United States Ambassador to Algeria Elizabeth Moore Aubin spoke at the closing ceremony of the “Link II” English-language project for Algerian government officials on May 23. The project provided five months of professional English courses for 120 Algerian government officials from thirteen ministries in partnership with the Berlitz language school from November 2021 to May 2022.
“We call this program ‘Link’ because we believe English truly opens the door to new opportunities and networks,” Aubin said. The Link Project aims to give Algerian officials language skills to participate in international conferences and exchanges, communicate with international counterparts, and utilize English-language reports and content. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman – the second highest ranking U.S. diplomat – announced the Link Project as one of the deliverables of the fifth U.S-Algeria Strategic Dialogue, held in March 2022. Officials from the following ministries and institutions participated in the program: the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Agriculture, Civil Protection, the Ministry of Commerce, the Ministry of Communication, the Ministry of Culture, the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of the Environment, the Ministry of Fisheries, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Pharmaceutical Industry, the Ministry of Public Works, and the Ministry of Transport.
The U.S. Embassy has a wide range of projects to promote English across Algeria at all levels, from underprivileged high school students to government officials. The Embassy provides English scholarships to nearly 200 students from families with limited means. The United States also helped train 22 English teachers from six rural wilayas as part of the Forward project. Finally, the U.S. and Algeria developed a three-year partnership between the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research and Columbia University in New York to revamp English-language instruction at all 107 Algerian universities.
“Promoting English language is one of the top priorities of the U.S. Embassy in Algiers,” Aubin said. “Our goal is simple: we want every Algerian to have the English skills necessary to succeed in their careers, and we are proud to partner with Algeria in expanding English language opportunities as part of our broader educational and cultural relationship.”
The U.S. Embassy looks forward to continuing the Link project this fall with a new cohort of participants.
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