Feature

YES Alumni Conference
in Washington DC

S.M. Fahad Bin Kamal

YES is an innovative high school exchange program funded by the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. From 2003 to the present a total of 3,480 students have participated in the YES program. Youths from Muslim oriented nations have come to the US to live as a “son” or “daughter” in an American family and attend high school for an academic year or semester. YES students share their host families' everyday lives, engage in school activities and volunteer in their communities. They learn about American society and values while helping to educate others about the customs and culture of their homelands. Students represent YES countries: Afghanistan, Albania, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Brunei, Bulgaria, Egypt, Gaza, Ghana, Kosovo, India, Indonesia, Israel (Arab Community), Jordan, Kenya, Kuwait, Lebanon, Macedonia, Malaysia, Mali, Morocco, Mozambique, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Philippines, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Tanzania, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkey, West Bank, and Yemen.

I was selected as one out of 11 students in 2004 to represent the first YES Batch from Bangladesh to the United States. Out of 11 only 9 successfully completed the program. I was placed in New Hampshire where I attended Milford High School and lived with the Carvill family for an entire year. I had a wonderful time in the states with my family, High school, and with my friends everywhere. I will cherish these memories my entire life. Currently I am completing my final year, studying BBA at North South University.

After returning from the US, all YES scholars from Bangladesh become part of the 'YES Alumni Bangladesh'. So far over 100 scholars have successfully completed this YES program and they are called YES Alumni of Bangladesh.

During our stay in United States we had to fulfill many criteria in order to carry out the 1 academic year. One of the major criteria was to fulfill a specific number of hours of community service. The objective of this community service is to teach a foreign exchange students how Americans help and support their own community. After completing the YES Program, the alumni's main objective is to implement what they have learned in United States. Community service represents one of the best things a student can learn. All the alumni have to perform different community service activities to ensure their involvement in society as per the requirement of U.S State Department.

With the return of the first batch from U.S, the journey of YES Alumni Bangladesh began. So far we have managed to complete a great number of social service activities and by the grace of the Almighty I have been serving as the President of YES Alumni Bangladesh since its inception. According to U.S State Department YES Alumni Bangladesh is one of the strongest alumni associations in South Asia. We have achieved this confidence through our hard work, commitment and sincerity. We strive to meet these criteria as we believe that these are the main 3 pillars of success.

Every year YES Alumnus from all across the world gathered in conference or in workshops hosted by different nations, which is funded by U.S State Department. The goal of these workshops and conferences is to share knowledge and build a strong network between these participating nations. As a State Department Alumni I had the honor of participating in 3 conferences after the completion of YES program in 2005. I attended workshop on “Building Tolerance and Respect diversity” in Dushanbe, Tajikistan. June, 2006. Then in 2007 I attended 'Regional Youth Leadership Conference' in Faridabad, New Delhi, India. This year I attended 'YES Alumni conference' in Washington DC.

As the President of YES Alumni Bangladesh, I lead a 7 member group in 'YES Alumni Conference' at American University in Washington DC this July. From Bangladesh 7 Alumni members took part in this prestigious conference. They are: Rukhsar Jahan Arzoo, S. M. Sakib Noor Billah, Shariqa Habib, Masaba Adneen, Sharid Khan, Imran Kayesh Asif and myself. YES alumni from all the YES Countries; a total of 150 Alumnus; were part of this conference.

In our first day we had to present our best activities out of all. Among all the activities we decided that the Relief campaign for 'SIDR' was our proudest moment. After Afghanistan, it was Bangladesh's turn to present. Sharid Khan from third YES Batch was the presenter. After watching seeing the impact this natural disaster had on Bangladesh, a lot of students and officials present there shed tears. We believe the presentation was a great success as we were able to move the audience. Countries like Egypt, Pakistan, Lebanon, Morocco, Malaysia and Kuwait came up with very good projects. After the first session we had to attend workshops, hosted by invited special guest speakers. Lisa Choale, Arthur Pang from the Department of State, Mallory Krish from the Department of State and Syed Mohammad Mehadi (YES Alumni President from Pakistan).

The second day of the conference started with Tracy Rogers's welcome speech and then the breakout sessions started. There were three workshops. Workshop 1 was “Alumni Network Building & Resources”. Workshop 2 was “Leadership Skills Building”. And workshop 3 was “Discussion of Academic Opportunities”. After the workshops were over, there was a lunch program and then we were taken to the Spirit of D.C. Cruise. Cruise experience was simply fantastic and cannot be put into words.

In our third and final day of the conference, we were asked to sit in country groups to discuss our future plans with the alumni association, the problems we faced while working and also if we had any suggestions for them. After our brief discussion, the students were divided into regions. We were in South-East and Pacific Asian countries. In our group, there were Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Pakistan and Thailand. Every country in the group discussed their future plans and their problems. This session was conducted by Arthur Pang from Department of State.

As the alumni of Bangladesh we made a very strong group. Our main intention was to promote Bangladesh. We wanted to show other countries how hard working and capable Bangladeshi students are. The quality of our newsletters, booklets and Video created that professional vibe that I was looking for. All the other nations and the US State Department really appreciated all our hard work.

In closing, on behalf of the YES Alumni Bangladesh I would like to thank the AMIDEAST (America-Mideast Educational and Training service), U.S State Department officials, all the seven participants from Bangladesh, Tracey Rogers, Sharid Khan, Wasi Mahmud Moni and Habibullah Bahar Gulandaz (YES Program Coordinator-Bangladesh) for their assistance and support.