Blog Post

One of my college professors was an Israeli member in low-level peace talks, in his case focused on the transportation link between Gaza and the West Bank. He told me a great story of particularly heated conversations with his Palestinian counterpart during discussions in Rome, and leaving the room feeling such anger and frustration that he didn’t think he could speak with the man again. That night, on the bus back to the hotel, the two men sat in silence for a long time, until the Palestinian leaned over and asked, “Do you know anything about watches?

Sevcan is 23 years old. She grew up in Hatay, Turkey, a rare place in the Middle East where mosques, churches and synagogues coexist. Jamie is 25 years old and grew up in suburban Chicago. Sevcan and Jamie have never met, but they share a love of English literature and a desire to improve lives through education. Their divergent career paths point to differences in the way that Turkey and the United States prepare recent graduates for careers in the classroom.

As I read earlier this week about the United Arab Emirates’ decision to bar the use of BlackBerry’s data services, I was reminded of why the work we do in IREX’s media development division is so important. Access to information is critical whether you’re in an international business hub like Dubai, or living in a remote village in sub-Saharan Africa.

When IREX asked me to be on its team of writers for its new blog, I fairly jumped at the chance. To be part of an ongoing conversation and – if this isn’t too grand – a community of practice on international development sounded exciting to me.

But when I began to think concretely about civil society topics, I was a little overwhelmed by the sheer breadth of possibilities. Several of my colleagues helped me to brainstorm subjects related to civil society, which you can see in the word cloud below.