Relations between the US and Iraq may have suffered in recent years but a group of students from Li Po Chun United World College of Hong Kong are doing their bit to improve relations with what is believed to be the first conference involving students from both countries.
The Li Po Chun students are hoping to give 16 American and Iraqi students aged 16 to 19 the chance to better understand each other's countries when they meet at a conference at King's Academy boarding school near Amman, Jordan, in July.
The students have also received support for a youth development programme from an impressive array of influential figures, including Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Barham Salih and the US ambassador to the United Nations, Zalmay Khalilzad.
The conference is the brainchild of US student Mike Schoenleber, 19.
'I had the idea out of discussions with students on campus about the need for some sort of discussion between American and Iraqi students as part of the process to move forward with the current conflict.'
He said students from a range of countries were involved in organising the conference. The students have secured a number of guest speakers with backgrounds in Iraqi affairs and conflict management, including former senior advisers to the Iraqi higher education ministry and Iraqi minister of youth and sports.
