Phoenix Space is proud to announce our partnership with the Society for the Advancement of Science and Technology in the Arab World (SASTA), a US-based initiative founded by Arab expatriate scientists and academics, to further its mission of building a better future for displaced and underprivileged students in the Middle East through science and technology education.
The refugee crisis in Syria has had a profound negative impact on general education and scientific literacy among displaced youth in the region. Phoenix Space believes that building scientific and technological literacy is essential to improving individual growth and collective prosperity as it helps lay the critical foundation of rational, science-based decision-making in both private and public domains.
Scientific knowledge and skills are also necessary for young people competing in, or hoping to explore opportunities in the global labor markets. While access to higher education and the lack of a skilled workforce remain a barrier for refugee and disadvantaged youth, research affirms the effective strategies for intervention, which include: targeting students through engaging courses that positively inform their decisions about their chosen careers; mentorship to build students’ confidence, provide continued support and help them pursue career development opportunities. Phoenix Space’s programs build on this pathway by engaging with students through carefully designed courses, mentoring, corporate and academic partnerships and long-term support.
We believe that collaborating with SASTA will help bring stronger participation from Arab scientists in creating social impact in the region, while also expanding the ability of both organizations to scale our educational offerings and support to students in need.
Alevtina Nepomniachtchikh, Founder and CEO of Phoenix Space, commented: “Only by collaborating with like-minded organizations can the scale and depth of impact on multiple human lives be achieved. We greatly admire SASTA’s work in connecting and strengthening science-related initiatives in the MENA region and we are looking forward to realizing the potential of this collaboration together.”
Professor Dr. Rana Dajani, President of SASTA, said: “SASTA establishes collaborations with groups who either complement or do similar work so we can create a bigger impact, same as a one plus one equals more than two. Through this alliance, we can work together with the collective effort to provide better opportunities to the underprivileged students in Arab countries.”
ABOUT SASTA
SASTA was born out of the mutual interest of Arab Expatriate Scientists (AES) and Academics living abroad to engage more effectively with the Arab community in Education, Science, and Technology to create a positive impact in the Arab World. Its objective as a society is to follow up on all activities that will have a positive impact on the status of science and technology in Arab countries. SASTA believes in contributing to the advancement of science, technology, higher education, and research in the Arab region through supporting scientific human capacity building, development of academic and research programs, and providing scientific, technical, and material support to local academics, scientists and universities.
Learn more about SASTA at sastaworld.com.
