The Egyptian education system is large, and current practices are very rigid. It is accustomed to mass education as was developed in Europe over the past two hundred years, following closely the British tradition. Full-scale renovation of the existing system will take time. As in many other developing countries, the progress of education is affected by a number of overwhelming problems, including rapid population growth, unsustainable development, unemployment, debts, and structural adjustment. However, unlike other developing countries undergoing similar structural adjustment, Egypt’s budget for education has grown several times over the past decade.
Significant changes are taking place in higher education programs, yet the dilemma remains in the current theoretical tradition with less emphasis on professional and innovative ideas that would empower critical thinking and utilize new media for academic purposes such as web-conferencing and videoconferencing and polling techniques and cross-tabulation. Hence, new programs and systems with more emphasis on research are being introduced. The content and teaching methods incorporated in these programs are based on implementation timely approaches instead of the conventional obsolete ones must be favored.
The primary goal of the new generation higher education programs is to reflect the national interest of having a scientifically literate population. Here comes the significance of the pioneering experience of JMC at AUC to introduce the Popular Diplomacy developmental paradigm is part of the AUC Connect Project that attempts to initiate cross-cultural dialogue, pan-Arab forums, and accelerating ethics of higher education. It aims at laying the foundation for improving the quality of the higher education system in Egypt, through innovative ideas, professional education, establishing independent quality assurance mechanisms based on simulation models and polling, and monitoring systems that respects and abides by the university integrity.
The crux of popular diplomacy is to support improved sector efficiency, and quality. There are number of objectives involved in this paradigm:
• Engage students in global affairs.
• Expand students’ understanding of and ability to think critically about the relationship between the US and the Middle East.
• Sensitize students to the power of media in shaping opinions and perspectives and provide them with the analytical skills they need to assess the media more critically.
• Develop multi-media communication, leadership and conflict resolution skills;
• Catalyze genuine relationships across borders.
• Empower students to work for change on a global level, and provide them with the skills they need to make a positive impact.
