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Soliya is an international non-profit organization that aims to develop a diverse and globalcommunity of young adults who individually and collectively use new media and communication technologies to promote understanding and empathy within and between their societies. Our mission is global, but our current focus is on strengthening relationships and fostering cooperation between youth from Western and predominantly Muslim societies. This internship is an opportunity for students to gain hands-on experience in a variety of departments at a small, rapidly growing nonprofit organization.

Soliya’s Connect Program is a unique cross-cultural education program that directly connects university students in the United States, the Middle East, North Africa, Europe and Asia via new media and communication technologies. Using a web-based videoconferencing application, participating students collaboratively explore issues that currently divide Western and predominantly Muslim societies by engaging in intensive dialogue, and creating videos and other media projects addressing relevant themes. After completing the Connect Program, students can continue to engage in dialogue by participating in activities such as facilitation training and weblog editing with other alumni from the Connect Program.

In the last six years, Soliya has gone from being the idea of two young social entrepreneurs with backgrounds in new media and conflict resolution to an established organization with more than 60 universities in over 25 countries participating in the Connect Program and strong established funding relationships in the United States, Europe, and the Middle East.

In the coming years, Soliya plans to take its program to scale, connecting thousands of students each semester. Alumni from the Connect Program will also form the foundation for Terana – a new online network designed to inspire and empower a community of young people to promote cross-cultural understanding in their societies. Terana will combine the best of online media, social networking and citizen journalism, providing opportunities for young people to share perspectives from the world around them, amplify the most authentic and respectful voices through mainstream and social media, and engage their societies in constructive conversations about the issues that divide us.