An investment in MEET is an investment in the future leaders of the Middle East. MEET supporters contribute to MEET success in diverse ways – with their experience, their services and their capital. Should you decide to join the distinguished group of the MEET supporters please click here to learn more about making a donation.

If you would like to help and support MEET in any other way other than a financial contribution please contact us.

MEET has developed a Theory of Change that guides how we plan, implement and improve our programs. We derive the program’s activities from MEET’s intended impact:

“MEET students and alums become leaders in their communities and work towards changing status quo as it relates to the conflict and ensuring a sustainable peace through economic, political and social initiatives. MEET inspires hope in the larger Palestinian and Israeli communities.”

Our 3-year program focuses on project based group work and empowers students with the skills, self-confidence and experience to lead a team, think big and tackle problems in a collaborative way, using technology and business as tools. MEET’s long-term impact will ultimately be measured by our alumni and their actions in the future. Our alumni program offers professional development opportunities and mentoring to help MEET alumni achieve successful career tracks and make a difference. The MEET Venture Lab incubates alumni initiatives and encourages an active network.

Long-term – MEET is a three-year program. Our students see each other once a week (from October to May) and everyday for five consecutive weeks during each summer. Our students develop mutual respect, trust, and relationships built on a sustained, long-term experience. Our Alumni Program, which includes the MEET Alumni Venture Lab, provides significant opportunities for engagement as a means to achieve our impact.

Local – unlike other programs that bring their participants to locations outside the Middle East, MEET takes place in the region. This enables our students to fully internalize the skills, experience, and perspectives they gained at MEET within the context of the on-the-ground reality of their home environments. In the process, they get to know one another’s narratives and gain a deeper understanding of the complexities on the ground.

Skill based excellence model – MEET students engage in real-world projects, gain practical skills and professional development opportunities that empower them to successfully take on leadership roles at every stage of their careers. Additionally, our focus on excelling young individuals means that MEET students are well prepared to make positive social, economic, and political impact in their communities and region.

MEET was born at MIT. Two of the MEET founders are graduates of MIT and all of the summer teaching instructor team is comprised of MIT students and graduates. Moreover, MEET is supported by a wide range of students, faculty and alumni of MIT. MEET has generated a great buzz and excitement at MIT. We have the support and commitment of Prof. Daniel Jackson, former MIT President Prof. Charles Vest, and Prof. Rodney Brooks, former head of CSAIL.

MEET is supported by a prestigious network of business and academic leaders from the Middle East, the United States and Europe. MEET is a non-profit and non-political grassroots program that was founded in 2003. MEET puts an emphasis on bringing together the academic and business worlds of the region, with the belief that a positive dialogue in the Middle East will be greatly enhanced by such partnerships. MEET’s programs are run by a highly dedicated team of American instructors from MIT and Israelis, and Palestinians that are determined to help shape tomorrow by empowering our youth today.

MEET’s educational excellence model is conducted under the premise that the futures of the Palestinian and Israeli peoples are intertwined. As such, it is necessary for future leaders to develop the skills, bi-national network and leadership experience that will prepare them for affecting positive change in the Middle East. Targeting both Palestinian and Israeli youth, MEET fulfills its mission of creating an active bi-national network of young leaders who are committed to changing the status quo as it relates to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Moreover, MEET’s bi-national network leverages the professional expertise of leading mentors and companies in the Israeli and Palestinian technology and business sectors.

MEET harnesses the students’ interests in technology creating a process in which mutual respect and understanding comes from working together and accomplishing tangible real-world goals.

• MEET uses technology to create a common language between Israelis and Palestinians that can be translated into future cooperation between the communities.
• MEET is an environment in which the pursuit of excellence and creative thinking are paramount.
• MEET works to sustain participant relationships over long periods of time. The controlled atmosphere of a summer program is an excellent place to start building these relationships, but it is out in the realities of their region in which they must thrive. MEET mentors continue working throughout the year with the students continuing to develop their projects and build on their relationships with one another.

Technology enables creating a process in which mutual respect and understanding comes from working together and accomplishing tangible real-world goals.

• The technology focus and the demanding curriculum let the students relate on the professional undermining their differences. The students learn to thrive together as professional team-members to achieve their mutual goals.
• Allows MEET to attract students with diverse political views from both sides.
• MEET believes that only a focus on a neutral professional common denominator such as technology can sustain participant relationships over long periods of time.