US State Department aims to empower Kuwaiti youth

KUWAIT CITY, March 22, (KUNA): Head of Kuwait’s branch of the US-Kuwait Exchange Alumni Association (USKAA) Hamad Al-Saad said that the association has enrolled at least 2,000 Kuwaiti citizens since 1966, empowering them with strengthened skills and expertise in diverse fields.

Shedding light on 57 years of achievements of cultural exchange, Al-Saad told Kuwait News Agency in an interview that the ten cultural exchange programs provided by the US Department of State aim to develop skills of its members.

Plans

USKAA was established in 2019 and was first chaired by Engineer Sharifa Al-Shalfan, under aegis of the US Embassy. It had set a number of rules and plans aiming to include Kuwaiti graduates of the programs, nearing 2,000 since 1966.

The programs include leadership skills, social services for students of the ninth and tenth grades, teaching Arabic language in the US and programs for people with PhD degree in math, science, engineering and technology.

The association, Al-Saad has added, organizes workshops, seminars, coordinates expertise exchange among the graduates, engages in social and humanitarian activities, latest of which was the festival held by the Kuwaiti Olympic for Mental Disability, marking the National

Days.

The ten programs empower the enrolled to sharpen their skills, help them employ their potentials for serving Kuwait’s interests in addition to cementing the relations with the United States of America, he has added.

For example, the US State Department’s International Leadership Visitor Program targets the distinguished, AlSaad has said, also mentioning other sub programs namely the Youth Exchange and Study Program that engage students of ninth and tenth grades.

for social services and volunteering.

The International Writing Program involves novelists and writers, Fulbright Program for assistant teachers of foreign languages, qualifies Englishlanguage teachers to partake in teaching the Arabic language in the US, the Fulbright visiting researchers program targets PhD-level individuals in sciences and technology, engineering and mathematics, he continued.

Enhance

Al-Saad also mentioned the Sports Envoy Program, held for two weeks in the US, partly designed to enhance coaches’ skills. He also indicated at other programs that are not currently effective.

Al-Shalfan, a current member of the Kuwaiti Municipal Council, is also a graduate of the International Leadership Visitor Program.