America-Mideast Educational and Training Services, Inc. (AMIDEAST) and the British Education Counseling Service (ECS) are two of the key driving forces in promoting higher education all over the Middle East and North Africa. Hundred of thousands of students from the region have passed through these two organizations in their quest for higher education abroad.
AMIDEAST (founded in 1951) is a private, nonprofit organization, whose declared primer goal is "to strengthen mutual understanding and cooperation between Americans and the peoples of the Middle East and North Africa." The organization, which is headquartered in Washington DC has a network of field offices in Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, Qatar, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, West Bank/Gaza, and Yemen.
Last year, for instance, AMIDEAST was awarded the five-year Administration of Justice Support II (AOJS II) Project in Egypt by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The AMIDEAST-led consortium will implement the project until 2009. AMIDEAST led the first iteration of AOJS from 1996-2004.
As opposed to AMIDEAST, the British Education Counseling Service (ECS) is a governmental organization, part of the British Council, which operates through the British Council's offices (more than 100) all over the world. The ECS is funded by subscriptions from their member institutions (over 300), government grants and revenue generating activities, organized by the institution itself. The ECS was founded in 1984 with the support of a government initiative led by Tony Blair and its officially declared objective is to "increase the international student recruitment market for UK education and training providers."
As part of its promotion efforts in the Middle East, the British Council will hold EDUKEX 2005 in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. The aim of this event is to enable UK institutions to promote their courses to prospective students, parents, decision makers and government officials and also to enable students to obtain direct information on entry requirements, courses, qualifications, institutional facilities, fees and suitable access routes for study in the UK.
