MEET Blog is Live!
This summer, you will never be too far away from the classes, projects and experiences that make the five-week MEET summer program the amazing experience that it is. Kwan from Korea, Rejeen from Bethlehem, Muyiwa from Maryland, and Aharon from Jerusalem will each maintain an online journal, giving you a personal and behind-the-scenes look at what MEET is really about – the personal stories and the people whose lives are affected by the program. Read the MEET blog.

PalTel partners up with MEET
PalTel, the Palestinian national telecommunications provider and a leader of Palestinian business and IT, has decided to partner with MEET to support and ensure the continuance of MEET’s educational program for Palestinian and Israeli high school students. PalTel has contributed an initial seed investment to sponsor MEET’s Bethlehem project (read more), while future PalTel investments will go toward MEET’s growth to additional cities throughout the Palestinian Authority.

You Can Still Help Out!
Help us keep MEET's unique initiative growing by spreading the word! As the new MEET summer program begins, now is the time, so please forward this newsletter and/or a link to our website (http://meet.csail.mit.edu) to anyone and everyone that should know about MEET and its goals.

MEET 2005 Team Assembled!
After a tough selection process, eight instructors and a handful of organizers from all over the globe have arrived at MEET Headquarters in Jerusalem. They are working diligently and continuously to ensure that MEET 2005 is the best it can be, and they sincerely appreciate the help from all of MEET's supporters. Thank you!

Thank you
MEET would never happen without your support. Thanks to all of you who have supported MEET financially, logistically and otherwise. We also want to offer special gratitude to those at MIT and Hebrew University that have helped make MEET such a succesful reality.

Starting July 3rd, MEET kicks off its five-week summer program. MEET05 will be attended by over 50 excelling Palestinian and Israeli students chosen from high schools in Jerusalem and Bethlehem. 20 students who are returning after completing last year’s summer program and thirty-two students recently chosen from a pool of over 250 applicants will be arriving daily to the Hebrew University to study computer programming, entrepreneurship, teamwork and leadership. This year’s exciting hands-on curriculum will be led by a team of exceptionally talented and energetic instructors from MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology). In addition, the students will enjoy lectures from leading business people from the region and the world as well as a visit to IBM and Intel. MEET05 promises to be even more exciting, empowering, and fun than MEET04!

Prior to stepping down from his 13 year role as the President of MIT, President Charles M. Vest decided to support MEET through a substantial financial investment. Following a meeting with two of MEET's co-founders, the President was excited by MEET's innovative use of MIT resources to make a positive impact in the Middle East and the rare opportunity MEET provides for MIT students to gain leadership experience and a unique understanding of the Middle East. President Vest emphasized the need to ensure MEET's future growth. The President provided the generous investment to ensure that MEET's vision for an expanded second program could become a reality. "I share MEET's hope that science and technology can provide a bridge that will reduce the chasm between these warring societies" said Vest.

Looking for a unique summer experience, Kwan Hong Lee encountered MEET on the MIT campus and was immediately intrigued by its creative model. Along with almost 60 MIT Undergraduates, Masters and PhD students, Kwan decided to apply to the program to volunteer as an instructor for the 2005 MEET summer program. Kwan, a Ph.D. student at the MIT Media Lab, has a diverse international background and deep interest in Computer Science and software engineering, making him a perfect fit to MEET.

Kwan’s upbringing in Korea, another region involved in a longstanding conflict between neighboring countries, was one of the key factors for his interest in the challenges of the Middle East. Kwan’s direct experience of living in South America has taught him the importance of using education as a tool to bridge cultures and create an environment of cooperation.

“This summer at MEET will allow me to understand more about the conflict in the Middle East... A greater hope is that MEET will inspire me to extend such a program to the Korean peninsula and also build a foundation for becoming a technology entrepreneur and building international businesses that positively affect our world.” said Kwan.

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