Our team at CLIME and two local NGOs in Jordan and Egypt, Interaction Forum and the Egyptian Center for Democratic Development, are currently developing the MENA Women’s Online Activism Institute- an e*Learning program that will leverage the Internet to give progress-seeking Middle Eastern women the skills to plan and execute projects to achieve change in their communities.

The Online Activism Institute will provide self-motivated women with personalized, in-depth, expert activism and leadership coaching, while teaching them to use the Internet as a tool for learning and networking. Our local partnerships combined with our E*Learning platform will allow us to reach more women with customized training than previously possible with costly in-person, short-term workshops.

CLIME is looking forward to piloting the Institute in early 2009, which will launch officially in May 2009 with 100 to 150 initial graduates recruited and trained by our regional partners in their computer labs. The following assets will be offered as part of the Online Activism Institute:

• “Learn With the Experts”: A live, online instructor-led course to “Create Your Activism Plan,” with core concepts and skills for civic activism. Additional live courses with expert mentors in the United States, Europe and Middle East will delve deeper into specific skills such as messaging, fundraising, or leadership. 
• “Teach Yourself”: Self-paced versions of courses that can be taken online without an instructor.
• “Investigate the Issues”: An online policy roundtable featuring experts from the Middle East to discuss and debate the state of women’s rights and democratic reform in the region.
• “Visit the Library”: Resources developed by CLIME, our NGO partners in the region, and academic partners in the United States focusing on case studies and lessons-learned from women’s movements around the world.