" Samah Saad, when she was abroad as a participant in an international competition despite who she is; her background or her profile, her country’s name is what appeared the most to others. Every time she asked a question; every time she engaged in a discussion; every time the mic was given to her… she emphasized ‘’from Algeria’’. She loved representing her country in a diverse multinational gathering, and introducing the capacities Algerian youth held. It was beyond oneself, but more as putting in the spotlight every talented; ambitious; powerful young man and woman from her country, by the way she behaved and won. She led the team who won the first prize of the competition. All what she has learned; all the effort she has put in the competition; all the tough moments the ups and downs the tears… but in that one moment she was on the stage; so proud; and everyone looking at her as a winner, all what she had in mind is the Algerian flag that was in her hands. Raising her country’s flag for everyone to realize that Algerian youth are capable of everything once the chance is given to them. Once the opportunity is given to them! "

" Salma discovered TechWomen in 2014 from her classmate and she thought that this program fit her profile because she considers mentoring as a powerful tool of learning as she can design her own learning experience. She applied in 2016 and she was not selected. She applied again in 2018 and she got selected to live 5 weeks of professional and cultural exchange. Salma spent 3 Weeks of professional mentorship at Twitter headquarters in San Francisco, where she worked on “Why #LoveWhereYouWork?” Project. Salma had also the opportunity to represent the Algerian culture and discover new cultures. Such as exchange program allowed Salma to connect with women in STEM from around the world, visit the famous companies of Silicon Valley (LinkedIn, Facebook, Mozilla, Google, Autodesk, Symantec…) and improve her soft skills in English communication, leadership, conflict management, teamwork, mentoring, networking and project management. Salma is working currently to share her experience in Algeria. Salma participates in local events organized in different cities to connect with people and talk about her exchange experience .She is active online through the content she shares about opportunities through her social media accounts Salma Bekkouche on Linkedin ,Twitter ,Facebook , Youtube and her blog “salmashare.com” to spread knowledge and inspiration. "

" IMAD EDDINE REGUIG BERRA, is an Electronic & computer scientist, And Full-stack Digital Marketing. He's Algerian Youth Ambassador, Organizer on Google Developers Group M'sila and member in Future Team, he represented Algeria in various international forums: - International Volunteer Forum RUSSIA in Moscow. - Arab and African Youth Forum in Egypt. - AI HACK Tunisia the biggest hackathon in artificial intelligence in Africa. And He's obtained a certificate Guinness world records for his participation in the biggest hackathon in the world in Saudi Arabia, Jeddah. He is always keen on taking knowledge in the field of technology and eager to have new experiences. "

" Houssam is a young motivated Algerian who is involved in his community taking part in many charity associations and youth empowerment activities. He had the privilege to participate in different programs all over the world but the program that impacted him the most was participating in the International Careers Festival/ Rome Press Game in Italy. He was the only Participant to deliver a speech at the opening ceremony at the prestigious university of Rome luiss guido carli in the presence of thousands of students, professors, ambassadors and UN officials from All nationalities and backgrounds. During the days of the program Houssam managed to cover the whole event as a journalist, write articles, pass on radio but the most Important was playing the role of an Anchor and presenting the news of the festival alongside his friend Aga from Poland. The end of this journey was just unforgettable because Houssam won the best press team award of the festival, of course that would not have been possible without the unflinching support and the amazing work of his team. Houssam says that what he has learned from this experience was that we can achieve a lot of things in our lives if we believe in ourselves, our abilities and we took all the opportunities in front of us, he affirmed that we should take the lead and never let fear control us. "

" Mohamed Z. Hashleaf is an Algerian Researcher on Astrophysics and Space Science. A member on the Arab Union of Astronomy and Space Science, and the World Academy of Science Engineering and Technology as well as NASA. He has written 5 books in my speciality and he is an Algerian Ambassador for Algerian Youths in AYA Foundation as well as a United Nations Delegate at U.N. Model Program in MENA Region. Mohamed Had a wild experience abroad, and what he can tell you is that when you travel out of your country you'll know that you won't have anything beside you only working hard and hard showing best of you where nobody's gonna care about you or tells you what to do and what to don't. He means to find yourself in a total new world where you MUST Prove your presence !"

" Taking part of an exchange program is a life changing Experience. Going on an exchange program will bring you the best experience you can ever live, meeting people from different countries, exploring a new country, discovering the traditions and the culture, learning and developing skills, and beyond all of that discovering the real you. It’s not only about meeting people but about making friendships, having those talks, those crazy moments of fun, late walks and deep conversations with people who share the same ambition as you do, people with whom you share many commun points, those people are one of the best souls you can ever meet ! It’s also an opportunity to explore a new country and discover the real life of locals, living a full journey of amazing moments, but before all learning in knowledge, skills and attitude, learning from studying, living and experiencing, learning by passion. As a conclusion, you will never come-back to the country as the same person, you will comeback better, a better version of you, a person who went beyond the limits, broke all the confort zones, it’s better than you will ever expect and every moment of it will be engraved in your heart forever. Having the courage to look for the right opportunity and applying for it is the key to live the most LEGENDARY experience of your life, so what are you waiting for? "

"Afaf is 26 years old Algerian youth activist and a Sustainability trainer. She holds a master degree in Information and Communication Sciences from the University of Algiers 3. She is also an alumna from California State University Chico in Leadership and Civic Engagement studies. Afaf has great practical experience in civil society at a regional level and has been involved in participatory approaches towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and projects development. She is the founder of the Algerian “SDGs Advocates” foundation as well as the educational program "ICT4Sustainability”; She started her effective participation in her local society when she was 19 years by playing significant leadership roles in organizing various social initiatives. Afaf has also represented Algeria in regional and international forums which took place at: the United States, Morocco, Kuwait and Jordan. The topics discussed were related to: human rights, Journalism and Communication, youth empowerment and sustainable development. Afaf has various experiences in Media analyses, Education and diplomacy fields. She is passionate about world issues and social development and she strongly believes in utilizing the different media types as the key tool to educate communities, to provide a complete view of the current issues, and help to drive citizenship that is more effective. Her experiences abroad allowed her to get a wider knowledge about other communities around the world, to make more connections and to see the world in a different perspective.... Therefore, Afaf is calling each individual to invest in their time, apply for opportunities abroad to discover the world and create their own path !"

" The Comfort Zone is one of the most common terms nowadays. So, what is it? and what does it have to do with getting new experiences?. The comfort zone is a psychological state in which the person can achieve a steady level of performance because they experience a low level of stress and anxiety. Seems good, huh?. Well the answer is: Absolutely not because the comfort zone can be described as bubble that surrounds the person and prevent him from getting exposed to new experiences and achieving their goals. Today, we are going to talk about a person that lived an ordinary life before he stepped out his comfort zone at the University. His name is Dhya Eddine Bougheloum, a 24 years old who’s expecting to get his Master’s degree in Control Engineering later on this year. During his first year at university and while surfing on Facebook as usual, he passed by the application form to join his Institute’s team to compete for the prize of the best Start-up Company in Algeria 2016 under Injaz Al-Djazair Company Program. And after one year of joining the program he won with his team two prizes, The best startup company in Algeria and the best social impact in the MENA region. This experience for him was a sneak peak out of the comfort zone and made him get out and try new experiences by joining INELECTRONICS Students Club and AIESEC in Babez. However, we’re more concerned now by his experience with the World Youth Forum. The World Youth Forum is a fully funded yearly event that’s held in Egypt every year since 2017. Each year the number of participants gets higher, and last year more than 7000 participants from all over the world had an unforgettable experience. Dhya Eddine had the chance to participate in the last two editions of the world youth forum and said he’ll be so happy if he gets the chance to participate again. “The World Youth Forum experience was one of the best things that happened to me. It’s a place where you share a week with people from all over the world despite your origin, political, race and religion boundaries. During this forum, I had the chance to make a wide international network and to attend conferences presented by successful people and international companies’ owners who showed that there are no limits to what we can achieve. The forum is made for youth from all educational background and covers all topics,” Dhya Eddine stated firmly. His experience was excellent and it is not hard to get the same experience during the next edition. All you have to do it apply in event’s website, fill in your information and get your passport ready. When the application period starts, you’ll receive an e-mail to complete the application process which is so easy and wouldn’t take an hour from your time. This experience is capable of changing your whole life. So, what are you waiting for! "

" Growing up in a middle range Algerian family will cause your brain to be poisoned by negative thoughts, such us “7chicha talba m3icha” or “3ich 3la gueddek”… What’s dangerous about these ideas is that you are assuming your failure before even trying! BUT what if we try and fail Yaakoub? Then you have two choices, whether you try again or be 7chicha again but this time 7chicha with conviction at least. Hens, since you are reading this, I presume that you are the kind of people who don’t give up easily! You seem like me, then let me tell you something you are going to make miracles inshallah, all what you need is perseverance and knowledge. So, who am I? I am a person with a wide smile who has never imagined he would travel to 10 countries, and believe it or not, in 14 months! Look I am not here just to show you the bright side! There is a dark side of this, or let’s say, obviously traveling using Opportunities is almost free of charge, but it’s not free of fatigue, self-discipline and some brain cells lol You will need few things to start with: -English of course. -Self awareness. -Spend sleepless nights learning. -Get rid of your toxic friends! -And last but not least, Have immunity against rejections (You are going to need it xD). "

" Soheyb hadjab is a young professional from M’sila , he's 27 years old and graduated student in German literature from sidi bel abbes university in 2015, and now he works as communication assistant with peace and security department in the African union, Addis Ababa , Ethiopia . he has experience of 7 years in the field of media and communication. In 2010, he started to apply in the opportunities , one of his dream is travelling around the world , and get experiences , learn new things and discover cultures of others countries . First , he started to search the platforms that publish opportunities , he said "I remembered my friend from Yemen who add me to a group in Facebook . I started to apply in many opportunities in the group , but every time I received emails said your application was not successful ” I feel so bad , but this motivate me to continue work hard to achieve my goals." In 2013 , he was accepted to participate in the Euro Arab forum in Tunisia , I was very happy because I applied in more than 300 opportunity around world . I participated in many international events and workshops in 13 countries like UAE , Qatar , Turkey, Malaysia , Morocco , Bahrain….etc. I am proud of myself because I believed it . You can do it , all this in past only dreams but now it comes true."

" Bouchra was going abroad in 2014 but then the trip was cancelled due to the age limitation, she did not really feel sad because she knew amazing things were waiting. Since then she decided to keep looking for different opportunities. In fact, she did not want to travel just to take the plane and take pictures but she had a firm belief that any additional experience out of her comfort zone will add a value to her personality and professional career as well. She started applying again for opportunities in 2016; still, she was failing to take one. After each failure, she was trying to make herself better in terms of skills and knowledge until 2018 that she got selected for an amazing opportunity to the United States with MEPI Student Leaders Program and she studied at one of the prestigious universities of Washington DC. With MEPI she’s got the chance to travel three times in the span of a year and those were great opportunities in which she networked and got inspired to launch her own Social project for Down syndrome community. Afterwards, her spirit kept looking for more things and she again represented Algeria in Doha Islamic Youth Forum and won the Excellency award with first place in 2019. That does not mean she got everything easily, but she lost many chances and gained what was outstanding and worth it. All the moments she lived abroad or while applying had a great effect on her personality now. It doesn’t get harder but it gets better."

" Said Bouzidi; he is a fresh graduated student from Algiers university, he participated in many international forums like the international volunteer forum for the first edition in Moscow and the second edition of the same event in Sochi( Russian federation). He recently also has been a participant and member with the Algerian delegation to the world youth forum 2019 in Charm cheikh Egypt. Moreover, Said has also a high interest in volunteering abroad, he had the chance to be an English teacher for kids in turkey Online platform. Said confirmed that getting involved in international events , is certainly going to give a big push for developing such humain being skills in communication, networking,furthermore those international occasions going to help you to hit many opportunities, learning a lot about other domains, cultures and lifestyles and the most important living such compass experiences provided by other participants, speakers and participants. So guys I am encouraging you apply and take actions now, you will not regret!"

" Hicham is a young ambitious Algerian who has been civically engaged with many NGOs both locally and internationally. Therefore, he had the privilege to participate and represent Algeria in multiple programs and conferences in four continents around the world, as he has been recipient of two prestigious scholarships; The CocaCola MENA Scholarship to study Business Administration in Kelley School of Business at Indiana University in USA, and the Chevening Scholarship Award aimed at developing global leaders where he is currently pursuing a Masters in Management in the UK. For him, the Chevening Scholarship program is not just a Masters degree from a leading University in the UK, but a lifetime journey that gave him the opportunity to network with hundreds of brilliant Chevening scholars coming from 160 countries throughout the events organised, and he had the chance to meet and work with outstanding professors and professionals from leading institutions and organisations. In the same time, he enjoyed visiting several historical places in the UK and exploring the British rich culture. In short, this experience in the UK and others around the world inspired him to appreciate the differences and multiculturalism, and the value of diversity which cannot be learned through watching documentaries or reading books, but must be lived and enjoyed to be understood! For that, he encourages everyone to apply for programs abroad, engage in your community, build your soft/hard skills, and above all to be persistent and have confidence in your abilities, you will make it!"

" Nassim Balla graduated from the University of Kansas in 2017 after spending two years between Kansas in Missouri with his wife as a Fulbright scholar. His experience was extremely enriching; not only academically but humanely and culturally. During his time in the United States, Nassim pursued a Master of Public Administration and took several classes in other departments, which is possible in American universities. After a few weeks of hesitation, and coping with the initial cultural shock, Nassim befriended people from many countries, which helped him to destroy preconceived ideas about other cultures and overcome stereotypes. Travelling was also an important part of Nassim’s journey as he visited many cities around the country and could discover several cultures, culinary traditions and landscapes. Although life abroad could be challenging sometimes - being far from family or friends can be difficult as homesickness can strike from time to time - Nassim always kept in touch with everyone and did his best to adapt to his new environment. These multiple experiences helped Nassim to come back stronger to Algeria, with more knowledge, many new friends and countless beautiful memories. Going on an exchange program was one of the best decisions Nassim took, he will remember these years as a wonderful experience and will certainly go to visit his friends whenever he has an opportunity."

" Ouarda Benlakhlef has always been a very ambitious person;so much that most of her friends called her ambition when she was in highschool. Ouarda, or Rosa as everybody calls her, had big dreams that would have stayed just dreams if it wasn’t for all the amazing programs she got to take part in. One program that has truly shaped Rosa’s dreams into real tangible goals was the MEPI students leader program. SLP is a six weeks leadership exchange program that takes place in the USA. After a long application process Rosa was accepted and sent to Portland state universities to study many subjects that relate to leadership. She also had the luck of getting trained by one of the leading NGOs around the world, Mercy Corps, on project creation and management. Those weeks spent in the US were enough to change her perspective of wanting to change the world to just becoming the change she wants to see init. Those couple of weeks were capable of taking her idea and turning it into a successful project that would later win the Alumni Venture Fund offered by the same program she got trained by just one year earlier. This program was a very important part of her life, not because it was a six weeks trip to the US, or avery fun exchange program, but because it is the trip of a lifetime with a lot of support and encouragement from her MEPI family."

" Amel Chenouf is an Algerian scientist working for Advanced Technologies Development Center; CDTA within Microelectronics Division. Amel has been working for many research groups on Integrated Circuits (IC) design, CAD tools development, IC Reliability. Hence, exchanging ideas and research results with the microelectronics community around the world, learning and developing new methods/techniques and skills is a vital for her R&D activities. As such, she has been attending conferences, going on internships, and participating in exchange programs. In 2012, Amel knew about an US exchange program named TechWomen, the program looked to be interesting for her! Once she got details about it, how it would impact her and her carrier, she applied to the program, and asked for recommendations from her superiors to support her application. She did not wait a long time to be informed that she got selected with 5 other women to represent Algeria in the program. On September 2012, she travelled to US for a 5 weeks, she was hosted by Synopsis for an internship, as a part of the program, she attended seminars, workshops, discussion panels given by women role models working for high-tech companies in Silicon Valley. Thanks to the program, Amel was able to work on a very advanced CAD project for 28nm technology, developed new technical and soft skills and exchanged with US women in STEAM both technical and cultural aspects to empower each other. If Amel would sum-up her experience in a sentence, it would be “An opportunity not to miss!” "

" She is a Youth worker in Italy. She’s Italian with Moroccan roots. She’s part of global shapers Turin’s Hub in Italy. She has a bachelor’s degree in International Relations of Development and Cooperation. Currently she is doing double Master’s in international Relations (MENA Politics) in Turin and the COSM Master (Comparative Analysis of Mediterranean Societies) at the EGE (Faculty of Governance and Economics) of Rabat. She passionate about International cooperation, volunteering, peace education. In these years she focused on education for global citizenship, promotion of participation, radicalization, gender equality, social inclusion, the culture of volunteering and solidarity. She won an international award winning as a “Young European Volunteer 2017” promoted by an Italian federation called FOCSIV thanks her commitment In youth working. She was involved in a different program and projects around the world (Albania, Greece, Turkey, Moldova, Palestine, Hungary, Qatar, Pakistan, Ethiopia etc..) that motivated her to continue to give the best in youth working. She strongly believes that all youth should apply for the opportunities around the world without hesitation and fears to do new experiences abroad. Thanks to those opportunities she improved her communication skills and social skills and she met a lot of people from all over the world that they inspired her and made her a global citizen! "

" She used to be your regular teenager, scrolling down her Facebook feed when she got bored and stumbling on quotes like « Life starts at the end of your comfort zone ». Of course, she would “like” that post and internally nod in confirmation of something she never truly experienced, but never realized it… well, at least until she lived as an exchange student. Imane has been abroad on exchange twice so far. She spent one year in the US as a recipient of the Kennedy-Lugar YES scholarship during the school year of 2014/2015, and seven weeks in Brazil as an intern with AIESEC’s Global Volunteer program in summer 2016. She has always enjoyed sharing her culture with other people, be it making Atay, showing off my colorful Jellabas and Belghas, explaining the diversity they grow up in, and much more. However, doing it internationally was a whole other experience for her. Imane says it was such an honor being able to represent her country and leave a positive image about it wherever she went, especially in communities where people didn’t even know Morocco existed or held stereotypes about it. Having gone on two exchanges, one cultural and the other social, has contributed to the strong personality she has today as Imane became more self-aware and developed critical-thinking skills thanks to these life-changing experiences. She says that as a Moroccan, USA and Brazil seem very far and hardly accessible through exchange programs but this is as misconception people have because it was actually a very progressive application process through which she was constantly given help and guidance to complete her application and through her exchanges. Her message to you is: “If you truly want an opportunity, chase it all the way because believe me, when there is a will, there is a way. “

" Late 2019, Sarra went to Egypt to participate in “World youth forum” which was a fully funded conference that gathered 8000 youth from all around the world, 8000 participants that share the same vision «wanting a better world » and everyone had their own ideas on how to improve it. During that week in Sharm-El-Sheikh, she both learnt a lot of new things about topics that interests her and enjoyed the beautiful cities of Egypt and wandered in them. Meeting people and networking is one of the best things in this kind of opportunities, she got to meet people all over the world that are still friends and speak regularly, she developed her soft skills such as adaptability, communications and a lot more which are nowadays are very important to have. She had a business idea and all that networking and socializing made her improve it a lot better and last but not least she got to meet possible investors that were interested in her business idea. Being present in this kind of conferences and this kind of opportunities in general makes you evolve faster in a short period of time with all the experiences you get to live and the people you get to know. You not only get the opportunity to be part of something great, impactful and exciting but you also get to discover a new country, it’s a winning combination, who doesn’t want that. "

" As a young Entrepreneur and activist mainly working on women rights and youth political participation; Sabrina attended a significant number of trainings, conferences, workshops and contests ranging from social & political topics to business & entrepreneurship. Sabrina was the guest of SOWT Radio Lebanon in “Masaaha” Podcast, where she was solicited to intervene as a young woman in business and analysed the stakes for feminism within the 4th industrial revolution. In 2019, she was one of the three national winners of the Quest Competition and was therefore selected to represent Algeria in the MENA region competition in Dubai. She furthermore participated in the social entrepreneurship Bootcamp with IES-SBS Portugal where she, for the first time encountered the concept of social entrepreneurship, and adopted its philosophy. In the framework of her personal interest in international relations, she participated in the MENA MUN 2018 conference in Sousse Tunisia. Where she was entitled The Outstanding delegate. In the same year, she was also selected to represent Algeria at the French Institute’s Mediterranean Youth Forum that took place in Tabarka Tunisia, under the general topic “Culture and attractiveness of territories: an economic development potential for young people”. Sabrina also had an enriching experience with the in the US embassy, first in 2017 as she participated in the “Women’s non-fiction writers program” where she was certified as such by IOWA University. In 2019 she continued her journey with the US Embassy and participated in a training of trainers which resulted in her multiplying the outcomes by facilitating several trainings with young women on topics like identity, communication, social work and activism. After obtaining a certificate for Human Rights Defence Mechanisms by FES Morocco in Marrakech 2018. She was honoured to be selected by The North-south Centre of The council of Europe to take part in the University On Youth and Development In Màlaga September 2019. where she had a workshop on “Youth Piece and Security” tackling major security challenges of the MENA region, and exploring the UN resolution UNSCR 225 together with 25 participants from the Mediterranean, and a total of 200 participants from more than 50 nationalities in the plenary. "

" Nor El Islam Messedad participated in various international programs and high-level discussions on ongoing challenges that face the Mediterranean region and the world as a whole. His first experience was in the Expert’s Meeting on Sustainable Finance & Green Economy in Rabat, Morocco organized by Konrad Adenauer Stiftung-REMENA. The four-day program consisted of presentations and round-table discussions with experts that was incorporated in a policy paper for stakeholders to implement. He was also part of the Youth Mediterranean Dialogue in Madrid that involved active youth from all over the world to tackle modern security implications arising from Cyber Security and Climate Change concluded with actionable recommendations for decision-makers in that respect. Again, with the KAS organization, he was invited to the EU-MENA Young Leaders Academy on Sustainability and Resources Security as part of a regional and international effort to support future resources security. The program entailed visits to the European Commission and presentations provided by Policy Officers, Directors-General, and UN representatives in the Environment and Waste Management in both Brussels and in Germany. Nor El Islam also participated in the model Union for the Mediterranean in Egypt to address pressing issues regarding business development and climate change in the presence of the president of the Arab Republic of Egypt, the Egyptian Minister of Foreign Affairs, and the Secretary-General of the UfM. His delegation focused on finding cost-effective measures to address climate change, and the necessity to reinforce regional cooperation and shifts to blue, green, and circular economic models".

" Taki Eddine Seghier had the opportunity to be one of the scholarship holders of the European Forum Alpbach 2018 (EFA2018). Afterwards, he was assigned to be the EFA ambassador in the Northern African region for 2019’s version. As an acting ambassador, his mission was to promote and spread information about the EFA2019 in the Northern African community (Algeria, Tunisia, and Morocco). Social media was one of the main tools used to implement his proposed strategy to spread the word about EFA2019. He took advantage of his Facebook page Takiart-Vision which has more than 30,000 followers. However, a private group specifically for EFA2019 North Africa was also created. This helped to manage properly the people who are interested to join the EFA2019. On the other hand, North African Universities were contacted and requested to spread the information regarding EFA2019 as well. Moreover, scientific clubs of students in several universities were reached out to request their assistance to spread detail about EFA2019 in their universities. Several types of communication and contents were created in this regard. For instance, original posters for EFA2019 were designed and posted in social networks with Arabic and French languages, videos which show highlights and stories from the past EFA were also produced and published on social media. Overall, it was a great experience working with EFA committee. The outcomes of the ambassadorship’s activities were excellent. Many fruitful discussions evolved around this opportunity."