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"Eighty Palestinian Young Women Graduate from the Business Women Forum's Internship Program"

Consulate General of the U.S. in Jerusalem

On July 28, 2010, in a graduation ceremony held at the Palestinian Red Crescent Building in Ramallah, the Palestinian Business Women Forum (BWF), families and friends and representatives of host corporations and organizations and the U.S. Consulate General in Jerusalem honored eighty university graduates from several leading universities in the West Bank. The young women, from the Ramallah, Hebron, Nablus, Bethlehem, Jenin, Tulkarem and Jerusalem areas, participated in four-month internships in local and international businesses and organizations in the fields of information technology, trade and business, press and media, and the civil and architectural engineering.

Frank Finver, Public Affairs Officer for the U.S. Consulate General in Jerusalem was the graduation ceremony’s keynote speaker. Mr. Finver praised the interns for seizing an opportunity to develop themselves into the “next generation of Palestinian business leaders,” and commended the host companies and organizations for “taking the necessary steps to ensure a viable Palestinian workforce that includes women.” Mr. Finver spoke highly of BWF, noting the organization’s commitment to the “social and economic advancement of women,” and “building a strong and independent economy for the future Palestinian state.” Ms. Amal Moghrabi, BWF's newly-elected President, and Ms. Do’a M. Wadi, BWF’s Executive Director, discussed the importance of providing a professional network for Palestinian young women, and the crucial experience necessary to advance in the graduates’ careers that the internship program provides.

For the third consecutive year, the U.S. Consulate General in Jerusalem provided funding and support for the BWF internship program. Since its launching in 2008, 147 young women throughout the West Bank have participated in the program. In the program’s first year, seventeen women were placed with several international companies and organizations, many of them finding immediate employment upon completing their internships. In its second year, the number of interns more than doubled to 50 university graduates, and the program expanded to include training workshops that focused on job search, resume preparation, business communication, and presentation skills.