Background: Why We're Going to Dubai

In the fall of 2004, Mount Holyoke College hosted six students from Dubai Women’s College during a series of college tours they were taking. The visit was an outgrowth of the Women’s Education Worldwide 2004: The Unfinished Agenda conference held at MHC in June. The visitors attended classes at MHC, met with leaders of the Student Government Association, and shared a presentation about their country and college with our campus.

A year later, after receiving a grant from the Middle East Partnership Initiative to fund a Leadership Training Workshop for its Student Council, DWC invited four MHC students to develop and present a four-day workshop on leadership over the 2006 New Year’s weekend in Dubai.

The four students—Molly Aplet ’06, Emily Freeman ’07, Katie Kraschel ’06 and Nicole Tuma ’07—have been working with Associate Director of Student Programs Beth Gibney Boulden since September to plan the workshop. The group, including Beth, will travel to the United Arab Emirates on December 28th to deliver their presentations, get to know the city of Dubai, and participate in the Women’s Education Worldwide 2006: Women's Hopes and Dreams conference hosted this year by DWC.