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Building Bridges

Working towards a future of Collaboration and Peace.

Building Bridges was founded to re-establish the great relationships between the East and the West that have rapidly deteriorated in recent years. We are utilizing the existing infrastructures between American and International organizations, establishing new relationships between the United States and other countries, as well as creating opportunities locally for people living in the same region to celebrate each others culture.

Delegata sponsors multiple local events and groups whose goals and mission align with Building Bridges. Such groups include the Interfaith Service Bureau, Japanese American Citizens League, Habitat for Humanity, and more. Larger projects that Delegata is involved with include the Sacramento World Music and Dance Festival whose mission is to showcase the cultural diversity of the Sacramento Region through the presentation of an ethnic dance and music festival; Songs of Hope brings together musicians from Israel, Egypt, Palestine, Jordan, and the U.S. based on the premise that music can build bridges and create understanding between people in conflict; and Call for Unity, a concert event that brings diverse cultures and backgrounds together in one night of music for all to enjoy.

The Building Bridges Summit in 2009 is taking place in California’s capitol city of Sacramento.  Seven esteemed leaders from four Egyptian Universities represent the delegation attending the Egypt Summit.  The delegation consists of professors, deans and heads of departments from Alexandria University, Beni Sweif University, Cairo University, and Zagazig University.  They will participate in progressive discussions with leaders from University of California, Davis and UC Davis School of Medicine on seven key areas: telemedicine, health informatics, continuing medical education, technology based learning, public health, distance education, and faculty development and technology (including faculty and student exchanges), in an effort to form an actionable plan for future collaborations.

2009 included many international Building Bridges activities in partnership with esteemed organizations such as:

• California State Senate
• World Affairs Council
• University of the Pacific/McGeorge School of Law
• University of California, Davis
• California International Relations Foundation

His Excellency Minister Amin Abaza, Egyptian Minister of Agriculture and Land Reclamation visited with several leaders in Food Science and Technology to share advancements and discuss collaborative opportunities in horticulture, entomology, biotechnology, and more. 

The Honorable Ambassador Hossam Zaki, Senior Political Advisor to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Egypt engaged in conversations with Senator Darrell Steinberg as well as Dean Elizabeth Parker of McGeorge School of Law on several key topics including:

• U.S. and Egypt relationships
• Peace progress
• Strategy in the Middle East
• Business opportunities

In 2008, Kais Menoufy partnered with Dean Elizabeth Parker from the University Of Pacific McGeorge School Of Law to lead a second delegation to Egypt. The Building Bridges II trip to Egypt focused on building stronger relationships between the people of California and Egypt which will reinforce the structural components for peaceful collaboration.

In 2007, UC Davis Chancellor, Larry Vanderhoef and Delegata CEO, Kais Menoufy, led a delegation from UC Davis to Egypt to expand existing exchange programs and create new initiatives where none are currently in place. Since returning from Egypt, exchange programs have taken place between professors of Middle Eastern Universities and United States Universities, and training programs have been provided for Egyptian farm managers. Another delegation is traveling to Egypt in 2008 to continue the work of 2007’s Building Bridges trip to Egypt. Learn more about the continued work from the 2007 Building Bridges trip here.

Building Bridges in 2006, Delegata was successful in creating a partnership with University of Pacific McGeorge School of Law and the American University in Cairo (AUC). This partnership promoted the unifying power of education. Students from the AUC attended UOP McGeorge School of Law serving as the first participants of an exchange program resulting from the Building Bridges partnership.

2008 Delegation Bios

Click here to download the .PDF version of the Delegation Bios

Building Bridges Accomplishments

Click here to download the .PDF version of the Building Bridges Accomplishments

Below you will find the following sections:

2008 Building Bridges II
2007 Building Bridges I
Continued Efforts

2008 Building Bridges II

In 2008 , Delegata CEO, Kais Menoufy, partnered with Dean Elizabeth Parker from University of Pacific McGeorge School of Law to lead a delegation to Egypt. Building Bridges II focused on the Business, Government, Education, Culture and Technology aspects of law and policy structures.  
 
The delegation traveling from UOP McGeorge School of Law brought with them the University’s prestigious reputation.  McGeorge School of Law is named in nation’s Top 100 Law Schools.  As featured in “America’s Best Graduate Schools,” McGeorge’s International Law Program is consistently listed among the Top 20 law programs, most recently being ranked 19th nationally and 4th in the western region.  McGeorge’s Advocacy program is also highly regarded as it has recently been ranked 17th nationally and 2nd in the western region according to “America’s Best Graduate Schools.”  UOP McGeorge Law School is recognized one of the United State’s most diverse schools, is ranked amongst the Nation’s top schools with International programs, and is committed to building relationships and programs with the international community.
 
2008 Building Bridges II Workshops and discussions will include:

• High Tech Business Development
• Dispute Resolution in Natural & International Business
• International Business Law
• Water & Sustainable Development
• Islamic Law & Culture
• Academic Exchanges with Egyptian Universities
• Foreign Policy Discussions
• Cultural Exchanges

2007 Building Bridges I

The first Building Bridges Summit took place in March 2007. UC Davis Chancellor, Larry Vanderhoef and Delegata CEO, Kais Menoufy, traveled with a delegation from UC Davis to Egypt to meet with 12 other universities, government officials and business leaders.  The 2007 Delegation expanded existing exchange programs and created new initiatives where none were previously.  Larry is a true leader with a mission to make UCD a leading university in the US and to build bridges worldwide between cultures, countries, schools, and more importantly - People.

In the 5 days spent at the Building Bridges I summit, the accomplishments included:

• Met with the heads and delegations of 12 universities from Egypt, Lebanon, and Palestine.
• Met with 4 Ministers, 3 senior executives of the government with Minister status, 3 CEO’s, and the US ambassador to name a few
• Communicated with over 250 people, most of which are very senior in their roles
• Signed 6 agreements for collaboration
• Identified initiatives with the Information Technology Industry Development Agency (ITIDA), Agriculture Research Center, the Ministry of Agriculture, the Library of Alexandria, and the BCBCB (a faculty/grad student exchange network across Lebanon, Cairo, Palestine and the US)
• Visited historical sites, ate the local food, experienced some of the past, present, and future of Egypt and more importantly met with Egyptians and experienced the true culture
• Provided training for Egyptian Farm Managers
• Created exchange programs between professors from United States Universities and Middle Eastern Universities

Continued efforts

Since returning from Egypt in March 2007, Professor Dick Walters has accepted a request by the Chancellor and is supported by Delegata Corporation to take on a leadership position with UC Davis’ International Relations office to continue the work that was started during Building Bridges I by coordinating projects involving Egypt and UC Davis.  
 
Moving forward with Building Bridges I, Professor Dick Walters and Dr. James Marcin traveled to Egypt in mid-March 2008 to coordinate various workshops covering the topics of distance learning and direction learning centers, implementing online accredited courses, the development of Medical Informatics training, as well as participating in planning sessions for continued medical education and telemedicine between the two regions.

Media Coverage & Suggested Links

• UC Davis Spotlight: Partnering for Peace

			Building Bridges News 10 Coverage - While President Bush tries to mend Middle-East relations, a group of Middle-Eastern professors are building their own relationships with American researchers. Channel 10 News sat in on one of their meetings. News Clip - December 3, 2006 - KXTV-10 11pm News - (.FLV)

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