A look back at how hundreds of Israeli and Palestinian young leaders make positive change at meet in 2014, using technology and entrepreneurship.

1. the middle east
entrepreneurs of tomorrow
2014 impact report

2. “Education is the most
powerful weapon
which
you can use to change
the world.”
Nelson Mandela

3. A galvanizing year
11 years ago, a team of Israelis and Palestinians took on one
of the most challenging problems in the 21st century. They
set out to educate and empower the next generation of
Palestinian and Israeli leaders to take action together on
social and political change in the Middle East. In partnership
with MIT, they formed meet.
Last year was a deeply challenging time for all who strive for
this vision of a more peaceful, just and dignified Middle East.
However, we are hopeful when we look back at the
overwhelming commitment and passion of our Palestinian
and Israeli young leaders. They prove that great challenges
can be overcome when we put our minds and hearts
together to problem solve. Here is what we achieved and
learned together in 2014.

4. See more alumni ventures like the one launched by Naomi and George tackling media bias

5. indicators of impact
Valued and
resilient
connections
60% increase in the
students who believe
there is value in
working with someone
from the other side
(from Year1 to Year2)
72% of alumni are
significantly involved in
the Alumni Program or
Venture Lab, despite
social, political and time
pressures
Tackling
real-world
problems
50+ student projects
created by bi-national
teams
15 alumni ventures
that tackle issues like
media bias, education,
ecology and sharing
economies
Joint skills,
values and
motivations
380 young leaders
who embody meet
values in their school,
military and
professional
communities
300,000 hours of
pragmatic skill building
High retention and
demand: 85% retention
and 1,000 students
applying each year
(7% accepted)

6. Alumni Program
The impact of meet ultimately lives through our
Palestinian and Israeli alumni. In 2014, alumni
took unprecedented leaps into leadership.
Witnessing the horrific violence and racism during the
war in and around Gaza this summer, 16 Israeli and
Palestinian alumni stepped up to teach CS classes,
lead deeper understanding activities, and become
role models when it mattered most. That same
month, 14 alumni joined with 3DayStartup to ideate
and launch bi-national ventures addressing media
bias, sharing economies, and education (watch
video).
As one alumni participant, Yohanan, said, ”Through
doing, through initiation - this is how we can create a
real change. We should not just sit and talk. We
should do." We are proud of alumni bringing the skills
and perspectives they have gained through meet to
bear on the world around them.
11Venture Lab
projects launched
4.5out of 5 stars: alumni
rating of conferences
30mentors and
guest speakers
19mentor-
mentee pairs
80%live in Middle East
72%actively engaged
with MEET and
each other
Leading by example

7. Alumni Program:
Challenges
meet’s alumni face one of the most complex and
contentious conflicts in the world. The political is
personal. After meet they deal with growing
isolation from each other’s communities as they
enter university or the army. They also have
increasing demands on their time, and permits from
East Jerusalem and the West Bank are getting
harder to secure.
Add to this the challenge of any alumni program to
ensure enough alumni are involved in a meaningful
way to build those bonds, and for meet to create
programming in concert with the alumni board that
meets the unique interests and capabilities of their
varied stages of life.

8. Alumni Program:
Opportunities
We also face rare opportunities. We are reaping
the rewards of a growing professional network,
including expertise and investments from the
Middle East and internationally. We are building
on the success of 3DayStartup and meetx (the
fall alumni conference), as well as breakthroughs
in engaging women alumni in leadership roles
ranging from the alumni board to hackathons.
We are excited for the upcoming Social
Innovation Case Competition – based on an
Oxford Business School model - where alumni
will hear from guest experts about issues like
healthcare, education and more, then pitch their
ideas for bi-national solutions. We are also
excited to kick off Wave 3 of the Venture Lab.
See the latest news from the Alumni Program
and learn more on Facebook.

9. Student Program
2014 presented tremendous challenges for
students, 70 of whom were preparing to meet
each other for the first time when the war in and
around Gaza broke out.
Facebook posts were increasingly extreme and sane
voices of tolerance and critical thinking were met with
backlash on all sides. But meet students led by
example. You have heard about all but four students
showing up for the Summer Program, the highest
impact graduate projects yet (see examples), the first
graduating class from Nazareth, and how MIT
instructors rallied to support remotely even though
many could not be there in person.
Our main focus after summer was adding
opportunities to the Yearlong Program for students to
further develop bonds and make up the computer
science and entrepreneurship education that was
shortened during summer.
85%retention from
Year1 to Year3
1styear of integrated
curriculum: CS,
entrepreneurship,
deeper
understanding
30%returning
instructors from
previous years
11first ever
graduates from
Nazareth
Acting with integrity

10. Student Program:
Challenges
The toll of the conflict in and around Gaza continues to impact
us all emotionally and logistically. Year1 students did not bond
as deeply due to a shortened summer, and both Year1 and
Year2 students had less time to apply CS and
entrepreneurship concepts than in past years. Most MIT
instructors were not able to come to Jerusalem, but are
already recruiting 2015’s cohort of instructors. We are deeply
grateful to our staff, leadership and MIT colleagues for their
resilience and commitment.

11. Student Program: Opportunities
With every crisis comes a motivation to act. We have new opportunities in our Student
Program with the strongest curriculum yet, a base of TAs who graduated from meet and
are now giving back, guest teachers from Zell Entrepreneurship Program, as well as
heightened support from Israelis, Palestinians and internationals who lend their expertise
and investment in this cause. Each day our students see Israeli and Palestinian staff
working together, and world-class institutions investing in their education. They are all
proof that pragmatic change is possible.

12. Funding by type
financials
Costs by program
is a lean
organization with a $1.5M
budget and 10 bi-national
staff.
Summer
Educational
Program
Yearlong
Educational
Program
Alumni
Program
Student
Recruitment
General /
Administrative
Foundation Corporation Institution Individual Government
Funding by region
(non Israeli
or
Palestinian)

13. our
instructors
meet’s volunteer instructors are a special
breed. Despite prestigious offers for
internships and jobs, they chose to invest in
educating the next generation of Israeli and
Palestinian youth to make pragmatic change.
We would like to send heartfelt thanks to the
22 instructors who volunteered their time and
expertise in 2014.
Although only three were able to teach in
Jerusalem - Michele Pratusevich, Divya
Agarwal, and Amin Manna’a (a meet alum and
MIT student) - all 22 contributed to the most
integrated and professional curriculum yet. We
hope to welcome many back in 2015.

14. thank you to our instructors
Divya Agarwal
Kristen Cotner
Rishiraj Das
Elena Glassman
Ted Golfinopoulos
Corinn Herrick
Tatiana Mendoza
Tim Mickel
Caroline Morganti
Curtis Northcutt
Phillip Olaleye
Michele Pratusevich
Sadek Jabr*
Hojin Jeon
Ciara Kamahele
Abigail Klein
Christina Lee
Amin Mann’a*
Raja Shah
Julia Sterling
Safia Tmiri
Evan Wang
James White
*meet alumni

15. our partners
meet is proud to partner with world-class leaders in education, technology and social
innovation. Partners provide curricular guidance, in-kind support, mentors,
volunteers, funding and matching gift programs, and more.
Hebrew University
of Jerusalem
(HUJI)

16. Google Chairman Eric Schmidt visits meet students and alumni in Jerusalem

17. our investors
We consider our donors to be investors in this network of emerging
Palestinian and Israeli leaders.
We were honored to welcome 128 new investors including those present
at the Tel Aviv event, hosted by SOSA, and the Silicon Valley event,
hosted by Laura Lauder. Earlier in 2014, influencers like Google
chairman Eric Schmidt, Wolf Prize recipient Dr. Victor Ambros, and
business leaders of Breaking the Impasse visited meet as a model of
constructive action.
Our deepest thanks go to each of you who supported meet in 2014. Your
investment empowers Israeli and Palestinian youth to take their first
steps as problem solvers, in preparation for taking on regional
challenges in the future together. We hope you are as proud as we are to
be part of the meet family.

18. thank you to our investors!
Contributors of $100,000+
Charles H. Revson Foundation
Embassy of Norway
Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI)
Righteous Persons Foundation
Contributors of $50,000+
Dr. Victor Ambros and Rosalind Lee
Embassy of Finland
The Gottesman Fund
Yad Hanadiv
Contributors of $20,000+
Beverly Foundation
Ben Gomes and Deborah Weisser
Google RISE
HP-Indigo*
Jacob and Hilda Blaustein Foundation
Gigi Levy Weiss
Moshal Scholarship Program
Sainsbury Trust
Sobell Foundation
Andrew Tisch
Contributors of $10,000+
Anonymous
Dan Ariely
Izhar Armony
Anat Binur
Aleksandra Korolova**
David and Katherine Moore Family
Foundation
Eva and Ofir Kedar
Yossi and Einat Reich
Stef Wertheimer*
Contributors of $5,000+
Prof. Scott Aaronson
Muki Aharoni
Yotam and Eli Alroy
Anne Frank Foundation
Anonymous
Bank Hapoalim
Yaron Binur
Judi and Larry Bohn
Asaf Danziger
Emile Bendit Foundation

19. Contributors of $5,000+
continued
Google**
Eyal Gura
Raphaela Harlap
Harold Hyam Wingate Foundation
Herman Dana Trust
Prof. Daniel Jackson
Saul and Dani Klein
Sam Lessin
Zach Leverenz
Yanki Margalit
Yoav and Orr Michaely
Avram Miller
MIT International Science and
Technology Initiatives (MISTI)*
Novocure
Alison and Mark Pincus
Prof. Robert Pindyck
Prof. Ed Roberts
Avraham Shalel
Prof. Nir Shavit
Prof. Louise Silverstein
Adi and Ben Sofer
Soluto
Elie Wurtman
Contributors of $1,000+
Anonymous
Anonymous Indiegogo campaign donors
Liat Aaronson
Anonymous
Nissim Bar-El
Tal Barnoach
Shimrit Ben-Yair**
Rami Beracha
Dror Berman
David Chissick
Aarale Cohen
Cohen-Fruchtman-Krieger Family, Inc
Alan Feld
Fingerhut Foundation
Adam Freed
Cobi Gantz
Ron Gura
One donation of $6,000
provided a full-year
scholarship
for a young woman from
Jerusalem

20. Contributors of $1,000+
continued
Avner Halperin
Idit Harel
Gil Hirsch
Ituran Location And Control, Ltd.
Nechama and Yaakov Karpol-Borek
Ziv Katalan
Robert Lemelson
Charles Libicki
Ran Makavy
Rob Miller
Roi More
Ben Nelson
Playtika
David and Julia Popowitz
Scott Roberts
Leonid Reyzin**
Ido Segev**
Eden Shochat
Prof. John Sterman
Renn and Maureen Vara
Randi Zuckerberg
Contributors of $500+
Amadeus Capital Partners Limited
Anonymous
Ardan Arac
Michael Curry
Michael Garcia
Lisa Griffiths
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt**
Michael Kertesz
Aaron Lee
Ayla Matalon
Aryeh Mergi
Yair Pechat
Eddie Powell
Rafi Raz
Natan Reyzin
Ted Wang
Maurice Werdegar
Donations of $500 helped
support the 3DayStartup
hackathon, launching four
bi-national social enterprises

21. Dafna Kantor
Alon Kastiel
Bella Kazwell
Adam Kazwell
Kirk Kieffer
Pete Koomen
Denise Leung
Janice Leverenz
Carl and Suzi Leverenz
Melinda Loberg
Dror Margalit
Monica Matison
Nimrod May
Patrick McCarthy
Matt Minoff
Iliana Montauk
Noam Naveh
Amir Ofek
Aneto Okonkwo
Contributors of $100+
Luke Abrahams
Anonymous
Benzion Arbel
Nir Ayalon
Peter Baines
Nick Baum
Jonathan Bendheim
Alice Brickner
Tooky and Tony Bunnag
The Daberelays
Noa Elefant
Jessica Ewing
Nir Eyal
Marc and Deborah Fogel
Gates Foundation**
Ran Guron
Israel Halpert
Assaf Harlap
Ben Hecht
Fiona Hobson
Kfir and Shelly Hod Moyal
Benzi Huberman
Wissam Jarjoui
Ina Kalo
Guy Paradis
Christopher Peabody
David and Cynthia Phitoussi
Erin Presson Lad
Fidel Ramos
Andre Rohe
Lior Ron
Yaron Samid
Michael Scharfstein
Omer Schatzky
Ben Schlesinger
Hagi Schwartz
Garrett Smallwood
Martin Smolin
Dorothy Sullivan
Matt Tognetti
Brain Vahaly
Veronica Vela
Nora Voldman
Dan Watson
Rachel Wood
Ori Zaltzman
* in kind donation
** matched donation
One donation of $300
helped Palestinian and
Israeli staff reach 42
schools for recruitment

22. “The part that was unexpected and so interesting was how frontal the program is about
forcing dialogue about ‘the big issues’ rather than glossing over it… this is far more
interesting and probably more effective. The highlight for me was when I asked the
group I was with whether they argued more over politics or over the app they were
building and they all laughed and said ‘the app!’”
Ben Wiener, MEET mentor and partner at Jumpspeed Ventures

23. our team
More than ever, we are profoundly appreciative of the people behind meet: our bi-
national staff and board. Our team models the values we teach, from acting with
integrity, to embracing teamwork, to striving for excellence and more. Thank you to
each of the team who made 2014 possible.
Staff
Noa Epstein, Co-CEO
Ala Sader, Co-CEO
Dana Moss,
Alumni Program Manager
Mustafa Hussein,
Student Program Manager
Talya Schwartz,
Student Program Manager*
Eva Vander Giessen,
Creative Director
Ada Harverd,
Administration and Development
Roni Kipnis,
Jerusalem Program Coordinator
Manal Shehade,
Nazareth Program Coordinator
Noga Tamuz,
Nazareth Program Coordinator*
Michele Pratusevich,
MIT Fellow*
Rafat Nasser-Alden,
Logistics Coordinator
Yohanan Hruschev,
Alumni Coordinator
Liraz Sharabani, Guest Instructor
Yoni Mindel, Guest Instructor
Elena Glassman,
MIT-meet Student Group President
Eric Timmons, CTO
* not on 2015 staff

24. Board of Directors
Sandra Ashhab
Anat Binur
Yaron Binur
Noa Epstein, ex officio
Assaf Harlap
Abeer Hazboun
Zach Leverenz
Gigi Levy Weiss
Abed Elharim Nashef
Ala Sader, ex officio
Advisory Board
Prof. Scott Aaronson
Lynn Holstein
Prof. Daniel Jackson
Yanki Margalit
Prof. Rob Miller
Bob Rosenschein
Prof. Nir Shavit

25. in the media
This past June, I had the good fortune to
travel to Jerusalem to receive the Wolf
Foundation Prize in Medicine. My wife
and I wanted to donate the proceeds to
an organization that brings together both
sides to work peacefully. I had the
opportunity to visit the meet
headquarters... It refilled my "hope"
glass. meet is an incredibly important
program that is being profoundly
transformative, not just for the individual
students who learn programming and
entrepreneurial skills, but also for their
communities. – Dr. Victor Ambros
meet alumni like
Mohannad, left,
partnered with meet
and 3DayStartup to
launch socially-minded
startups (watch video)
meet featured for Venture Lab
bringing together Israeli and
Palestinian young entrepreneurs
(read article)
Special thanks to OPEN, 12fps, MyShortClip and Tal
Shahar for helping us tell the stories of the people
behind meet
Noa Epstein, co-CEO,
presented meet model
at Saloona “Women @
The Frontier”
conference
(watch video: Hebrew)

26. donate to connect on
facebook
watch our
videos
sign up for
our newsletter
get involved
Israeli and Palestinian
youth are breaking
through barriers to make
a positive impact in the
Middle East. Join us!
Your contribution through
donations, mentorship
and more help us
empower meet’s young
leaders to create positive
impact with technology
and entrepreneurship.
Thank you for all of your
support.

27. our stories
Click above to watch this beautiful video from Dania, Ofec, Marina, Gilad and Aseel