About the Program

The MENAR Fellowship Program fosters a new generation of leaders with real-world experience with the culture, language, and politics of the Middle East and North Africa.

The Middle East and North Africa Regional (MENAR) Fellowship Program was founded by a group of young Princeton alumni in 2011 with the objective of offering one-year post-graduation fellowships to top graduates of American colleges at leading organizations across the Middle East and North Africa region. The program is not affiliated with Princeton University, but rather draws on the strength of the alumni network to facilitate placements and support fellows.

What We Do

The MENAR Fellowship Program facilitates intercultural exchange by coordinating fellowships for recent American college graduates with non-profit organizations and businesses in the Middle East. The MENAR Fellowship Program screens partner organizations; provides the organizations with a guarantee of excellence from fellows; allows fellows to access a range of opportunities through a single application process; and supports fellows and partners through the intricacies of international placements.

Global Impact

Founded by Princeton University alumni, the MENAR Fellowship Program draws inspiration from Princeton's commitment to global public service. As Woodrow Wilson noted in his legendary “Princeton in the Nation’s Service” address, Princeton University has always been “a school of duty,” whose students are expected to become “citizens and the world’s servants in every field of practical endeavor.” The Middle East is an epicenter for many of the issues the University, and the world, seek to tackle, including the political effects of emerging democracy, trade policy, and immigration, the conflicts between religions and cultures, and the environmental effects of desertification. The MENAR Fellowship Program will produce experienced alumni who will contribute enormously to the American relationship with the Middle East at a critical time in the region’s history. It will also aid organizations that further development, peace, and human rights in the region. Though initiated by Princeton alumni, the MENAR Fellowship Program is open to applications from qualified graduates of any university. 

Model

Three organizations currently provide a bridge between university graduates and organizations in other regions: Princeton in Asia, Princeton in Africa, and Princeton in Latin America. These “Princeton ins” screen non-profit organizations; provide the organizations with a guarantee of excellence from fellows; allow fellows to access a range of opportunities through a single application process; and support fellows and partners through the intricacies of international placements. The MENAR Fellowship Program will serve the same function in the Middle East and North Africa by facilitating placements in the region.

Expertise

The MENAR Fellowship Program will operate exclusively in the Middle East and North Africa region and will have the regional expertise to ensure it can offer fellows the opportunity to make connections that will give them the most stable, secure, and rewarding experience possible for both fellows and host organizations.

Team Members

See members of the
Steering Committee