AAWBC to Host Conference and Farewell Reception for Middle Eastern Women Interning and Studying in Detroit June 4

posted on: May 31, 2009

n Thursday, June 4, 2009, the Arab American Women’s Business Council will host a press conference and farewell reception for the 16 Arab women who have spent the last eight weeks working in Southeastern Michigan companies through a project funded by the U.S. Department of State’s Office of Citizen Exchanges. The reception begins at 5:30 p.m. at the Arab American National Museum located at 13624 Michigan Ave., Dearborn, MI 48126, with the press conference at 6:00 p.m.

During the press conference, several of the visiting women will describe their experiences in the Detroit area and the value of this program to their future as scientists and engineers.

The program provided the Arab women, who possess advanced degrees in science and technology, with an opportunity to augment their technical training with practical experience in companies and research laboratories in the Metropolitan Detroit area. In addition to their internships, the women also enhanced their technical education through University of Michigan-Dearborn courses.

AAWBC members mentored the women, who came from Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, United Arab Emirates, West Bank/Gaza and Yemen, and showcased the region’s cultural institutions and entertainment venues.

AAWBC considers this exchange to be an opportunity for the Detroit region, beset by a deep economic crisis, to build lasting mutually beneficial relationships with countries of the Middle East and North Africa. Collectively, the MENA nations have a potential purchasing population of $300 million.