Empowering our community is a priority at AMEL! We work to empower our Alumni, volunteer and online communities through a variety of engagement methods and opportunities throughout the year.
The Regional AMEL Institute Alumni Community now consists of 650+ young leaders from 40+ countries across the Middle East & Africa (MEA) and peers in the Global North, while the Alumni community from our Sudan-focused training program now numbers nearly 1000. AMEL Alumni are regularly engaged through ongoing networking, webinars and skills- and career-advancement opportunities. Among the highlights so far this year were: a training-of-trainers webinar for the Regional Community, and the creation of a Sudan Alumni Committee to guide the development of educational campaigns on constitutional and democracy issues.
AMEL Alumni also make up the majority of volunteers who assist the organization in running community engagement initiatives and regional training programs. This past spring and summer, 20 volunteers from 12 countries across MEA worked alongside AMEL Leadership to translate the curriculum, prepare the new website and serve as Mentors during the AMEL Institute Summer program for regional activists. An additional 18 volunteers from 12 MEA countries are part of the two 2022 cohorts of the CommSquad, a volunteer team that co-creates content, campaigns and events for the AMEL online community.
Through all these experiences, AMEL Alumni/volunteers are bringing their unique perspectives to enrich the AMEL community, while at the same time building their skills, experiences and resumes. After successfully completing their volunteerships, they receive certificates and letters of recommendation, which have been proven to be incredibly useful in applications for graduate study, fellowships, and similar opportunities.
If you would like to get involved with AMEL by participating in our online communities or volunteering with us, check out our engagement page here.