INFOBOOKLET

Bridge the gap

between the

arab and westernculture

WHY THE NOUR PROJECT?Because we live in a multi cultural society, where people from many diff erent cultures live side by side, it is important that we aim to create a peaceful environment where people understand the diff erences of another culture and accept each other. Reaching an understanding of the Arab culture enables people to have a nuanced opinion, instead of blindly following the picture that the media paints.

HOW DOES THE PROJECT WORK?The Nour Project is an initi ati ve by AIESEC in the Netherlands, and aims to create mutual cultural understanding between the Western and Arab world. Our goal is to challenge prejudices and to bridge the gap between the Western and Arab culture. We do this by sending a number of highly moti vated students to a country in the MENA region (the Middle East and North Africa) twice a year. The programme is more than just spending a couple of weeks abroad, which is why the Nour Project is unique. To prepare, the students will parti cipate in a Preparati on programme. Aft er the project, the students will take part in the reintegrati on programme, where they share their experiences of their ti me in the MENA region.

In this booklet you’ll fi nd more informati on about the diff erent stages of the Nour Project. The last pages of the booklet consist of practi cal informati on about costs and requirements.

Nour Project

THe projectTHE PREPARATION PROGRAMMETo prepare the students for their summer or winter abroad, we provide them with trainings on a professional and cultural level during the Preparati on Programme in the months before going to their desti nati on.

THE EXPERIENCEDuring the months July and August or January and February, the students will go on a Project in a country in the MENA region.

THE REINTEGRATION PROGRAMMETo complete the cultural exchange, back in the Netherlands the students share their experiences on a local platf orm they have created themselves the purpose of this project is to create mutual understanding between the western and the arab culture and narrow the gap between the two cultures.

ProgrammePreparation

The aim of the Preparati on Programme is to provide the Nour Parti cipants with experience and knowledge on a cultural, as well as on a professional level, for their ti me in the Arab Culture. It takes place from November to December (Winter programme) or April to May (Summer programme). It consists of two days in which you will follow 8 to 10 workshops, lectures, and trainings given by various companies and experts. One should think about a workshop creati ve writi ng by de Correspondent, a lecture by documentary maker Floor van der Meulen or a workshop by experts on the MENA-region. During this period, the parti cipati ng students will also be working on fi nding a suiti ng Project.

In total, the Preparati on Programme will approximately demand about fi ve hours a week. Most of the trainings will take place on Saturday or Sunday, so that students are able to att end the trainings without missing any university lectures. Oft en, meeti ngs take place in Leiden, Amsterdam or Utrecht.

THE EXPerienceThe Summer Project will take approximately 6-8 weeks between June and September, depending on your availability, so there is no study delay. The Winter Project lasts 4-8 weeks, taking place in January and February. The project is a tool to work with locals and truly dive into the Arab culture.

The projects are chosen by the Nour Parti cipants themselves during the Preparati on Programme and are mainly developmental: working at SOS Children’s Villages in Jordan, helping at children’s summer camps in Morocco or advocati ng for women’s rights. We also have other opti ons such as writi ng a local NGO’s business plan in Tunisia or helping make the Rammadan a festi ve month for people who cannot aff ord it otherwise. These are all examples of the projects of the past few years.

During the weekends the students are free to travel and explore the country! While abroad, the parti cipants update their friends and relati ves, and others that are interested, by regularly writi ng blogs about their experiences and discoveries or other expressions via social media. The links to these blogs will be posted on the Nour Project Facebook page throughout the projects. This blogging contributes to the Nour Project’s mission: Building bridges between the two cultures and create multual understanding.

Programmereintegration

Before the parti cipants go on their exchange with the Nour Project they will all think of an individual project that they want to realize. The purpose of this project is to cre-ate mutual understanding between the western and the arab culture and narrow the gap between the two cul-tures. This will be done by moti vati ng the parti cipants to create their own reintegrati on project, for example, making a documentary or creati ng an Arabic cookbook.

During their experience the parti cipants will be tracked and guided by the Reintegrati on Manager. When the parti cipants come back from their experience they will be highly encouraged to spread the Nour message. They will do this through a local platf orm that they have created themselves.

The reintegrati on programme has become a more local and personal project. It won’t feel like an obligati on any-more, instead it will off er a chance for the parti cipants to share their experience in a fun way with the people close to them. Through this newly addapted method the parti ci-pants will, ulti mately, be more fl exible and creati ve in real-izing their reintegrati on project.

practicalitiesSAFETYEvery year we carefully choose our countries of desti nati on and judge whether the politi cal situati on is stable. We have contact with the Ministry of Foreign Aff airs, the Dutch Embassies and the local AIESEC organizati ons abroad. When the situati on in a country changes to unsafe, we will think of a back-up opti on for the Nour Parti cipants.

COSTS• €299 as the regular AIESEC exchange fee, for the Nour Project this is including the costs of the preparati on programme• Flight ti cket: price varies• Cost of living, which is generally lower than in the Netherlands

WHAT DO YOU GET?• Around 10 professional preparati on acti viti es• A personal student coach of the Nour team that guides you in choosing a project • Pick-up from the airport • Arranged housing by the local AIESEC enti ty (note that the rent on some desti nati ons is excluded from the Nour fee)• Opti onal social acti viti es organized by the local AIESEC in your country of desti nati on.

how to applyTo apply for the Nour Project, it is required to study in the Netherlands, and to be older than 20. Both Dutch and internati onal students can apply, but you have to be available to take part in the Preparati on Programme, Winter Project and Reintegrati on Programme.To apply, fi ll in the form that you can fi nd on the website.

YOU CAN FIND THE APPLICATION DEADLINE ON OUR WEBSITE!

Do you want to know more about the Nour Project, or would you like to keep updated?

Kwww.nourproject.nlUnourproject@aiesec.nlBNour ProjectVnour.aiesec

DESIGNJasmin de Leeuw

TEXTMats ReijmanMaud van den OetelaarJasmin de Leeuw

PHOTOGRAPHSAll photo’s in this booklet are made byNour parti cipants

OFFICEInternati onal HouseKaiserstraat 132311 GN LeidenT: 071 – 5271143

Colofon

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