Quarterly Performance Report for FY18Q2: Training Entrepreneurs for Excellence at MEET 2

The program's overarching goal is to better position the next generation of Israeli and Palestinian leaders to bring about positive social, economic, and political change in the region. The primary objective is to develop 380 excelling Israeli and Palestinian students' computer science and entrepreneurship knowledge and skills, while cultivating shared values and fostering a deeper understanding of the "other." The program's implementation plan is divided into four components: Yearlong Program, Summer Program, Recruitment, and Outreach. The Yearlong Program component involves weekly sessions at MEET's two hubs in Nazareth and Jerusalem, with 80 Year1 students and 54 Year2 students participating in the second semester of the program. The Summer Program component includes intensive three-week programs held jointly for the Nazareth and Jerusalem participants, with the participation of the newly recruited class. Recruitment efforts continued in the second quarter, with MEET staff making presentations at 49 schools in Israel and Palestine, and an additional outreach event for East Jerusalem. The recruitment process was finalized in the beginning of the third quarter, with a list of accepted applicants finalized. The overall reported cost of TEEM2 activities in the second quarter was $92,830.13, with $28,499.54 being federal funds. The program's main anticipated results include increased capacity of a networked cadre of 380 excelling Israeli and Palestinian youth to create joint bi-national CS and entrepreneurship projects, and increased exposure among program participants' family members and stakeholders to program activities, values, and products. The primary targeted outcomes are for at least 70% of TEEM2 participants to report and demonstrate increased CS and entrepreneurship skills and knowledge, 80% of students to come to understand each other's narratives and believe in a win-win approach, and bi-national teams of Israeli and Palestinian students to design and develop joint CS projects and/or entrepreneurship projects aimed at making a positive change. The program's progress in the second quarter was marked by the continuation of the Yearlong Program, the beginning of the social media campaign, and a Pitch Deck event in Jerusalem where Year2 students presented their entrepreneurship projects to a panel of judges. The recruitment of new students for the Summer Program and the new cohort of TEEM2 encountered increasing reluctance on the Palestinian side to take part in such activities, especially as funded by the U.S. However, a branding waiver from USAID mitigated these challenges to a large extent. The next quarter will see the closing of the Yearlong Program, finalization of the recruitment process, finalization of instructor recruitment from MIT, and the MIT training weekend. The program's overall status of progress towards its objectives is positive, with the main progress in the second quarter being in increasing the capacity of the networked cadre of excelling Israeli and Palestinian youth to create joint bi-national CS and entrepreneurship projects.