Over the past few months, the AMEL regional alumni community—comprising more than 1,400 young changemakers from across the Middle East and Africa (MEA)—has been more active than ever, exchanging ideas, acquiring new skills, and supporting one another through training sessions and an increasingly vibrant online platform. As we continue expanding our global network of young leaders, our priority is to create meaningful spaces where alumni can continue developing as leaders, stay connected, and build on the foundations laid during their programs. With this in mind, we have been creating online spaces and offerings to engage our alumni in a variety of ways. From sharing leadership development opportunities to hosting thematic workshops, we aim to ensure that alumni remain equipped with the resources, networks, and inspiration they need to lead the way to dignity and rights for all.
Our dedicated alumni platform is more than just a digital space—it is an interactive community of varied young changemakers from all over the MEA region. It offers room for dialogue, collective learning, and collaboration across regions, fields, and generations. The alumni platform has become an active hub where we regularly highlight opportunities, such as fellowships, grants, training programs, internships, and calls for participation in different events and other programs. This ongoing opportunity-sharing is intentionally designed to support their professional development across multiple sectors, including peacebuilding, good governance, human rights, citizen diplomacy, and more.
“As an aspiring human rights advocate, one of the very first places I found real information, guidance, and grounding was AMEL...Last week, I had the honor of going back to where it all began, this time as a webinar facilitator on strategic litigation [against gender-based violence]. It was a moment of introspection, a reminder of how far the journey has taken me, and how powerful mentorship and solidarity can be. ”
Engagement has also grown through online discussions, networking, and cooperation to strengthen one another's work. To complement this peer-driven engagement, we have been hosting a series of online webinars, delivered by our alumni themselves, to further alumni personal and professional growth. These sessions build know-how through practical, interactive, and accessible webinars, allowing alumni to learn from the expertise of their peers. Additionally, AMEL is proud to have partnered with Byron Bland, former Associate Director of the Stanford Center on International Conflict and Negotiation, on a new pilot program to strengthen the capacity of young activists to think critically and use story-based approaches to conflict transformation and building civil and safe political communities. Stay tuned for more AMEL alumni news coming soon!