Grassroots Diplomacy Program Components
Dialogue Sessions
During professionally facilitated, two-hour daily dialogue sessions, American and Syrian students discuss their personal experiences, beliefs, values and interests. They address topics such as the complexity of identity, American foreign policy, the Arab-Israeli conflict, gender relations, education, and the impact of diversity in society.
Interviews with Syrian media professionals, government officials, professors, artists, and activists complement these dialogue sessions, challenging students to engage with diverse perspectives.
American students blog on themes related to the dialogue sessions in conjunction with their Syrian counterparts. While this blog initially will be confined to program participants, edited portions of it may become a part of the program’s Virtual Scrapbook, a record of students’ exchanges. This blog also will provide an outlet through which participants can continue to communicate after the completion of the program.
Media and Communication Workshops
Students participate in media and communication workshops led by Syrian print and broadcast journalists and professional performers from across the disciplines including music, theater, film, dance, and literature.
During initial information sessions with Syrian media professionals, students have the opportunity to hear about the professionals’ backgrounds and engage in a question-and-answer session. Students accompany one professional for a day to learn first hand the processes, challenges, and conditions of his/her given profession as it exists in Syria. Participants then create a profile of one or more people they met during this day using any medium they choose (film, literature, music, etc.).
Language Enhancement
Syria has been called the “Mecca” of Arabic language study. American participants will take Arabic language classes during their time in Damascus. Participants are divided into levels according to language experience and learn practical phrases and conversational tools to augment their experience.
Excursions and Cultural Emersion
Damascus, Syria is the oldest inhabited capital in the world: the beauty of the historical treasures it harbors in the narrow streets of the Old City and the jasmine-lined streets of surrounding neighborhoods is as timeless as the treasures themselves are awe-inspiring. In Damascus, students have the opportunity to visit sites such as:
- The Azem Palace
- Bab Tuma
- The Street Called Straight (Mathat Basha)
- Khan Assad Basha
- Maktab Anbar
- The Umayyad Mosque and St .John the Baptist’s Tomb
- Souk Al-Hamidiyeh
- St. Paul’s Window
- St. Hanania’s Church
Overnight excursions to Syria's other major cities including Aleppo, Hama, and Homs and to its historical sites such as Palmyra, Bosra, Saint Simon's Citadel (Qalat Samaan), Ugarit (Ras Shamra) and a number of castles including the Crac des Chevaliers and Salah al-Din's Castle introduce students to Syria's numerous other splendors.
Additionally, students have the opportunity to explore Syria and interact with lay Syrian citizens during personal time. Participants can sit down in a local café, visit the old city in Damascus, or just relax in a park.