Teach the Middle East

In 2009, the World Affairs Council, in cooperation with the Portland State University's Middle East Studies Center continued its Teach the World Educator Conference and Youth Forum Series with the Teach the Middle East Conference for K - 12 Educators in April. This was followed in December with a Teach the Middle East Youth Forum.

Through this webpage, our plan is to sustain the incredible wealth of information presented about the Middle East for use as both a classroom tool and for your own edification about this complex part of the world. In addition we are working to maintain a network of contacts between both teachers and students who had the good fortune to attend.

Teach the Middle East Conference for K-12 Educators

This timely Conference opened with a keynote panel of students from the Middle East and continued with grade level curricular workshops and breakout sessions representing the magnificent, ancient, strategic and complex cultures of Turkey, Iran, Israel and the Arab world. This unique cultural immersion experience also included a continental breakfast, a mid-day ethnic meal, entertainment and a chance to visit both a Middle Eastern Market and with members of organizations representing several Middle Eastern countries. Breakout sessions addressed religion, language, geography, literature, women, the family, travel opportunities, opposing viewpoints and country specific art, history and culture.

Conference Videos

Following are videos from two of the favorite sessions for teachers:

• The Spice Game: Strategies & Resources for Teaching About the Middle East with Barbara Petzen of the Middle East Policy Council and Dr. Jean Campbell of the Middle East Outreach Council


• Turkish Village and City Cuisine with Terrie Chrones of Global Notebook/Creswell School District

Teach the Middle East Youth Forum

Teach the Middle East Youth Forum involved 250 middle and high school students from Oregon and mirrored the content of the Conference with many interesting age appropriate and action sessions such as, Being Youth in Today’s Iran, Covered Women, Uncovered, Stereotypes and Folk Dances of the Middle East. Students came as delegation of ten with a mission to learn about the Middle East and return to their schools with a Middle East Action Plan to share, soon to be reflected on our Youth Awareness to Action page.

Youth Forum Videos

The session topics you can access from the Youth Forum are as follows:

• The Youth Forum Keynote video features a session with Greg Tuke and Amie Wells of Mercy Corps entitled Take Action With Global Citizen Corps, an international youth leadership program that brings together students from many countries to tack action on issues of poverty, hunger, climate change, conflict and more.


• Israel: History Society, Culture with Dr. Natan Meir and Dr. Michael Weingrad of Portland State University


• Palestinian Embroidery Tells a Story with Feryal Abbasi –Ghnaim, artist and folktale expert.