HI EVERYBODY! I LOVE MEETING NEW PEOPLE AND MAKING NEW FRIENDS! DO YOU WANNA BE MY FRIEND?
LET ME INTRODUCE MYSELF... I AM FROM THE MIDDLE EAST...
I AM AN ARAB, FROM EGYPT, NORTH AFRICA...
I AM A MUSLIM AND MY...
NAME IS ALIAA...
WHERE DID EVERYBODY GO? DID I SAY SOMETHING WRONG?
CLEARLY , THERE IS A PROBLEM.
Who ME??
77% of American students said they have never travelled to the Middle East...
10%
and of them do not plan on going...
*Statistics result of survey conducted on 49 American students at the University of Kansas.
12% of American students said did not know what Arabs were...
53%
and had negative and stereotypical images of Arabs and the Middle East in general...
And the media does a pretty good job of reinforcing these stereotypical misconceptions OVER AND OVER AND OVER AGAIN... In news AND movies...
AND ALL THAT IS MOST PROBABLY WHY MANY PEOPLE DON’T WANT ANYTHING TO DO WITH MIDDLE EASTERNERS... SO THEY ARE CLEARLY NOT INTERESTED IN FRIENDSHIP, OR ANY RELATIONSHIP WHATSOEVER.
NOBODY SHOULD EVER LET THE MEDIA CONTROL OR LIMIT THEIR VIEWS OF PEOPLE IN THE WORLD. YOU WOULD JUST BE MISSING OUT ON SO MANY COOL AND MEMORABLE TIMES WITH PEOPLE YOU WOULD LOVE AND PASS THE OPPORTUNITY TO TRY AND LEARN NEW THINGS!
BUT WE CAN DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT. WE CAN BRING THE REAL PICTURE BACK WE CAN ELIMINATE THE STEREOTYPES WE CAN SPREAD ACCURATE FACTS AND BRING PEOPLE TOGETHER
SO LET’S START TO MAKE
A POSIT VE CHANGE
LET’S START TO SPREAD
THE TRU H
LET’S START TO BUILD
GREAT RELATI NS
DISCOVER + REALITY CONNECT + HAVE FUN PEACE + LOVE EMBRACE + DIVERSITY EXPAND + HORIZONS POSITIVE + IMPACT
mission REPLACE MISCONCEPTIONS, STEREOTYPES & PREJUDICES with objective and accurate facts about the Middle East
MAKE THE LEARNING EXPERIENCE FUN & SOCIAL by allowing interaction and communciation from both sides
PROMOTE A PEACEFUL & POSITIVE ENVIRONMENT of mutual interest, interactive learning and social growth
w+e WHAT HOW WHO WHERE WHY WHEN
Is the only virtual intercultural dialogue place
That provides accurate information about the Middle East in a fun way and communication with Middle Eastern students
For American students
In the United States
Who are interested and want to learn about the Middle East
In an era of widespread, distorted information and myths, stereotypes & misconceptions
BRAND CODE BIG IDEA THE REAL PICTURE
VISION
MISSION
WEST+EAST is the passionate initiative to create, promote and sustain intercultural dialogue between Middle Eastern and American students in order to create more open-minded, cultured and social individuals who are well-informed about the Middle East.
W+E is a non-profit organization that aims to educate American students about the Middle East, to create a youthful population informed about the region. W+E wishes to eliminate stereotypes, debunk myths and correct misconceptions spread about the area and prevent innacurate/negative images of the M.E. from influencing viewers in the future.
POSITIONING
PRODUCT BENEFIT
W+E is the only place that provide accurate and objective information about the Middle East to American students in the US in an engaging and beneficial way.
The person who learns about and discovers all the accurate, objective information about the Middle East that W+E has to offer will not only feel more cultured, but will become more open-minded and sociable towards Middle Easterners.
STYLING
VALUES
Modern Engaging Caring
Bold Fun Youthful
Vibrant Intuitive Simple
To be accurate To be objective To be credible
To be pro-active To be fun To be positive
BRAND MIND SPACE
FUNCTIONAL DIMENSION
SOCIAL DIMENSION
W+E is easy to access, easy to navigate and very fun and interactive to use. Getting my facts from W+E makes me confident that I am being informed accurate, objective facts that will empower me and make me know what is right from wrong.
Using W+E I feel connected to other open-minded people, which gives me hope and makes the world a smaller, friendlier place
MENTAL DIMENSION
SPIRITUAL DIMENSION
W+E makes learning about the Middle East a pleasure and replaces all my previous false misconceptions with the right information. I feel proud and confident of my knowledge.
By getting my facts right, I am more open-minded, sociable, and eager to get to know others and condemn stereotypes. Thanks to W+E, I am contributing to world peace and development through intercultural dialogue.
IF W+E WAS A PERSON
THEY WOULD DREAM OF
THEY WOULD LIVE IN
Travelling to new places every year. Making friends everywhere easily. Being able to speak languages they don’t know yet. Achieving success in their career and feeling productive.
W+E is a non-profit organization that aims to educate American students about the Middle East, to create a youthful population informed about the region. W+E wishes to eliminate stereotypes, debunk myths and correct misconceptions spread about the area and prevent innacurate/negative images of the M.E. from influencing viewers in the future.
THEIR PERSONAL MOTTO WOULD BE Hold on to your values and be yourself. Don’t let fear or hatred alter your destination. Love yourself, love others and give unconditionally. Expect good and receive good. Never give up, there is always hope.
THEIR FAVORITE LITERARY FIGURE WOULD BE Naguib Mahfouz, Egyptian writer who won the 1988 Nobel Prize for Literature. He is regarded as one of the first contemporary writers of Arabic literature, along with Tawfiq el-Hakim, to explore themes of existentialism. Quote: “You can tell whether a man is clever by his answers. You can tell whether a man is wise by his questions.”
THEY WOULD BE MOST AFRAID OF Hostility, isolation, racism, rudeness, rejection, bigotry, prejudice and aggressive people.
THEIR HEROES WOULD BE Maz Jobrani, also known as Persian Pink Panther, is an Iranian-American comedian and actor who is part of the “Axis of Evil” comedy group. The group appeared on a comedy special on Comedy Central. Through his comedy, Maz covers the topics of Racism/Race relations, Islamophobia, Iranian culture, Islam in the United States, and the Middle East. This would be one of the heroes because Maz Jobrani uses humor to eliminate stereotypes and negative misconceptions abaout Arabs and the Middle East. Maz inspires X to fight stereotypes through humor as well. Gandhi, Prominent leader of Indian independence movement in British-ruled India. This would be one of the heroes because Gandhi used peaceful methods of reacting to injustice to regain independence, the original and rightful state of India. He led India to independence and inspired movements for civil rights and freedom across the world. Gandhi inspires W+E to become and lead the change W+E wants to see in the world, by creating a way to enable educating American students about the rightful image of the Middle East. Martin Luther King Jr., American pastor, activist, humanitarian, and leader in the African-American Civil Rights Movement. This would be one of the heroes because he spoke of the truth and strived to make a difference in his society in the hardest time when segregation and racism were normal and encouraged. He helped eliminate racism and promote equality between white and black people, and therefore contributing to a peacefully coexisting and unprejudiced population.
Steve Jobs, American entrepreneur, marketer, and inventor, who was the co-founder, chairman, and CEO of Apple Inc. This would be one of the heroes because he worked hard to make his goal a reality despite all the challenges he faced in his career. He became the unforgettable name that created the most known devices worldwide today: Apple. Walt Disney, American business magnate, cartoonist, filmmaker, philanthropist, and voice actor. This would be one of the heroes because he made his dream come true in a time where entertainment was not meant for adults, and because he became a legendary name for the magical stories, movies and places that became many people’s childhood and dreams.
THEY WOULD LISTEN TO English 1. Hilary Duff: Why not 2. Hilary & Haylie Duff: Our lips are sealed 3. Sara Bareilles: Brave 4. The Wanted: Satellite 5. Owl City: When can I see you again
Romanian 10. Edward Maya: This is my life
Arabic 6. Hamakki: Wahda wahda
Instrumentals 13. Beyond Nexion 14. YEP 15. AC
Arabic + English 7. Shereen & Nelly: Just a dream Indian 8. Gayatri Iyer: Dola dola French 9. Willy Denzey: Double mise
Japanese 11. Anime show: Blue Seed Ending song 12. Anime show: Kindaichi end
THESE PLACES ARE CONSUMING THE ATTENTION AND TIME OF OUR YOUTH (USEFULLY) BUT IN A BORING AND BURDENSOME WAY!
STUDYBLUE
WIKIPEDIA
TEACH MIDEAST
RANDOM WEBSITE
They inform students in many ways yet they are boring to interact with, look at and give a feeling to students that they are spoken to from a higher, expert viewpoint that they cannot relate to.
WE CAN DO THAT BETTER, AND BE FUN TOO! THESE PLACES ARE ALSO CONSUMING THE ATTENTION AND TIME OF OUR YOUTH (WASTEFULLY) BUT IN A FUN AND ADDICTING WAY!
BUZZFEED
They primarily entertain students but can also inform and greatly influence them in many ways, yet the information is rarely objective or accurate. They do allow them to communicate though, and the users are similar in age range so they can relate to each other and stay interested.
WE CAN DO THAT BETTER, AND BE USEFUL TOO!
THIS IS HOW WE CAN STAND OUT
TO SUGGEST CLARITY
CONNECTION
EASINESS
MUTUAL
FUN
UNDERSTANDING
ENGAGING
FRIENDLINESS
DIALOG
SIMPLICITY
COMMUNICATION
POSITIVITY
WORD DEFINITIONS Friendly kind and pleasant Engaging drawing favorable attention or interest Connection bringing together, the act of connecting Simple easily understood or done, not difficult Minimal characterized by the use of simple or primary forms or structures Positive good, affirmative, constructive attribute Intuitive easy to use and understand Modern relating to the present or recent times
APPLI CATIONS
WEBSITE
POSTERS/BANNERS
BUSINESS CARDS
POSTCARDS
MEMBER CARDs
PINS/SHIRTS
IPHONE APP
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