For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
October 25, 2001
Education Partnership with Muslim Nations Launched
President Bush joined
leaders of non-governmental and private organizations at Marshall
Elementary School in the District of Columbia on Oct. 25,
2001 to announce "Friendship Through Education" -- group of
organizations that are expanding links between United States
students and students in countries with Muslim people.
For the first stage
in this iniatitive, three United States schools in communities
most directly affected by the September 11 terrorist attacks
will be linked for student and teacher interchanges with schools
in Islamic nations.
About Friendship
Through Education
Friendship Through
Education is a consortium, a group of organizations
committed to connecting children from different nations
in an effort to bridge cultures and broaden understanding.
One of the best ways to deter terrorism is through education
and understanding. This interaction will build friendships
and involve students in discussions of issues facing them
as future global citizens.
Friendship Through
Education will facilitate expanded student and teacher exchanges
among countries throughout the globe. It will
launch this effort with a commitment to expand links between
United States schools and those in Islamic countries, including
Egypt, Indonesia, Qatar, Pakistan, Turkey, Bahrain and Afghan
refugee camps. Friendship through Education will
identify appropriate friendship schools in Islamic nations,
help provide safe and secure Internet-based communications
among students, assist with translations and facilitate
classroom projects.
The consortium includes:
iEARN-USA, People to People International, The UN's Cyberschoolbus,
ePals Classroom Exchange, Global SchoolNet Foundation, Schools
Online, Sister Cities International, US Fund for UNICEF,
and Paul D. Coverdell World Wise Schools Program of the
Peace Corps. Additional organizations will be able to join
the consortium, thereby expanding the number and types of
projects available for schools. iEARN will be the
organization responsible for coordinating the consortium
members.
The consortium is
modeled after several successful existing programs, including
the "President's People to People program." This initiative
was launched on September 11, 1956, by then President Dwight
D. Eisenhower. After touring the liberated death camps
after World War II, Eisenhower was sure that, if people
could have face-to-face contact, future atrocities could
be avoided through better understanding. President
Eisenhower's granddaughter, Mary Eisenhower, is Executive
Director of People to People, one of the groups involved
in the Friendship Through Education consortium.
How Friendship Through Education Works Schools from the United States communities most directly
impacted by the September 11 terrorist attacks will be the
first to participate in this program.
Thurgood Marshall Extended
Elementary School (K-8), Washington, DC
Patrick Henry Elementary
School, Arlington, VA
Mott Hall School, New
York City
These schools have been chosen to work with the Friendship
Through Education network to reach out, respectively, to:
Al-Raja Elementary School
(Manama, Bahrain)
Dawood Public School
(Karachi, Pakistan)
Abbass El Akkad Experimental
Language School (Cairo, Egypt)
The goal of Friendship Through Education is to link an American
school in every state with a school in countries with Muslim
populations in the Middle, Near and Far East.
The Friendship Through Education consortium will encourage
initially two types of projects:
E-Mail PenPals:
Allows students to exchange e-mails with students from one
of the identified countries in an effort to better understand
each other's countries and cultures.
Laws of Life Project:
Invites young people to submit essays describing the rules,
ideals and principles by which they live and explain the
sources of their laws of life (literature, life experience,
religion, culture, role models).
These opportunities will be promoted by a new "Friendship
Through Education" website. Schools interested in participating
in these projects can visit the website where registration
can take place through the members of the consortium and schools
can indicate their interest in connecting with another class.
Additionally, schools will be able to access all programs
offered by members of the consortium. The web address
is: www.friendshipthrougheducation.org.
Friendship Through Education Fact Sheet (Text Only)