smuench@azleg.gov
Sinema
heads to Middle East with prestigious leadership program
STATE CAPITOL, PHOENIX – House Assistant Democratic Leader Kyrsten Sinema, D-Phoenix
(District 15) will attend a seven-day leadership seminar next week in the Middle East, hosted by the Aspen-Rodel Fellowships in Public Leadership Program.
Sinema will meet with
government officials, diplomats, business leaders, journalists and Iraqi
refugees, and tour several cultural and historical sites in the region.
“It is an honor to
travel to the Middle East to gain experience and knowledge that I can bring
back to Arizona,” Sinema said. “It is incredibly important to understand these
issues to further Middle-East-U.S. relations and peace in the Middle East, for the
future of our country and to build bridges over political gaps we have here at
home.”
Sinema was
chosen for the prestigious Rodel Fellowship in Public Leadership, a selective
program of only 20 elected officials nationwide.
The program
seeks to enhance democracy by bringing together the nation's most promising
young political leaders committed to sustaining the vision of a political
system based on bipartisan dialogue. Selected on an annual basis,
each class consists of 20 Fellows, identified by the program's
leadership as America's emerging political leaders with reputations for
intellect, thoughtfulness, and a commitment to civil dialogue.
The
Fellowship is funded entirely by the Rodel Charitable Foundation.
The
Aspen Institute, founded in 1950, is an international nonprofit dedicated to
fostering enlightened leadership and open-minded dialogue. Through seminars,
policy programs, conferences and leadership development initiatives, the
Institute and its international partners seek to promote nonpartisan inquiry
and an appreciation for timeless values. Its international network includes
partner Aspen Institutes in Berlin, Rome, Lyon, Tokyo, and New Delhi, and
leadership programs in Africa and Central America.
Brief Itinerary: Seminar in the Middle East March 7 – March 15,
2008
Saturday, March 7
Leave for Tel Aviv
Sunday, March 8
Leave Tel Aviv and arrive in Cairo, Egypt
Monday, March 9: Cairo, Egypt
Meet with Stuart Jones, Deputy Chief of Mission, US Embassy,
Cairo
Meet with HE Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minister of International Cooperation
Visit the Egyptian National Museum
Tuesday, March 10: Cairo, Egypt
Pyramids at Giza
Meet with Ministry of Defense officials
Meet with Vice Chairman, Egyptian National Council for Human Rights
Meet with Board of the Ibn Khaldun Center,
Meet with Hisham Qassem, al Masry al-Youm newspaper
Depart Cairo for Amman, Jordan
Wednesday, March 11: Amman, Jordan
Meet with Iraqi Refugees, United Nations High Commission for Refugees
Meet with Young Arab Leaders
Meet with MK Tzachi Hanegbi, Kadima Party
Old City Tunnel Tour
Thursday, March 12: Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, Israel
Meet with Aluf Benn Haaretz Newspaper
Meet with Director-General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Shalem Center
Depart for Tel Aviv
Meet with Governor of the Bank of Israel
Meet former director of Intelligence, Labor Party
Friday, March 13: Jerusalem and Tel Aviv
Visit to a Settlement
Briefing with the UN Office of the Coordinator for Humanitarian Affairs for the
Palestinian Territories
Meeting with President of al-Quds University
Dinner with New York Times Jerusalem bureau chief, American Colony Hotel
Saturday, March 14: Jerusalem and Ramallah
Depart Jerusalem for Ramallah
Meetings with representatives of the Palestinian Authority
Meetings with Palestinian Negotiating team
Meetings with representatives of the Fatah faction
Return to Jerusalem
Sunday, March 15
Depart Tel Aviv, return to Arizona
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