2009 Programs and Events

Palestinian Students in Gaza Utilize their English-language Training at AC Gaza to Discuss Life, Literature and the Impact of the Obama Presidency

A digital videoconference (DVC) was held between American Corner (AC) Gaza and the U.S. Consulate General in Jerusalem on July 21. Consulate Public Diplomacy Officer Esperanza Tilghman, and Cultural Assistant Dana Rassas engaged an evenly-divided group of 26 students from Al-Azhar University in Gaza to discuss their learning experience with the English Language Program at AC Gaza. The program is comprised of listening, reading and speaking instruction based upon materials from classical literature, plays, and even from President Obama’s June 4 speech in Cairo. Several students shared their current works in progress, which included a political satire written by a young man about a day in the life of a Gazan in the midst of internal political turmoil and the Israeli blockade, and a romantic tale by a young woman about a boy and a girl from two very different families. Many of the students expressed their desire to participate in academic exchange programs in the United States; others wanted to use their English language training to increase their job opportunities in the current economy. All of the students expressed a hopefulness to see the kind of change desired by President Obama, and they wait anxiously to find out if it will change their current realities.

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