The following post was written by Fertaa Yieleh-Chireh, an international student from Ghana working this summer in the Global Entrepreneurship Week HQ in Washington, DC.The winds of political change have been blowing in the Middle East/Arab region -- supported by the entrepreneurial spirit and efforts of GEW hosts in the area. While lasting solutions are sought, these resilient organizations have not skipped a beat while continuing to form useful partnerships and plan activities for this November's Global Entrepreneurship Week. Here are a few examples:

• In Egypt, the Middle East Council for Small Business and Entrepreneurship (MCSBE), in collaboration with the International Council for Small Business, organized a conference with the agenda of “Integrating Business Enterprise and Entrepreneurship Education in Egypt.” The conference brought together various government officials and business leaders to share and exchange ideas on public policies that would better enhance small businesses and entrepreneurship, which are “drivers of economic development and employment action.” The conference included notable speakers such as, the Presidents of MCSBE and ICSB, Mr. Amr Gohar and Prof. David Smallbone respectively, the Egyptian Minister of Higher Education, Minister Hany Helal, and his Trade and Industry counterpart at the time, Minister Rachid Mohamed Rachid. 
• In Bahrain: Young Arab Leaders (YAL) is organizing a “Steps to Success” workshop (July 3-6) that seeks to provide Arab youth with channels to tackle the challenges of unemployment through empowering them with the right education and broadening their horizon to become global leaders in their chosen fields. “Steps to Success” is being organized in partnership with JobsforBahrainis.com, a private sector initiative aimed at providing training in specialist careers to Bahraini nationals in order to boost their economic potential.
• In Tunisia, the Institut Arabe des Chefs d’Entreprises (IACE) is relentlessly running its degree programs and training seminars. Most recently in April, in conjunction with the Fondation Friedrich Naumann, IACE organized “La Maison de l’entreprise siege de L’institut Arabe des Chefs Entreprises” (Home of the company seat of the Arab Institute of Heads of companies). This was a training seminar that brought together business leaders and executives in Tunisia to deliberate on effective business management skills. 
• In Jordan, the Queen Rania Center for Entrepreneurship (QRCE), concluded its first Jordanian universities conference to encourage the culture of entrepreneurship among students.  The conference attracted over 200 students from various Jordanian universities.

These are very positive developments, and combined with the Best Practices in Entrepreneurship Policy conference held by the Dubai School of Government during GEW 2009 & GEW 2010, these developments reinforce the commitment of this region to spreading entrepreneurship and promoting sustainable development.

tags: IACE, MCSB, QRCE, YAL