tunisia can now bring the conversation hour experience to their local constituencies. Want to attend the American Corner's discussion hour on American foreign policy or the Ground Zero Mosque controversy but can't come all the way to Tunis to attend because you live in Kairouan? Well, if there is a local organization is Kairouan that is an official American Corner Partner, we will provide them with the relevant article that was discussed during our conversation hours, and now a local organization in Kairouan can put on a similar event for residents of Kairouan. This is the kind of idea sharing that the AC hopes to achieve by developing partnerships with organizations across Tunisia.

As a second step for the future, I hope to find ways that we can broadcast guest speaker events from the American Corner-Tunis to partner institutions across Tunisia. This would mean that if the AC hosted a major business leader for an event at the AC, we would show that event live, and any partner organization could bring that guest speaker event to its local members via the Internet. This really depends on the technology and the ability to find a web conferencing application than can perform such tasks. Therefore, this may take some time, but I hope to explore making this a reality as soon as possible.

There could also be other potential benefits and opportunities for collaboration that could result as things progress and our relationships with other groups develop.

If you are interested in becoming an American Corner Partner, please send me your name, your e-mail address, and the name of your organization/institution.

Please be aware that ONLY ORGANIZATIONS CAN BE AMERICAN CORNER PARTNERS. Individuals cannot be partners. They must be representing organizations. The only exception to this rule is English language teachers who want to bring AC-type discussions into their classrooms.

Thank you!

Ravi Kaneriya
American Corner Coordinator

This Week's Events

Mon. 11/29 - 4PM English Conversation Hour
Tues. 11/30 - 4PM English Conversation Hour
Wedn. 12/1 - 4PM AC Debate Club (Topic: Globalization)
Thurs. 12/2 - 4PM Guest Speaker Melkar Muallem (the actor who plays Fedi in the film "Amreeka"
Fri. 12/3 - 3PM Film Screening of the movie "Ghosts of Girlfriends Past"

Have you heard of the “OPPORTUNITY GRANT”?

The Opportunity grant, funded by the U.S. Department of State, is designed to support the application process to U.S. higher education institutions for students who are highly qualified but are unable to cover expenses related to the application process. To be eligible for funding, students must be applying to degree programs (BA/BS, LLM, MA/MS, MBA, Ph.D., etc.). The Opportunity grant offers no guarantees of acceptance or financial aid at U.S. institutions.
The OG funding may cover expenses including, but not limited to: test preparation classes, test fees, application fees, postage expenses, visa fees, travel to the US, settling-in allowance. All awards decisions are made on a case by case basis.


For more information, please contact:
AMIDEAST Tunis, 22 rue Amine El Abassi, Cités Jardin, 1002 Tunis - Tél: 71 790 563/799 024
Email : lzahmoul@amideast.org

Nov. 22-26: Internation Education Week Events

Monday Nov 22 – Exchange Program Day
4:00 – 5:00: Presentation of study abroad programs available to Tunisian high school and university students for study in the United States
5:00 – 6:00: Exchange Program Alumni Social Hour (come meet students who participated in these very programs)

Tuesday Nov 23 – American University Admissions Day
3:00 – 3:45: Presentation on three branches of university-level study in Humanities, Engineering, and Business (Amideast Villa)
3:45 - 4:30: Workshop on How to Write a College-level Essay and Statement of Purpose
4:30 – 5:30: Presentation by the US Embassy on the Process of Obtaining a US Visa for study in the US

Mecredi Nov 24 – Extracurricular Activities Day
4:00 – 5:30: Presentation on extra curricular activities that contribute to a diverse experience at an American University (Topics include student groups (Fraternities, Sororities, Campus Government), clubs for international students, Music and Dance Groups, and Toastmasters (public speaking))
6:00 – 8:00: Film screening followed by discussion

Thursday Nov 25 – Thanksgiving Day
4:00 – 4:45: Presentation on the history of Thanksgiving and the modern day traditions in America
4:45 – 5:30: Interactive Thanksgiving Day quiz

Friday Nov 26 – Career Day
3:00 – 4:00: Workshop on How to Compose an American CV/resume and the Process of Obtaining Letters of Recommendation
4:00 – 5:00: Interactive Session on Professional Job Interviews
5:30 – 7:30: Panel Presentation “The Effect of a Study Abroad Experience on a Professional Career”, bi-lingual in English and French (Amideast Main building)

*All events will be held in the American Corner of the Amideast Complex unless otherwise noted

Diversity in America Events

Diversity and the American Experience

What is diversity? How is does it manifest itself in 21st century America? And what is its relevance in a globalized world? Join us for a two-day conference and film event as we situate diversity within the American context and explore its possibilities and challenges. Professor Linda Voh, professor of Asian American Studies at University of California-Irvine, will be the keynote speaker and discuss the Asian American experience.

When: Monday, November 22 at 17:00 and Tuesday, November 23 at 19:00
Where: AMIDEAST Conference Room (Nov 22) and American Corner (Nov 23)


Film Viewing and Discussion

In collaboration with the Diversity conference, we will hold a film viewing and discussion of the film “Amreeka” with Dr. Anna Everett, professor of Media and Film Studies at University of California-Santa Barbara.

“Amreeka” chronicles the adventures of Muna, a single mother who leaves the West Bank with Fadi, her teenage son, with dreams of an exciting future in the promised land of small town Illinois. In America, as her son navigates high school hallways the way he used to move through military checkpoints, the indomitable Muna scrambles together a new life cooking up falafel burgers as well as hamburgers at the local White Castle.

When: Tuesday, November 23 at 16:00
Where: AMIDEAST Conference Room

Guest Speaker: Naif Mutawa of "The 99" Islamic Comic Series

Key Info:

Friday, November 19
2:30pm - 4:30pm
In the AC

Naif Mutawa is the internationally renown Kuwaiti creator of "The 99", an Islamic themed comic book series with Muslim superheroes from around the world who are based on the 99 names of Allah. He will speak via Skype to AC patrons about his inspiration in creating an Islam-oriented comic book series and the significance of his work. After his talk, Naif will take questions from AC patrons.

Some information on Naif and "The 99":

www.al-mutawa.com

www.the99.org


Ravi Kaneriya
American Corner Coordinator

Business Planning Workshop with Tahar el-Mili from ENDA

Key Info:

Tuesday, November 18
3PM-5:30PM
In the AC


This workshop is being held to help teach young entrepreneurs how to write business plans for new start-up companies. Tahar el-Mili, from ENDA microfinance bank, will be running this training.

Attendance at this session is limited to 20 people. The event is being held foremost for people who are participating in the Tunisian Entrepreneurship Competition who need assistance putting together a business plan for their presentation...s on their business ideas.

If you are not participating in the Tunisian Entrepreneurship Competition and would still like to participate in this training, please e-mail me about your interest in attending. Any seats left after competition participants have had their chance to sign up for this will be given to other interested Tunisians on a first come, first serve basis. I will e-mail you on November 17th to let non-competition participants know if they can attend or not.

**** If you are not informed that you can attend this event, then please do not come as space is limited. There will be no normal conversation hour on this day as well.

Upcoming Events

These events are at 4PM in the AC:

Tuesday Nov. 9: Shannon Zimmerman speaks about American theater

Wednesday Nov. 10: Watch documentary "Among the Righteous: The Holocaust in Arab Lands"

Thursday Nov. 11: Ajay Jhurry does a workshop on astrology and numerology


This event is 3PM in the AMIDEAST administrative building basement (Central Park Room):

Friday Nov. 12: Star Academy Season 3 Karaoke Event

Holocaust Awareness Week

This coming week at the AC will be Holocaust Awareness Week. We will hold several events around the theme of the Holocaust. The purpose of these events has nothing to do with taking a side on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but simply to educate people about the genuine human tragedy that was the Holocaust. If you think that the Holocaust never happened or was not as bad as it seems, I especially hope that you will attend. Whatever you believe, it is important to keep an open mind and expose yourself to all the information before reaching a conclusion.

The events we have planned are:

Monday and Tuesday at 4PM: The conversation hours will be open forums on the Holocaust. What do you know about the Holocaust? Do you believe it really happened? How bad was it? Do you think the Holocaust was a hoax created to occupy Palestine? How do Tunisians view Hitler? These are some of the types of questions you can ask and discuss.

Wednesday at 4PM: Faiza Abdul Wahab, a Tunisian Muslim woman, will come to the AC to speak about her father, Khaled Abdul Wahab, a Tunisian hero who has been honored by several organizations for saving 24 Jewish Tunisians during the Nazi occupation of Tunisia

Thursday at 4PM: Moshe Gimlan, a Holocaust survivor, will speak to the AC virtually from the USA about his experience during the Holocaust. After speaking about his life, Moshe will take questions and comments from the audience. Moshe is a Jewish-American, originally from Poland.

Friday at 3PM: We will watch the Academy Award winning film, "Schindler's List", based on the true story of Oskar Schindler, a Nazi businessman who eventually ended up saving hundreds of Jews during the Holocaust.

This will be a great week, and we have some amazing speakers, so please come and don't miss this opportunity.

Guest Speaker: Charles Hall on English Language in American Culture

• Date: Monday, October 25, 2010
• Time: 16:00
• Topic: English Language in American Culture

Dr. Charles Hall, Associate Professor of Applied Linguistics, Department of English, completed his Ph.D. in Linguistics at the University of Florida in 1983 and joined the faculty at the University of Memphis in 1984. He served as Coordinator of ESL and the M.A. Concentration in TESL/TEFL in the Department of English from 1990-1997. He is being recognized with the CASDRA in the area of Engaged Scholarship.

Dr. Hall has also been recognized at the University of Memphis with a Distinguished Teaching Award in 1989 and 2006. He also received the Outstanding Faculty Award from Student Disability Services in 2009. He has received a Senior Fulbright Lecturing Award for the Czech Republic/Czechoslovakia twice (1989, 1993).

Charles Hall has done teacher training sponsored by various organizations, such as the U.S. Department of State and the United Nations, in almost 30 countries. Hall has held two Senior Fulbright awards. He has been coordinator of University of West Bohemia's Summer TEFL training courses in the Czech Republic since 1990 and was founder and director of TEFL summer training at Peking University for several years. Hall's newest book is the co-authored American Legal English (2nd ed. University of Michigan Press, 2007). He was the 2005 Chair of the ESP Interest Section for International TESOL.

In his letter of nomination, Dr. Eric Link writes, “For over a decade, Professor Hall has been building communities in the legal English field….he has created legal English curricula, courses, workshops, and training programs in countries such as Armenia, Kosovo, Croatia, Serbia, Lithuania, Estonia, Russia, Romania, Albania, Sudan, and Iraq….Dr. Hall is the very model of the professor who is not content to conduct his scholarship behind the closed and narrow confines of an academic building. He has built his career on opening doors to English language literacy in countries around the world.”

Announcing: Tunisian Entrepreneurship Competition

Dear budding Tunisian entrepreneurs of the future,

The AC is organizing a Tunisian Entrepreneurs Competition for those of you who are interested in starting up your own micro-businesses. Interested Tunisians can work alone or in groups. You will work on a specific business idea and will put together a presentation about your idea. This presentation must include a business plan, where you outline your projected revenues, costs, and profits.

Key aspects of this competition:

1) The winning person/team will receive a 500 TD interest-free loan from the AC. You must develop an idea within the constraint of 500 TD.
2) All persons/teams participating must sign up at the AC by October 31.
3) Once persons/teams have signed up to participate, we will visit the offices of ENDA (Tunisia's largest micro-finance bank) where you will be taught in how to create a business plan for your idea.
4) The winning idea will be judged by a panel of experts, likely including someone from ENDA.
5) The competition will take place in late November (exact time and date to be announced later), and it will take place on a Sunday so that everyone can attend, regardless of work or school schedules.

My goal is to give Tunisian entrepreneurs an outlet to use their creativity and ingenuity and to bring their ideas to fruition. We have hosted some speakers at the AC who have talked about risk-taking and entrepreneurship and gotten people fired up about it. Now, it's time to make something happen, rather than just dreaming about it. I hope that we can have as many people participate as possible, and I encourage many of you to take part in this competition.

Please stop by the American Corner to sign up if you are interested and to ask any questions you may have.

Ravi Kaneriya
American Corner Coordinator

Conversation Cafe: Fayrouz (the 2nd try)

Last time we went, Fayrouz was closed, so we will go again on Saturday. Take Rue Ahmed Tlili off of the Monoprix area in Menzah 6 and walk for 10 minutes. Fayrouz is on your right.

When: 2PM, Saturday October 16

Guest Speaker: Michael Cracknell

Michael Cracknell is co-founder of Tunisia's largest microfinance bank, ENDA. He will come speak about microfinance, ENDA's growth, and ENDA's impact on development in Tunisia. I hope you will come. This will be an interesting event!

When: Thursday, October 14, 4PM
Where: American Corner

Conversation Cafe This Sunday at 2PM in Fayrouz Restaurant, Menzah 5

We will be holding the 2nd AC Conversation Cafe event this Sunday at 2PM. It will be at Fayrouz Restaurant close to Matador (where we went last week). To get to Fayrouz, go to the Monoprix in Menzah 6. Avenue Ahmed Tlili branches towards Fayrouz and Menzah 5 from that area. Walk on Ahmed Tlili Avenue for about 7-10... minutes and you will see Fayrouz on your right.

Star Academy AMIDEAST - Season 2!!!!!!

Come join us for this karaoke event! Sing your heart out or watch others sing! We have new songs to choose from!

When: This Friday October 1 at 4PM

Where: American Corner room

Guest Speaker: Yvonne Davis from Davis Communications

Where: AC

When: Thursday, September 23

Some background on Yvonne:

Yvonne R. Davis is an internationally recognized business and leadership development coach, speaker, and award winning journalist. She is an expert in cross-cultural and global emerging markets, working with government, private sector, and non-governmental organizations to bring insight and viable solutions. Throughout her remarkable 20-year career, she has spearheaded initiatives that produce social and political change, both domestically and internationally. Ms. Davis has visited 56 countries and is passionate about critical economic and socio-political issues in the Middle East & North Africa Region, Africa, Central and South Asia, the Balkans and Eastern Europe.

With an impressive background in communication theory, application, leadership and business ethics and comparative politics, Ms. Davis drives crisis management and negotiation strategy initiatives that are utilized by the public and private sectors. It was through her highly intuitive capabilities and relationship building that she gained great respect as the first woman to teach negotiation skills to Palestinian women leaders. She brings this same ability to her business as a coach and consultant where she works closely with high level officials and key stakeholders to create a unique vision, develop strong leadership, and effect sustainable results.

Ms. Davis worked with the White House from 2001 to 2005 on housing, small business, HIV/AIDS, the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), global trade, welfare reform and women's issues. She travels regularly under the U.S. Department of State Speaker's Bureau Program. Ms. Davis planned, organized and executed a major trade mission to Senegal, Mali, Ghana, Cote D’Ivoire and Nigeria in support of Africa Growth and Opportunities Act (AGOA).

Ms. Davis has won several business and journalism awards, and is a columnist for the Huffington Post and Arab News. Her work has been featured in The New York Times, The Jerusalem Post, The Palestinian Times, and Black Enterprise Magazine. She is a member of board of directors for the Connecticut World Affairs Council and a member of the Board for the Al Waref Foundation (A Middle Eastern Policy and Public Affairs think tank in Washington, DC, Lebanon and Morocco).

A doctoral candidate at the Thierry Graduate School of Leadership, Ms. Davis holds an M.S. in Leadership and Business Ethics from Duquesne University. She earned an M.A. in Political Science from the University of Connecticut and a Bachelors of Arts in Political Science and Mass Communications from the University of Connecticut (Magna Cum Laude). She completed The Art Practice of Leadership at the John F. Kennedy School of Government Executive Leadership Program at Harvard University.

Piloting English Conversation Hours on Monday and Wednesday!!!

Hello AC patrons,

At the request of some of our patrons, we are going to offer additional conversation hours on Monday and Wednesday over the next 3 weeks to test out the idea. If enough people attend the additional conversation hours, we will keep doing them. If not, then we will cancel doing that.

The way it will work will be as shown below:

Monday at 4PM: Discussion Topic A
Tuesday at 4PM: Discussion Topic A
Wednesday at 4PM: Discussion Topic B
Thursday at 4PM: Discussion Topic B
Friday at 3PM: Film Showing (sometimes with discussion afterwards, sometimes without depending on the length and nature of the film)

As you can see, the same topic will be discussed on Monday/Tuesday and a different topic will be discussed on Wednesday/Thursday. The purpose of this is to allow a different group of students to come on Tuesday if the cannot attend on Monday to talk about the same issue that students discussed the previous day. Of course, if you want to talk about the same subject on 2 different days with different students present, you could attend on both Monday and Tuesday too.

We will start the Monday and Wednesday conversation hours this Wednesday September 22, and this test phase for the additional conversation hours will end on October 6. Thereafter, I will look at the attendance numbers and if enough people are coming to the additional conversation hours, we will continue doing them.

Ravi Kaneriya
American Corner Coordinator

PS - I reserve the right to cancel Monday or Wednesday conversation hours in case it conflicts with other responsibilities that I have or errands that I have to run, but I will let you know in advance through the FB group or blog if that is the case. Otherwise, assume that conversation hour is happening.

2nd Film Screen With Discussion - Topic: Going Forwards and Backwards in Time

We will be having a second film screening followed by a discussion of the film. The film this Friday is Click, a comedy about a man who can make time go backwards or forwards with a magical remote control.

After the film (which is 1 hour 40 minutes long), we will have an hour of discussion about the film.

The topic of t...he discussion will be: What Would You Do If You Could Go Backwards and Forwards in Time?

You are welcome to join for either the film or movie or both. Hope to see you there!

When: Tomorrow (Friday, Sept. 17) from 3PM-6PM

Where: American Corner

Photo Exhibition and Talk with Aicha Skandrani

What: Photo Exhibition

When: 2PM, Saturday, September 18

Where:
Galerie d'Art et d'Essai "Le Damier" (near the German Embassy in Mutuelleville)
12, Avenue Haroun Errachid, Mutuelleville, 1082 Tunis

Description of Event: Welcome to the AC's first ever weekend get-together and event! To kick off our weekend meetings, we have a very special event planned.

Budding photographer Aicha Skandrani is having an exhibition of her work at the gallery. Interested AC members will begin by viewing her photography. This will be followed by an English discussion with Aicha about her work. Aicha will explain the significance of some of her artwork and her goals in her work. She will also field questions and comments that the audience may have.

Please only accept this invitation if you are serious about attending so that we can get an accurate head count.

People who are interested in coming can meet as a group in front of the German Embassy in Mutuelleville at 1:40PM sharp, and we will head to the gallery together as a group. Otherwise, you can come to the gallery directly on your own by 2PM sharp. Please do not be late. This event will begin promptly at 2PM at the gallery, and if you are late, you will miss the start of the event.

If you need to call the gallery for directions, their number is 21-700-258.

Guest Speaker: Stephen Ashby Speaking About the First Amendment

What: Stephen Ashby, consular officer from the US Embassy, will speak about the First Amendment of the US Constitution (freedom of speech). In light of the Qur'an burning attempt and Ground Zero Mosque controversy, this is a very timely and relevant subject. I hope you will attend.

When: 4PM, Thursday, September 16.

Where: American Corner

AC Times Changes and Upcoming Events

Hello all. Please note the following time changes starting on Monday:

AC Open Hours: 10AM-6PM (Mon.-Fri.)
English Conversation Hours: 4PM (Tues. and Thurs.)
Friday Film: 3PM (Fri.)

Also, we will soon begin organizing AC weekend conversation socials. On select weekends, inviduals interested in practicing English in a casual setting will get together at a set location (park, cafe, restaurant, etc.) and socialize and participate in English-speaking activities. These weekend socials are meant to accomodate those visitors of the AC who may not be able to attend normal conversation hours or AC activities during the weekdays due to school, work, or class conflicts. Of course, anyone interested in making friends and practicing their English in an English-speaking environment is welcome as well.

Some other things to look forward to in the next few months:

We have the following speakers that will be coming to the AC:

1) A representative from the US embassy will be coming to speak about the 1st Amendment of the US Constitution (Free speech) next week on Thursday.

2) Naif Mutawa, the creator of the Islamic-themed comic series "The 99" will be speaking in November.

3) Joe DiFilippo, a US commander who served in Iraq, will speak to the AC.

4) Michael Cracknell, founder of ENDA, Tunisia's largest microfinance bank will speak in October.

5) We will have several speakers from AMIDEAST come to speak about different ethnic and religious groups in America as part of a lecture series called "Cultures of America". So far, representatives of the Irish-American, Mormon, and Indian-American communities are slated to speak at the AC about the history, challenges, and accomplishments of their groups in America.

6) We will have a Star Academy Season 2 Karaoke event in the last Friday of September at AMIDEAST.

7) And many more surprises in store!

- Ravi Kaneriya

Slideshow on Palestine and Israel: 13:00 Tuesday September 7

What: Sam, an American teacher in Tunis, will do a slideshow on his journey through Palestine and Israel. He will share his insights and revelations from the trip, and attendees will be invited to ask questions and provide comments during this discussion.

Where: American Corner

When: 13:00 Tuesday September 7

Special Film Friday: September 3

What: We have a special film viewing. On this Friday, we will watch a documentary for 1 hour. That will be followed by another hour of discussion of the film. The film we will be watching and discussion is a 20/20 documentary, entitled Race and Sex: What We Think But Don't Say.

Where: American Corner

When: 12:00, Friday, September 3

Thursday, September 2 at 14:30 - Tunisia vs. USA Basketball Match

What: Come watch the Tunisia vs. USA basketball game at AMIDEAST for free

Where: Central Park Room of AMIDEAST Administrative building (basement)

When: 14:30, Thursday, September 2

Guest Speakers at AC from African Development Bank

Edith Laszlo and Cecilia Sebatindira from the African Development Bank will come to talk about some of the African Development Bank's work in Tunisia. You are welcome to attend.

Date: Thursday, 8/26/2010
Time: 13:00
Place: American Corner

August Movies

This month we are showing the following movies at 12:00:

8/20: Rain Man

8/27: Capote

American Corner Slight Time Changes for Ramadan

Hello all,

The American Corner's hours and timing for events will change slightly during Ramadan as follows. These times will begin starting Wednesday, August 11:

American Corner open from: 8:30 - 14:30 from Monday-Friday

English Conversation Hours: 13:00 on Tuesday and Thursday

Film Showing: 12:00 on Friday

List of Topics for Upcoming English Conversation Hours

July 29: Your Personal Life Journey (exercise/discussion)

August 3: Arab Hypocrisy in World Affairs? (article discussion)

August 5: Whose Line is it Anyway? - The Dating Game (fun game to practice English)

August 10: Surprise Topic

Volunteering Meeting at 2:30PM TOMORROW (Thursday, July 29) at the AC

Ikram Ben Said from Amal Association will be coming. We will be working out an exact program and schedule of our volunteering efforts. By the end of the meeting, my goal is to have her approve of our volunteer plans and set a date for us to visit the Amal Association and start volunteering as soon as possible.

This meeting will start after our regular English conversation hour ends. All are invited to attend.

Terana Opportunity

Anyone who is in a civil society organization who is interested in receiving some training from the NGO Soliya regarding its new Terana initiative, please let me know. I can nominate you. What is it all about? Read below:

Through a competitive process, Soliya will select participants for its Terana training program from among the representatives nominated by participating non-government and civil society organizations in the Middle East and North Africa region. Individuals who are selected to participate will receive training in the following areas:

-Building an online community
-Leveraging websites, blogs, and social networks for civic activism and engagement
-Digital film production
-Mobile generation and uploading of audio and video content
-Facilitation and community engagement
-Methods of informing civil society using technology

In addition, participants will have access to a community of their peers around the world, and will be provided with opportunities to share best practices - and seek advice - from other members. Soliya will also provide platforms for participating organizations to share their perspectives and the media created by their representatives through partnerships with traditional and new media companies.

More information on Terana and Soliya can be found here: http://www.soliya.net/?q=Terana

Volunteering at Amal Delayed

For those of you who were interested in volunteering with the Amal Association, we had discussed starting this Saturday. However, after speaking with the Association, they asked us to postpone visiting them by at least 2 weeks because the safe house is going through a disinfection for the next 2 weekends. They are stil...l interested in having us come, however, as soon as the situation allows.

I will be in touch with them and will let you know when our next meeting for volunteering will be. I will send that information via an event invite on Facebook or by updating this blog, so please look out for upcoming meeting invites over the next 2 weeks.

In the mean time, we will see if we can organize smaller volunteer activities in the next 2 weeks. Please check this blog or Facebook for updates on other potential volunteer activities. Thank you!

Guest Speaker at AC: Zora Radosevich

Hello, everyone! We have a special English conversation hour this Thursday, July 22.

Zora Radosevich will be coming from the USA to speak to the AC about one of the following topics:

1) Women's empowerment
2) NGO management: fundraising, buliding coalitions, networking
3) Social Activism: powermapping, negotiation, conflict-solving

We will be voting at the English conversation hour on Thursday about which topic most interests people, and based on people's preference, Ms. Radosevich will conduct a lecture and workshop on that subject.

For more information on Zora's background, you can read this: http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=132945870075420&id=1388747470&ref=mf

This promises to be an exciting and interesting event, so please be there!

Ravi Kaneriya
AC Coordinator

Photos from Amal Association Presentation

Women's Empowerment Conference Invitation

Attention interested AC members. Achref Aouadi, from the university club Student 2 Student (S2S) has a conference that it would like to invite interested individuals to attend. Here is a message from Achref about the event:

"S2S is pleased to invite you to a conference on Wednesday July 21, at 10 a.m in the U.S embassy (berges du lac).The conference is given to you by Mrs Zora Radosevich an American lecturer.The theme of the confrence is "Women Empowerment".So those interested in participating So please send me a message on facebook or an email at awadinho.10@gmail.com.

Please notice that a priority is given to women to attend this conference in case there are no more places.DON'T FORGET TO BRING YOUR IDs WITH YOU TO THE EMBASSY.
Stay Tuned to the rest of the events.

Deadline Sunday."

Donate Blood to Safe the Life of a Friend of Someone at the AC

This is unrelated to the American Corner, but one of our members, Asma Youssef, needs someone to donate blood to save the life of her friend. Here is the message she would like to relay to everyone:

"Hi everyone,

I have a friend with leukemia whose in need of platelets. So if anyone could volunteer by donating platelets then that would be great.

For those who wish to donate you can go to the blood bank in Beb Saadoun and ask for platelets donation in the register counter then they'll tell you what you have to do.

please feel free to send me a private message if you need any more information.

-Thank you"

If you can help her, please follow her instructions, and if you would like to get in touch with her directly, you can contact her through Facebook or post a comment here for her to repond to. Thank you.

Meeting this Saturday at 10AM for Summer Service Initiative Planning

Hello, everyone! We had an extremely successful meeting today with the representatives from the Amal Association. We had around 34 people in attendance (which is unprecedented for the summer!), and roughly 66% of those in attendance stayed behind for the post-meeting discussion on how to volunteer themselves.

The next step is for those who are interested in volunteering with Amal to meet to discuss how specifically we can help them and what sorts of projects people want to tackle for the Amal Association. The time and place for that meeting will be:

10AM this Saturday (July 17) at the American Corner

Thanks again for all your enthusiasm, and I hope to see many of you this Saturday to further refine our volunteer plans.

And it's so great that so many of you are motivated to give up time on your weekends to do something as important and meaningful as helping disadvantaged women and children at Amal. Thanks for your contribution and dedication!

What's New at the American Corner?

Despite the summer break from universities, the American Corner (AC) is still active and seeing strong attendance by patrons. We are working on a variety of projects and initiatives to engage our patrons and enhance their experience at the AC. What can you look forward to at the American Corner:

- Great speakers: We have the following speakers already confirmed:

July 13: Ikram Ben Said from the Amal Association for Single Mothers

July 20: Laura Byergo from the State Department will discuss the subject of summer jobs (not providing jobs, just discussing the topic of summer jobs)

Sometime between August and October: Edith Laszlo from the African Development Bank, Alex Severens from the US Treasury Department, and Faiza Abdul Wahab, the daughter of a Tunisian WWII hero

Other speakers who we are trying to bring to the AC: Keith Ellison (the first Muslim Congressman in the USA), Farah Pandith (Hillary Clinton's Special Representative to the Muslim World), and hopefully many more!

Other developments at the AC:

- We are in the process of ordering a whole new collection of books and films, including many recent new releases

- We are organizing the American Corner Summer Service Initiative where local Tunisians and expats can get together and volunteer on projects in the Tunis area. Our key project this summer will be volunteering with the Amal Association for Single Mothers.

- We are working on a partnership with an NGO called Soliya, which is affliated with the UN Alliance of Civilizations. Soliya helps facilitate discussions on cultural, social, political, media, and current events issues between students in the Arab world and students in the US and Europe over the medium of the Internet. The AC is looking into the possibility of partnering with Soliya in order to integrate its Web-based cross-cultural dialogue sessions into some of the AC's weekly English conversation hours. We hope that this will give AC visitors the opportunity to practice their English with native speakers while simulateously enhancing mutual understanding across cultures and allowing students to form relationships with peers in Europe and the Unites States.

American Corner Summer Service Initiative Announcement

Hello everyone,

After 2 meetings this week with interested individuals to discuss AC-organized volunteer efforts, here is what was agreed on:

1) The best times to volunteer were Saturday or Sunday.

2) We will focus on just 1 (maybe 2) organizations to work with so that we can make a sustained commitment and maximize the positive and lasting impact of our efforts.

3) After looking at several different organizations to work with, interested individuals voted for the one they would prefer to work with most of all. The organization that won this vote was the Amal Association for Single Mothers, which operates a safe house in Tunis for women who have had children out of wedlock and are now shunned by their families and communities and need a safe haven. Amal Association needs volunteers in a variety of different capacities, including teaching basic literacy to the women, providing business and skills training so that women can get on their own 2 feet after they leave the safe house, doing games and activities with the women to build their self-confidence and help them feel normal again, and babysit and play with the women's children.

VERY IMPORTANT: This Tuesday (7/13/2010), Ikram Ben Said, a representative of Amal will be coming to the American Corner at 1:30PM (the time of the English conversation hour). She will be there to talk about her work, talk to us more about ways volunteers can help the Amal Association. If you are interested in volunteering, I would strongly urge you to attend this conversation hour.

Even if you missed past meetings, you can still get involved and come this Tuesday. I hope that many of you will have a chance to attend.

Ravi Kaneriya
American Corner Coordinator

The American Corner has had a very interesting and fun series of speakers and activities. At our weekly conversation hours, we have discussed everything from Islam to American foreign policy to arranged marriages to opinions on the first Muslim Miss USA.

Yesterday, we also had representatives of some NGO's come in to speak to us specifically about projects in Tunisia meant to improve AIDS education and awareness.

If you would like more information on the work that NGO is doing or are interested in getting involved in its work, please check out the following links:

Association Tunisienne de Lutte Contre les MST/SIDA Section Tunis: www.atl.org

You can also learn more about the Youth Peer initiative that Nidhal is involved in my visiting: www.youthpeer.org.tn

For any additional information or questions for our speaker from yesterday, please reach out to Nidhal at chemengui.nidhal@gmail.com.

Summer Hours

Hello everyone,

Please be aware that the American Corner will have new hours during the summer. Summer hours will be in effect from July 1-September 9.

During summer hours:

· The American Corner will be open between 9AM and 3PM.
· English conversation hours will start at 1:30PM on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
· Free film showings will start at 1:30PM on Fridays.

Hello! My name is Ravi Kaneriya, and I am very happy to be in Tunisia! I will be working with Emily to learn the ropes at the American Corner before becoming the new Coordinator of the American Corner in a few weeks. I am very excited to be here, and I look forward to getting to meet you and to know many of you much better. I loooove the Middle East and North Africa and have traveled widely in this part of the world. I speak English and Gujarati as well as some French and Arabic. So some quick background on me:

انا امريكي. انا قضيت معظم حياتي في ولاية نيو جرزي. درست في جامعة في امريكا واختصصت في دراسة العلوم السياسية والمالية وكذلك 4 اشهر درست وسكنت في المغرب كطالب. احبتها وثقافتها "بزاف". انا كذلك معجب باكثر الاكليت شهرة في العالم العربي الاوهي الكسكس. استمتع كثيرا بسماع الاغنية العربية. المغانيين الذين افضلهم هم عمر دياب وسميرة سعيد وعمر مسطفى. قبل جيت الى تونس, كنت مستشاربشركة في نيو يورك. سامضي تقريبا سنة واحدة في تونس في اطار دعم العلاقة الامريكية التونسية

Well, looking forward to working here at the American Corner! Make sure you stop by!

MEMORIAL DAY COMMEMORATION - May 31

Ceremonies commemorating Memorial Day will take place at 3:00 p.m. at the American Battle Monuments Commission North Africa American Cemetery and Memorial in Carthage. The commemoration is open to the public and U.S. citizens are cordially invited.

Summer Nights KARAOKE

Come join us at AMIDEAST for a night of fun and karaoke! This is open to everyone and its FREE!

When: Friday, June 25th

Time: 9pm - 11pm

Where: Central Park (basement of Amideast)

Please sign up in advance with Emily (in the American Corner), Aicha (in administration), or Beya (in the EL Department).

Hope to see you there!

“The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who can’t read.” – Mark Twain

AMIDEAST’s Advising and Testing Department will be offering two “Statement of Purpose” information sessions the week of May 17-21 for those people interested in applying to the Fulbright Program.
The sessions on will be held on:

· Wednesday, May 19th at 2pm
· Friday, May 21st at 2pm

Both sessions will be held in The A&T Library. No appointments are necessary to attend a session.

American Corner keeps same schedule despite the sun!

Even though the weather is getting warmer and the sun is shining, don't forget about the American Corner. Just a reminder that the American Corner is open Monday - Friday from 10 am - 6pm. Free English Conversation Hours are still held every Tuesday and Thursday at 4pm and the Free Film Showings are every Friday at 4pm. Hope to see you soon!

MEET THEM AT THE AC ON MARCH 25TH AT 4PM

Free Film Showing for Women's History Month

In honor of Women’s History Month, the American Corner will offer a special film screening of Iron Jawed Angels. This is an excellent film, starring Hilary Swank, that outlines the American women ’s suffrage movement.

Where: American Corner

When: Wednesday, March 17th

Time: 16h00

See you there!!

Epiphany Dance Theater

Hey! If you enjoyed the presentation from the Epiphany Dance Company, check out their websites:

http://www.stephenkent.net/

http://www.epiphanydance.org/

March is Women's History Month!

The purpose of Women's History Month is to increase consciousness and knowledge of women's history: to take one month of the year to remember the contributions of notable and ordinary women, in hopes that the day will soon come when it's impossible to teach or learn history without remembering these contributions.

Stop by the American Corner to learn about the American Women's Suffrage Movement or about the women who changed America.

February is….
Black History Month
Check out the American Corner to learn more! Or come to one of the special events…..

Thursday February 4th: Discussion of Race in America and the Misconceptions
Thursday February 11th: The March for Racial Equality and the Steps it took to get There Presentation and Discussion
Tuesday February 16th : Guest Speaker: Mr. Lee Jennings to talk about his experience with the Civil Rights Movement
Wednesday February 24th: Film show and discussion of “Mississippi Burning”

All events will be held in the American Corner and will begin at 4pm

New Additions at the AC!

In addition to having great books and DVDs, the American Corner now has board games for its users! Although these games can not be taken home, you are welcome to stop by with some friends and enjoy the games here! We now have Catch Phrase, Balderdash, Scrabble, and Taboo. Not only are all these games fun, but they will also help improve your english!!

Watch President Obama’s 2010 State of the Union Address at AMIDEAST

Where: Conference Room (Main Building)
When: Thursday, January 28th
Time: 3:45 pm

This special viewing of the speech will be followed by a discussion led by Mr. John Berry (Public Affairs Officer at the US Embassy)

All are welcome! Hope to see you there!

Watch the Secretary of State's Speech in the AC

Greetings! This Thursday (January 21st) the U.S. Secretary of State will be making a special speech about internet freedom. Stop by the American Corner at 3:30 to watch the speech. It will be followed by a discussion with Mr. Jed Dornburg from the American Embassy. See you soon, inshallah!