On April 14, six youth leaders from Palestine commenced four days of meetings and discussions in Washington, D.C., as part of the Ruwwad Youth International Exchange Program. The Ruwwad program is designed to empower Palestinian youth by bolstering their leadership skills and equipping them to more effectively address their local community's pressing humanitarian needs.

During their visit to Washington, the young Palestinian leaders were exposed to different youth leadership models and were given several opportunities to present their own leadership activities to a variety of U.S. policy- and decision-makers.

The Palestinian youth leaders met with members of Congress, visited several youth centers, and participated in a roundtable discussion with representatives of the U.S.-Palestinian Partnership, including Aspen Institute president and CEO Walter Isaacson and Case Foundation CEO Jean Case.

In addition, the youth leaders met with USAID personnel, participated in a State Department briefing with representatives from non-governmental organizations, gave a presentation at American University, and took part in a reception with the Ramallah Federation and the Network of Arab American Professionals.

At a Case Foundation-hosted dinner, the six young leaders also had the opportunity to meet and talk with youth representatives from the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Washington (BGCGW), the Buxton Initiative, City Year Washington, DC, the Latin American Youth Center, and Teach for America. This event allowed youth from both sides to exchange ideas, stories, hopes, and aspirations, with the shared goal of achieving real, lasting change.

The Ruwwad "Youth Volunteers for Community Assistance" project is a nationwide initiative to give young Palestinians the tools to become local leaders and to promote social change across the West Bank and Gaza. Ruwwad is funded by USAID's West Bank/Gaza Mission, and is implemented by the Education Development Center, Inc. (EDC) in partnership with local Palestinian organizations.