Traditional gender roles have privileged men at the expense of women. However, women are not the only ones harmed by inequality, as men are also victims of stereotypical gender roles that influence their self-worth or their ability to seek help.

The new diploma, launched by LAU’s Institute for Women’s Studies in the Arab World (IWSAW) provides concrete tools to identify, monitor and address gender inequality, on the principle that the equal treatment of all individuals will benefit members of society as a whole.

The diploma is designed for policy makers and practitioners, researchers and academics, activists and advocates, and will offer hands-on tools such as various methods of data collection, gender mainstreaming strategies and practical knowledge on how to address gender issues in the context of emergencies.

“We do not live in an ivory tower,” said LAU President Joseph G. Jabbra at the launching ceremony held on October 21. “We have an obligation to respond to the needs of society.” According to Jabbra, “the issue of conflict cannot be resolved without bringing women into the picture,” and the academic world has a duty to help make this happen.

The Gender in Development and Humanitarian Assistance diploma―which is set to start in 2017―consists of five core courses and five optional ones, each consisting of 15 classroom hours. It is run in partnership with the Continuing Education Program (CEP) and single courses will be available to those wishing to gain insight into one precise aspect of gender inequality.

IWSAW Director Lina Abirafeh is the mastermind behind the new diploma. “There are superheroes out there who work every day to promote gender equality,” said Abirafeh, “what we want is to provide them with the necessary tools to get the job done.”

Abirafeh worked in close collaboration with Frank Elbers, chair of the global Human Rights Education Associates, Inc. (HREA)―an international organization that supports human rights education and trains human rights defenders. “Gender dimensions can be integrated into peace and security,” said Elbers. “We expect participants to become active actors of change in Lebanon and in the region.”

In order to cater to the needs of practitioners who are likely to have binding time constraints, classes can be provided remotely via video conferencing.

The launching ceremony was attended by notable guests, including the Dutch ambassador Hester Somsen. “Without women we get nowhere,” she said in the keynote speech, underlining the importance and timeliness of the new diploma.

IWSAW board member and President of the Beirut Marathon Association May El-Khalil observed that no country in the world has yet achieved gender equality. “In the Middle East we have to take up this challenge and build a world equal for all,” she said. “No one can run that marathon for us.” 

The diploma consists of five core courses and five optional ones.

LAU has partnered with the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy to establish an exchange program that will enable master’s students in applied economics to study at one of the United States' premier academic institutions. 

The agreement, signed at LAU on October 20, was welcomed as a “historic agreement” by Kerwin Charles, interim dean of the Harris School. “We looked around the world for an institution that shared our values and we have found LAU,” he said at the ceremony that accompanied the signing of the cooperation agreement.

According to Charles, the two institutions are bound together by their emphasis on analysis and critical thinking. During their stay in Chicago, LAU students will be immersed in an environment that stimulates dialogue between different people. “Students can have their own opinions but not their own facts,” says Charles, “this is the approach we have at the Harris School of Public Policy.”

Thanks to the dual partnership, students from LAU who have successfully completed the first year of the master’s in applied economics will be able to conduct coursework at Harris and pursue internships and career placement opportunities through their U.S. partner. Conversely, LAU will be providing the same services, welcoming Harris’ students to its campus. 

Each university will also benefit from the other’s ties with institutions such as the World Bank, the United Nations Development Program as well as regional actors.

“This opportunity is very timely,” said LAU President Joseph G. Jabbra, welcoming his guest at the ceremony. “Regional institutions do not exist anymore and LAU has embraced the new notion of international university.”

Jabbra thanked LAU’s faculty members who worked in collaboration with the Harris School of Public Policy for over a year to craft the terms of the dual partnership. “It was an agreement based on collaboration, something that is required in our modern world,” said Jabbra.

The exchange program will further broaden Harris’ engagement in the Middle East and give its students unique exposure to the region’s policy issues and the chance to broaden their knowledge and sensitivity through experiential learning.

According to Jeremy Edwards, senior associate dean at the Harris School of Public Policy, “the relationship between applied economics in the Middle Eastern context, combined with the Harris approach to evidence-based, data-driven policy, will uniquely prepare graduates to immediately influence and positively impact the region’s greatest policy challenges, including conflict, energy, urban and cultural policy, and more.” 

LAU’s faculty members worked in collaboration with the Harris School of Public Policy for over a year to craft the terms of the dual partnership.

Media students gathered at Irwin Hall last week to learn about a professional collaboration that led to the dissemination of curated videos on YouTube aimed at countering the lure of “cinematic quality” videos posted by supporters and members of the Islamic State (I.S.).

This program was developed and run by a consortium of government, private and third sector organizations that included Quantum, a strategic communication firm. One of its representatives gave a detailed presentation about I.S. activity online and the results of research into susceptibility to I.S. messaging.

“Our university is in a part of the world that is affected on a daily basis by conflict, war, state-actors, non-state actors and specifically now by Daesh,” said Chair of the Department of Communication Arts Jad Melki, explaining why a comprehensive understanding of propaganda and social media is essential to youths in Lebanon in general and students of digital journalism in particular. “This defines their news agenda, their politics and their personal and professional future,” added Melki, who has written extensively on the use of media by non-state actors, including Hezbollah and Hamas.

The term Daesh originates from the Arabic shorthand for ISIS, the acronym the terrorist organization first used before their ambitions spread beyond Iraq and Syria. “We didn’t use the term Daesh in the links or videos we posted as we were looking to gain the attention of I.S. sympathizers who consider Daesh to be a derogatory term,” explained the Quantum representative as he expounded on the strategy adopted to hook and misdirect potential I.S. recruits online.

“We can’t be certain of the extent of the success of our eight-week pilot program, but over 300,000 individuals watched at least one of our videos,” he added. Dozens of videos were curated and added to playlists with the aim to counter the I.S. narrative.

“Social media has transformed the balance of power. It allows everyone to manipulate the public discourse,” said Assistant Professor for Digital Journalism Monika Halkort, who initiated the presentation. In a bid to encourage debate beyond the lecture itself, she urged her students to tweet the event live and put their critical thinking into practice.

“Governments have been completely powerless in responding to this shift. They simply have not understood how thinking politics and governing population have essentially become technical skills on a par with diplomatic skills, political skills and political foresight.” Lebanon, noted Halkort, is particularly weak in this regard, with no evident relationship between the government’s day-to-day management of its population, its infrastructure and available media facilities.

“Even the U.S. government, with its arrogance of power, tries to control the airways as they have done since the cold war, instead of engaging with citizens on the ground. For that they need to speak their language, but they don’t have the necessary mindset to do that.”

Melki agrees, but adds that the absence of a counter-attack on I.S. propaganda ran parallel to the lack of a military attack. “They weren’t interested in wiping out Daesh at first. Only recently with the bombings in western cities did they realize it is a global threat. They now realize they created a monster, just as they did with Al Qaeda.”

The LAU Captains men’s basketball team took gold in the AUB’s 150# International Sports Tournament, beating the team from the American University of Dubai that heads the scoreboards in the UAE.

“I salute all the team members and bow to their commitment and the sacrifices they made for their beloved institution,” said Director of Athletics at the Byblos campus Joe Moujaes. “We received a warm welcome at AUB from the president, the coaches, the athletes and all involved in the event,” he added, referring to the four-day tournament that hosted sports teams from universities in Greece, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Lebanon.

“It was an amazing feeling, to play against international teams and win,” recalls basketball player Albert Zeinoun. “This is the first international tournament our team has ever won, so we are naturally delighted,” adds Zeinoun, who has been with the team throughout his four years as a business student at LAU.

The LAU Sailors, based at the Beirut campus under the guidance of Director of Athletics Sami Garabedian, performed well in track and field events, winning six gold medals and achieving third place overall. “The tournament was very successful in all regards and the athletes thoroughly enjoyed the atmosphere and the spirited competitions,” said Garabedian, noting that the level of competition was very high.

Fatima Mouzahem, who came in second in the 800-meter race, agrees. “The race started hard and fast, not usual for an 800-meter race. It was challenging, but I enjoyed the experience and the spirit of the tournament,” said the fourth year nutrition student.

Captains and Sailors also won medals in swimming, rugby, tennis and football. “It was a hard fought game and we are happy with our achievement and how we played as a team,” says Daniel Messara, student of mechanical engineering, who was part of the LAU men’s football team that came in second to AUB, beating the American University of Cairo and the American College of Greece. “We drew against ACG when we visited Greece last year, so it was nice to defeat them this year,” says Messara, adding that the competition did not dampen the camaraderie he and his teammates enjoyed with the Greek players.

The LAU Captains defeated teams from Greece, Egypt, the USE and Lebanon to secure their first win at an international tournament.

Business major Albert Zeinoun thoroughly enjoyed being part of the historic win.

Delivery-service drones may become the personification of the retailer, and the higher the personification of the drone, the more favorable the consumer’s attitude toward its usage. These were among the conclusions of a conceptual study authored by three assistant professors at the Adnan Kassar School of Business – Hospitality Management and Marketing department and published this month in the journal Technology Analysis & Strategic Management.

“My interest in the use of drones by retailers began around 2013, when Amazon first declared its intention to start using them as part of its distribution network,” explains Zahy Ramadan, lead author of the paper.

Upon joining LAU two years ago, following 18 years as an expert marketer in the industry, Ramadan approached his colleagues Maya Farah and Mona Mrad proposing collaboration on research into the field. In addition to their shared specialization in marketing, all three are graduates of both LAU and the University of Manchester.

“We want to promote LAU in this pioneering research,” says Farah of their research, the first of its kind in the field. “Drone usage is a hot topic, widely discussed on the consumer side, but not yet in academia.”

For this paper, the authors applied the established and accepted ‘theory of planned behavior’ model to determine the attitudes, subjective norms and perceived behavioral control with regards to delivery drones. Based on these findings, they were able to predict the intention of customers to adopt the technology, currently in development across the globe.

Amazon has its own R&D department and is developing pilotless delivery drones; DHL have already used them in China; in Germany and the UAE, they are being used in ambulatory services; and Alrifai roastery used them in Lebanon a couple of years ago. “They have so far been used as a promotional tool, not as an ongoing delivery method, as is the intention of Amazon, and others,” explains Ramadan.

“There are still a lot of logistical and legal issues to iron out before delivery drones become mainstream, so it is not yet possible to conduct surveys to gain further insight into consumer acceptance, but we are considering a content analysis of online consumer comments,” adds Farah, noting that they are likely to publish another paper on the topic before the drones hit the skies, and more thereafter.

Another area of interest they are willing to look into is the effect of drone use on the consumer-brand relationship. “It will certainly be interesting to explore how the use of technology might change this relationship,” says Mrad, whose research to date has centered around consumer-brand relationships and more specifically brand addiction. Ramadan anticipates a weakened relationship between consumer and brand. “Amazon wants to be the king of retail. They want to own the whole supply chain; including production, retailing and relationship. If you own the relationship, brands are done.”

Ramadan’s prediction however relies partially on the ability of Amazon and other retailers to develop drones that provide both effective and efficient delivery, which will impact the ease with which consumers will adapt to a shift from a relationship with people to one with technology. A study into consumer reactions to ATMs, one of the earlier technology-based self-service delivery options (SST) introduced en masse, may provide some useful foresight, says Farah.

A photo, released by Amazon, of a drone they will operate under Prime Air, a future delivery system they say will see packages delivered to customers within half an hour.

“She was an extraordinary woman who had an extraordinary love for everyone and for her beloved LAU,” said the university’s President Joseph G. Jabbra during the inauguration ceremony of the Wadad Sabbagh Khoury building earlier this month.  

The late alumna Wadad Sabbagh Khoury graduated from the then Beirut College for Women in 1953. Her name now adorns a key building on the Beirut campus thanks to her family who generously contributed toward renovating an existing building with the aim of making it a modern, multi-purpose center for students.

“My mother loved and appreciated the Beirut College for Women where she acquired her skills, and developed her abilities, tact and capacity to understand people. I thank LAU for preparing my mother for her fruitful role in life,” commented her daughter, Salwa Khoury, at the inauguration event. 

Located on the upper Beirut campus, WSKSC is a five-floor building designed with special consideration to sustainability and energy management, and to serving LAU’s student body. From a fitness center and cyber café to study rooms and lounges, the student center, with its various recreational activities and socialization opportunities, is being put to good use.

According to Elie Samia, assistant vice president for Outreach & Civic Engagement, WSKSC has facilitated student activities at LAU as it is the hub for the Outreach & Civic Engagement (OCE) Unit on the Beirut campus. “Its high-tech facilities provide great support for OCE’s various activities whether it is through video-conference meetings, student lounges or Model UN, Model Arab League and Model EU offices,” he explained.

“WSKSC offers us students space to achieve different objectives, from focusing on our work as student leaders, to enjoying our daytime with friends at the student lounge and different facilities,” said Youssef Taher, an LAU student who serves as secretary general of the Model Arab League. “The center also allows me to connect with everyone I work with in the office in a very efficient manner as it was designed with this in mind,” he added.

During the ceremony, Jabbra took the opportunity to share Khoury’s love for LAU and highlight her efforts to organize events for her alma mater wherever she lived, among which Lebanon, Kuwait, and Greece.

“May the memory of our beloved never fade away. That she will be here at this institution, that she loved, forever,” said Jabbra.

Wadad Sabbagh Khoury was married to Said Khoury, one of the founders of Consolidated Contracting Company (CCC) based in Athens. She made valuable contributions to her husband’s business and is credited for playing a major role in helping shape CCC’s unique corporate culture based on family values and skills she honed at LAU. 

The inauguration brought together the Khoury family as well as many senior LAU staff members.

Dean of Students in Beirut Raed Mohsen with Salwa Khoury and Toufic Khoury, tour WSKSC.

The inauguration ceremony paid tribute to the late alumna highlighting her personal and professional achievements.

The newly established learning center in Sidon―opened last week as part of a collaboration between LAU’s Continuing Education Program (CEP) and the Chamber of Commerce, Industry & Agriculture for Sidon and South Lebanon―will be the third off-campus CEP center instituted in the country.

“We now have partnered learning sites in Tripoli, Zahle and Sidon and as such have completed our strategic goal of ensuring full coverage of CEP services across Lebanon,” explains CEP Director Michel Majdalani.

In his address at the signing ceremony held in Sidon last Tuesday, President Joseph G. Jabbra reasserted LAU’s pledge to serve the community. “We are at the heart of the community, not towering above it, and we are committed to ensuring that all the people of Lebanon have access to LAU. If the student cannot come to the campus, then the campus will come to the student.”

Eighty-five percent of businesses in South Lebanon are small to medium enterprises, said a representative for the Chamber of Commerce during the ceremony. “We at the chamber represent the private sector and want to reinforce skills and strengthen our work force. That is why we are here today to sign, and combine our efforts with the expertise of LAU to introduce the people of Sidon and the south to skills and careers that are needed by SMEs.”

In attendance were several representatives of private sector companies, among them Byblos Bank’s regional manager for South Lebanon Imad al Amin, who was keen to learn more about the programs on offer at the center. “We normally train our staff centrally, but such a center may provide us with opportunities that cover different subjects, and that are more convenient to implement, particularly for staff based in the south. It would also give our professionals more exposure, meeting and training with those from other industries and businesses.”

Over the past two years alone, almost 700 professionals have studied for certificates and diplomas at the CEP centers in Tripoli and Zahle, which opened in 2011 and 2013 respectively, and demand in Sidon is likely to be just as high.

“CEP now boasts over 50 programs covering post-secondary, para-professional as well as professional education in four different locations,” added Majdalani, highlighting the huge strides taken by CEP since it was launched some 25 years ago.

Learn more about the programs run by LAU’s CEP

Over the past two years alone, almost 700 professionals have studied for certificates and diplomas at the CEP centers in Tripoli and Zahle.

Tony Fadell spent the last day of his brief stay in Beirut in the company of LAU students at the Beirut campus. A couple of hundred students were invited to enjoy an engaging and interactive session yesterday afternoon with the tech entrepreneur, known globally as the “father of the iPhone” and the founder of Nest, the company that pioneered the “internet of things”.

President Joseph G. Jabbra began the informal session with a few questions before inviting more from the students, most of who major in computer science, engineering or business. Asked about his impression of Lebanon as a potential tech hub, Fadell highlighted the lack of high quality internet in the country. “You are very resilient. If we in the U.S. had the kind of power cuts you do, we’d be going crazy. But you deal with it. You find solutions to the cuts and the lack of water. But you can’t get your own net,” said Fadell, adding that the poor infrastructure and the lack of accessibility to the ports was driving business and talent away.

Asked about the role of education in preparing students for the workplace, Fadell advised students to work during their time at university. “Don’t learn and then think you can do. Do and then learn, so you can decide what you need to study and not be learning based on someone else’s recipe.”

The entrepreneur and angel investor founded his own startup while in high school. He lauded the value of mentors while discussing his experience at the startup General Magic. “General Magic was the only place I took a job as opposed to created an opportunity for myself, but I knew I wanted to learn from the best, so I joined the best. I essentially wanted to gain a Ph.D. in how to run my own business.”

When told by one student that strong mentors were hard to come by in Lebanon, Fadell disagreed. “You have the environment here. Find it and sit in it. Don’t say you’re a victim of your circumstance. Focus on learning and be curious.”

An evident fan of analogies, Fadell, who moved around a lot as a child and recently moved to Paris to “give my children a different world view”, compared his style as a mentor and leader to parenting. “How you lead changes at different points throughout gestation. You’re hands on at first, then you delegate, then you inspire…. as soon as you figure out one stage, the needs change and it’s already past you.”

Among the many nuggets of wisdom Fadell shared with the students were two that first year computer science student Maya Moussa says impacted her greatly. “He told us to focus on solving our own local issues, and to not think about failure but focus instead of preparedness. I liked that.”

Also motivated was third year industrial engineering student Sarah Cattan, who looked as though a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. “Many people in my field go into consulting, but I see that as a job, not a career, and it doesn’t really appeal to me. When someone like Fadell agrees, it strengthens my belief in myself and my decision,” said Cattan, referring to Fadell’s statement that management consulting is the lamest thing graduates can do with their brains. “Don’t focus on money, else you’ll be busy chasing it. Be curious, work hard and make your own luck.”

The Arab American National Museum (AANM), located in Dearborn, Michigan, hosts the awards every year to honor books by and about Arab Americans. This year, it partnered with LAU to bring the award ceremony to New York City for the first time.

“New York is the home of Arab American literature, so this is a chance to honor that, to be close to that, and to bring out a new community of audience members,” said Kirsten Terry-Murphy, AANM librarian. “It is immeasurable what LAU has offered us: the space, the staff, the support,” she said. “Through their help, this was all possible.”

This year’s seven recipients included writers of Lebanese, Palestinian and Egyptian descent, whose works were reviewed by genre-specific committees.

“It is an honor to be recognized for one’s work, but it is also a recognition of the body of work that makes up Arab American literature today,” said Moustafa Bayoumi, author of This American Life: Dispatches from the War on Terror, which received The Evelyn Shakir Non-Fiction Award.

Mejdulene Shomali is an assistant professor in the Department of Gender and Women’s Studies at the University of Maryland. “As an Arab American writer myself, it is incredibly meaningful to know that our community is excited about our work, and wants to elevate it,” said Shomali who served as a judge in this year’s competition.

More than a celebration of books, declared Matthew Stiffler, research and content manager at the AANM, this is “a space for the writers and readers to call home … a yearly gathering where people who toil over their books for years can come and be appreciated by their own community.”

That feeling of intimacy resonated at the event. “It is the only book award ceremony that feels like a family reunion,” said Susan Muaddi Darraj, author of A Curious Land: Stories from Home, as she received an award in the fiction category.

A Lifetime Achievement Award was given to late novelist and journalist Afifa Karam, who was born in 1883 in the Lebanese village of Amshit and came to the U.S. when she was a teenager. Her work was instrumental in bringing about the idea of Arab American literature, especially for women, “so we wanted to honor her in New York City where it all started,” Stiffler said.

“AANM and LAU share the common goal of celebrating Arab American culture and heritage,” said Lina Beydoun, academic executive director at LAU NY. “I look forward to future partnerships that highlight the wonderful body of work Arab Americans are producing.”

Handbook of Arab American Psychology, edited by Mona Amer and Germine Awad, also received an Evelyn Shakir Non-Fiction Award, while Nathalie Handal’s The Republics won The George Ellenbogen Poetry Award. Philip Metres’ Sand Opera and Rajia Hassib’s In the Language of Miracles each received an honorable mention.

The awards ceremony coincided with AANM’s Little Syria exhibit at Ellis Island.

To err is human, a famous proverb recites, but when a medical mistake is made it can have severe repercussions for both the caregiver and patient.

The Diploma in Clinical Simulation offered by the LAU Gilbert & Rose-Marie Chagoury School of Medicine in collaboration with the University of Illinois is the first in the MENA region to address the gap between theoretical learning and medical practice.

The 22 participants, including practitioners and trainers, will use their newly acquired knowledge for the benefit of their students and fellow colleagues.

“This gathering marks the distribution of the first diploma of its kind in the entire region,” said LAU President Joseph G. Jabbra at the graduation ceremony held in Byblos last week. “It symbolizes the importance of simulation-based education and the need for all professionals to have excellent training.”

LAU’s Clinical Simulation Center―the first to be made available in the region―offers a safe environment in which practicing health providers are able to develop and test their skills when confronted with diverse and recurrent medical scenarios. As well as improving the students’ learning experience, the Center also offers researchers the opportunity to experiment and test their own theories.

According to Interim Dean Dr. Zeinat Hijazi, it all started “with the dream and vision of having a medical school that would make a difference.” Construction begun back in 2007 and slowly grew into a full-fledged clinical simulation center thanks to the collaboration of LAU’s directorate, faculty members and students.

Carine Zeeni, anesthesiologist at AUB, spoke on behalf of the graduates about their experience. “This course brought together health care professionals from different backgrounds but with only one aim: to better themselves,” she said, “I thank LAU for providing this opportunity.”

The graduates, who come from different Lebanese health schools, are now ready to train students and staff on the use of clinical simulation tools. Mahmoud Ghouzail, clinical instructor at LAU, was among the participants. “We examined the style of debriefing―for example group assessment versus individual―and the timing in which this should be conducted,” said Ghouzail, “this helps us understand the way we train our own students and how we can improve our performance.”

Director of the Clinical Simulation Center Vanda Abi Raad explained that the venue is projected to become a center of excellence for clinical simulation. “Our aim is to create a community of practice for clinical simulation where all our graduates will interact, share ideas and network.” 

The new graduates are now ready to train students and staff on the use of clinical simulation tools.

LAU recently hosted 19 businessmen and women from South Africa as part of a Duke Corporate Education (Duke CE) professional development program.

“They wanted to bring their program to the heart of the financial capital of the world,” said Wassim Shahin, assistant provost for Special External Projects at LAU, who instituted the partnership.

It was the first time LAU had partnered with Duke CE, which is ranked the #1 provider of Corporate Education in the U.S., and #3 globally, by the Financial Times.

“The MOU we signed with Duke CE is crucial because Duke is a well-known academic institution with a leading business school that has a presence in several countries,” Shahin said. “Their executive education programs have an academic aspect, which separates them from the many money-making training centers around the world.”

Participants in the program were carefully selected by their superiors and by BANKSETA, the organization that underwrote the program. BANKSETA helps advance the national and global position of the banking and micro-finance industry in South Africa by promoting employment equity and broad-based black economic empowerment.

The Duke CE program runs throughout the year, with sessions in Lagos, Nigeria and Johannesburg. On this particular trip, the group spent a week in Durham, North Carolina, home to Duke University, where they visited a variety of companies such as Suntrust, Fidelity Labs, Barings, Queen City, Square 1, American Underground, and Spreedly, followed by New York, where they had program sessions on Mergers & Acquisitions, Strategic Thinking for Investment Bankers, Thinking as Entrepreneurial and Entrepreneurial Leaders, Inside The Minds of Regulators, and more. 

“Our goal was to show them the contrast between emerging markets and developed markets,” said Karen Roux, managing director at Duke CE in Johannesburg, South Africa. “It allowed them to see how companies operate here, witness the hustle and bustle, and develop the critical thinking that enables them to pinpoint what they need to change.”

Program Participant Ntombi Ngema, global head of the Sanctions Desk at Standard Bank in South Africa, said the ethos behind the Duke CE program is to give participants a globalized view, as well as the tools to occupy a more senior leadership role.

“There’s a leadership crisis in the African continent at the moment,” she explained. “We have a bunch of mature elderly leaders who are phenomenal, we have a very vibrant youth, and in between, there’s a vacuum. This program helps fast-track those who are almost ready so that, as these senior guys retire, we are ready to take the reins.”

Shahin says he has succeeded in signing strategic partnership MOUs with other prestigious universities like the University of Cambridge and more recently, the University of Chicago, all of which serve the university’s goals of advancing LAU’s entrepreneurial impact.

Such LAU partnerships serve the university’s goals of advancing its entrepreneurial impact.

LAU has just signed a memorandum of understanding with the municipality of Byblos to establish a museum dedicated to the Umayyad civilization. This agreement is part of the Umayyad Route project made possible thanks to a grant from the European Commission to improve Mediterranean territorial cohesion by enhancing the cultural heritage of the Umayyad dynasty.

“The municipality of Byblos has committed to the development of the museum, which will be on the LAU-Louis Cardahi Foundation premises, situated in the old city,” said Rachid Chamoun, director of the LAU-Cardahi Foundation and coordinator of the project in Lebanon. “Even if Byblos  may not be considered as an Umayyad  city, it is a main part of the Lebanese cultural itinerary along with the historic coastal cities of Tripoli, Beirut, Sidon and Tyr, we have developed,” he explained.

“This is a historic event in the City of History,” declared LAU President Joseph G. Jabbra at the signing ceremony that took place on November 15.

Just like the other six countries involved, local parties―which in Lebanon include LAU, the Safadi Foundation and the municipality of Byblos―have put together various trails and packages for tourists. In Lebanon, in addition to one- and two-day itineraries, a seven-day tour takes in prominent natural as well as historical Roman, Byzantine and Mamluk landmarks, among others.

According to Chamoun, the museum will offer a real interactive experience to both tourists and members of the local community alike. “Part of the edifice will be dedicated to the city of Byblos; it will therefore be a center of studies where visitors―students, researchers, and so on―will be able to consult unique resources about the city.”  

The premises of the Louis Cardahi Museum and Foundation, comprising a beautiful stone house and surrounding land with extensive views of Byblos, along with its resources, were donated to LAU in February 2013 by the Cardahi family. The Foundation holds a number of historical artifacts, artworks and documentary films about the city and boasts a small library with over 1,500 works charting Byblos’ historical evolution. 

Mayor Ziad Hawat welcomed the initiative linking the sustainable development of the area to a close partnership with LAU. “There should be more cooperation between our two institutions on several levels and different fields,” he declared.

LAU Byblos, which is six times larger than the Beirut campus, has been operating since 1991 and has played a major part in the development of its surroundings. It currently boasts more than 3,800 students, and numbers are expected to reach no less than 5,000 in the next few years, making the university a major partner in the city’s academic, cultural and economic advancement.

“There are many projects in the pipeline and we should benefit from your knowledge and expertise. We complement each other,” Hawat concluded in his address to the LAU delegation present.

A delegation of LAU officials attended the signing ceremony and discussed ways to collaborate with the municipality.

Mayor Hawat and President Jabbra signing the agreement.

Every year, LAU runs the Beirut Marathon for a cause. This year, 84 LAU students, faculty, and staff ran for blood donation and the NGO Donner Sang Compter. “It is an honor to have LAU join us in such an event,” said Thomas Tabet, LAU alumus and co-founder of DSC. “Yorgui Teyrouz, who is also a founder of DSC, and myself were very proud to have our university supporting us,” added Tabet.

The positive impact of the university’s participation was immediately perceptible. “LAU is one of the biggest universities in Lebanon and the region, and to see such institutions support us, was great,” he added. 

In the spirit of encouraging goodwill and compassion, volunteering for LAU was reflected in many ways. This year, LAU was present intensively on the 42 Km, 21 Km, special needs, and 7 Km Fun Run races’ course through a very large water and cheering station that included more than 130 volunteers.

While some LAU students were also present on two recycling stations with the NGO G others joined the Red Cross Youth team.

Through the support of the Abraham Foundation, LAU also sponsored a team of 385 underprivileged children to run the race.

According to Hassan Baalbaki project management coordinator at LAU’s Outreach and Civic Engagement office the Beirut Marathon is a platform through which the university teaches the students to be civically engaged.

However, LAU’s involvement in the marathon was not limited to the day itself. Preparations started earlier this summer with Associate Professor of Nutrition Lama Mattar, who advised a team of amateur runners on the importance of nutrition in sports, especially for first timers.

“As an LAU professor and volunteer, I donated my time to these runners and started giving them weekly nutritional tips around the end of June 2016 when they first started training.” Within four months, the 170 participants who kept up with the coaching were well prepared to run the marathon.

“A long run is not like daily exercises which you do for a half hour and where it does not really matter what you ate that day. Your body needs to adapt to a 42K run.” According to Mattar there are a lot of misconceptions about sports and nutrition, especially when it comes to amateurs who are bombarded with all too often the wrong advice.

In addition to giving out tips on how to eat right during the training season, Mattar gave out recipes on how to prepare healthy homemade meals and energy drinks. “It is important for me to play my part and give more accurate information for people who are serious about it,” she said, explaining her motive for coaching.

For those who want to create their own homemade sports drink, Mattar suggests mixing either plain water, coconut water, or herbal tea (250ml) with 1/4 teaspoon of sea salt, 1 teaspoon calcium magnesium powder and ¼ cup or more of juice (optional) such as grape, apple, lemon, lime, and pineapple, and adding either honey or a sweetener depending on taste preferences.

Around 25 LAU students cheered the runners.

The Outreach and Civic Engagement office coordinates LAU’s participation in the Beirut Marathon.

Participants from 15 countries representing 25 nationalities and 10 different religious groups took part in a two-day conference organized by LAU’s Institute for Social Justice and Conflict Resolution (ISJCR), in collaboration with the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) and the KAICIID Dialogue Centre.

Fifty academics and practitioners, bringing together international comparative experience of countries that are or have experienced conflicts similar to that in Syria, attended the event, which concluded today at the university’s Beirut campus. “Our aim was to exchange expertise and discuss how such conflicts can be resolved and what kind of processes can help put an end to the conflict in Syria,” explained ISJCR Director Imad Salamey.

Participants contributed to one of five panels, the first of which focused on power-sharing in Syria.

“It’s amazing how much I learned at this conference, thanks to the diversity of scholars from different fields,” said KAICIID fellow Sniha Roy, who spoke about the role of women in leading reconciliation during the first panel, which was moderated by Syrian UNDP Director Samuel Rizk.

“It was the first time I’d heard him speak, and I found him most convincing,” said conference guest Samah Halwany, co-founder and peace projects manager of Lebanon’s ADYAN Foundation. “The comparison with Somalia during the fourth panel was also very enlightening.”

That panel addressed peace building in Syria and was moderated by Elie Abouaoun, director of Middle East Programs at USIP. “I myself am particularly interested in the topics of power-sharing and local wisdom based mediation, and the role of religious leaders in peace building,” said Abouaoun of the conference.

Among the religious leaders present was Bishop of the Syrian town of Wadi al Nasara, Elias Toumeh, who visits Lebanon regularly to teach interfaith dialogue at Balamand University. “The discussions have been very good and we were certainly enriched by an understanding of other experiences,” said the bishop, who contributed to a panel focused on dialogue in Syria. “The first days was mostly theoretical and the second more practical. It is clearly a quality academic conference and I hope it is a contributor to the peace we all want for Syria,” he added, noting that he would have liked to see more participants from within Syria.

Independent consultant Reem Alsalem was among the speakers to contribute to the final panel, focused on international mediation in Syria. “I accepted the invitation to attend because I was inspired by the agenda, which was very comprehensive, very timely, and included a diverse list of participants,” said the Belgium-based consultant. “The fact that it’s happening in Lebanon is very symbolically important as the country has been hosting many refugees and has been affected by the crisis in many ways, so it’s important that there continues to be leadership on mediation and reconciliation from within the region and not just from Europe or the U.S.”

Last month, LAU New York hosted the 12th IEEE International Conference on Wireless and Mobile Computing, Networking and Communications (WiMob 2016). IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers), headquartered in the U.S., is the world's largest technical professional organization dedicated to advancing technology for the benefit of humanity.

Ninety-three researchers, professors and graduate students from a cross section of disciplines participated in the conference, which is essentially a forum for the exchange of knowledge between researchers, developers and practitioners of wireless and mobile technology.

The event attracted a wide range of specialists from the U.S., as well as Canada, Switzerland, Italy, Japan, China, and Korea, among other countries.

“Organizing this conference illustrates the continuous contributions of LAU to research, and emphasizes the key role of LAU among universities in advancing technology on a global scale,” said Azzam Mourad, associate professor of Computer Science, and general co-chair of the conference.

Muriel Médard, Cecil H. Green professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at MIT, was one of the keynote speakers. Médard, who specializes in areas of network coding and reliable communications, particularly for optical and wireless networks, elaborated on her research. “You have 4G, but you switch to a Wi-Fi connection when you don’t want to pay for data,” she explained. “But it would make more sense if you could get a little bit of juice from your 4G to boost the Wi-Fi, and pay for only a small amount of data. We are working on ways for those systems to complement one another.”

The contributions of researchers and academics were complemented by the input of representatives from the industry. Keynote speaker Samita Chakrabati, principal engineer/architect at Ericsson in San Jose, California, spoke to the group about IOT (the Internet of things), namely the internetworking of physical devices, vehicles, buildings, and so on, with electronics: software, sensors, actuators, and network connectivity that enable the objects to collect and exchange data. While there are many ‘smart cities’ around the world, she said, there are still a few hurdles keeping us from being 100 percent connected.

“Security and privacy are the two biggest concerns in the public mind,” noted Chakrabati. “If I am monitoring things inside my house remotely, over the Internet, the data must be secured and encrypted, and proper authentication of devices and user account info must be verified very cautiously. The same applies to healthcare data―privacy, data integrity, reliability of the information flow from the patient to the medical professional are all extremely crucial.”

WiMob conference General Chair Abderrahim Benslimane from Université d’Avignon, France, stressed the importance of such annual conferences, and the affiliation with IEEE. “The body of research has grown tremendously in the past decade, and continues to grow every year, so we need this conference to share knowledge and keep up with the new research.”  

Participants in the WiMob 2016 conference applied by sending research papers. After thorough peer reviews done by experts in the field, 59 papers (out of more than 200 submissions) were accepted. They will be published in IEEE proceedings and IEEE Xplore Digital Library, which is accessible through the LAU Libraries system, and to anyone who holds a membership.

Muriel Médard surrounded by co-chairs (from left) Azzam Mourad, Abderrahim Benslimane and Peter Muller from IBM Zurich (right).

LAU students, staff, alumni, faculty and friends breathed a sigh of relief this weekend as the curtain was drawn on the last in a series of performances of The Prophet’s Anonym, this fall’s major theater production.

“It was an exhilarating experience,” says the play’s director and LAU Instructor in Performing Arts Omar Moujaes. “Ever since I was a student here it has been my dream to direct the major production. It was a big responsibility, more than if I had staged it at a public theater, because I was working with my own students,” adds Moujaes, who himself graduated from the Communication Arts department in 2012.

The theatrical production was well received by the public and media, despite the sensitivity of the subject matter and the director’s fears. “Gibran is a national icon and we were taking the audience on a journey of discovery into the many women in his life,” says Moujaes of Gibran Khalil Gibran, on whose life the play was based. “We had to choose our words carefully so as not to offend.”

The play is set on a ship bound for Orphalese, the fictional city which the title character of Gibran’s best known work The Prophet leaves by ship. As such, it is in some ways a prequel to Gibran’s book of parables.

Just as Gibran’s character Almustafa speaks with different characters during his voyage from Orphalese, so too does Gibran converse with characters who appear before him along his journey, throughout which his sick brother and mother are present. The main difference lies in the fact that the characters in Moujaes’ play are all based on real people from Gibran’s life and letters written to and from them.

“Those unfamiliar with Gibran’s book and the fantasy world it inhabits, which is reflected in our play, are led to an understanding through the letters read out loud by May,” says Maria Bechara, an LAU graduate who played the part of May Ziadeh, a Lebanese author with whom Gibran corresponded for years without ever meeting.

While Ziadeh’s character is central to the play, the fact that many women influenced and impacted Gibran’s work is the central message. “Despite his fame, we have never been presented to Gibran through the perspective of women. I found that most interesting,” says Bechara, who also enjoyed the opportunity to compose the music for the production.

Music and dance are as prevalent as dialogue in the play. Just as Gibran expressed himself through prose, poetry and drawing, so too did Moujaes wish to use jazz, tango and a host of other styles as vehicles of expression. “We started with the script and worked collaboratively to add movement and sound,” he explains.

The script was based on a book written by his uncle Salim Mujais, who has for years studied the many letters exchanged between Gibran and his female friends. “I was so pleased my uncle came from Chicago to watch the play. The production presented a different interpretation to his, but he loved it.” Judging by the online and media coverage, so did those who attended one of the past week’s performances. 

Music and dance are as prevalent as dialogue in the play.

While Ziadeh’s character is central to the play, the fact that many women influenced and impacted Gibran’s work is the central message.

Political party leaders, legislators, researchers, professors and members of civil society and nongovernmental organizations from around the world are gathered at LAU Byblos to debate the importance of electoral law reforms in post-conflict societies.

The three-day conference’s objective is to discuss how these reforms impact the region’s deeply divided societies and how they may contribute in conflict mediation through lessons learned from the many attempts undertaken in the region and beyond to improve the representativeness of political power. Top experts from Nepal, Indonesia, Nigeria and El Salvador will also share the experience of their respective countries and regions.

“This conference is very timely,” says Marwan Rowayheb, chair of LAU’s Department of Social Sciences, who is hosting the event in collaboration with the German Institute of Global and Area Studies (GIGA) and the Arab Network for Democratic Elections (ANDE). “We believe that scholars and policy makers should join forces to assist both the governments and the people of these states to be able to enjoy stable and sustainable democratic systems…. And the main prerequisite for this is to hold free and fair elections.”

Nashaat Mansour, dean of the university’s School of Arts and Sciences, agrees that electoral law reform is key to realizing progress at all levels. “In Lebanon, researchers will not have much difficulty in establishing that the existing system has proved to be impotent, as far as the economic and social progress is concerned, and has condoned unprecedented levels of corruption, disrupting the roles of the judiciary and law enforcement.” For Mansour, even those in power cannot deny that “no serious reform can take place in the existing system unless the electoral law is changed in a way that allows the suppressed segments of the population to be represented in the parliament.” However, he adds, this leads to serious challenges and raises major questions pertaining to the nature of the reforms which should take place in divided societies that are often based on sectarianism.

Yemen, Lebanon, Syria and Iraq are only a few examples of such societies according to Makram Ouaiss, assistant professor of political science and international affairs at LAU, who went on to point out that the conflicts the MENA region has been witnessing are amongst the most violent in recent memory. “One thing we are sure of is that once the canons stop, the difficult process of peace building begins,” he says. While various countries of the world have experienced different models of electoral engineering in post-conflict situations some have been deemed successful and others criticized for their unfortunate consequences, he explains. Therefore, “We hope the conference will allow participants to exchange best practices and identify processes by which an electoral law reform can best be implemented in post conflict environments” taking the most recent international experiences as case studies and identifying new ways to tackle the challenges that might lie ahead.

Although the topic has been recurrently debated by regional and international experts in the field, Ziad Abdelsamad, executive director of the Arab NGO Network for Development and Coordinator at ANDE, believes that the conference is of utmost importance for the region. “Democratic elections are an essential factor in re-habilitating the rule of law and institutions and contribute to overcoming challenges resulting from political vacuum.” Another factor, according to the LAU instructor, lies in the renewal of the social contract. “We have to reorganize the citizen/state relationship… and rebuild the confidence of the citizens in their government.” The expert also stressed on the important role played by electoral management bodies and their experience in the field. Representatives of such organizations, like the Election Observation Democracy Support that supports EU election observation and the Lebanese Association for Democratic Elections were also among the conference’s participants.

Stephan Rosiny, research fellow at GIGA Institute for Middle East Studies has known the region, and Lebanon in particular, for several decades now. “We are very lucky to be meeting all together – politicians, academics and the practitioners – to engage in a dialogue that I hope will be fruitful.” Reflecting on the recent regional and global context, Rosiny asks: Did the ‘Arab Spring” advance the democratization process in the Middle East? Referring to the Brexit and the election of Donald Trump as U.S. president elect, the researcher wonders if the world is experiencing some kind of crisis of democracy. “But democracy is a process, it is a strive that we must preserve, defend and improve.”

The conference recommendations will be gathered in a report aimed at academics and practitioners who will be involved in electoral law design.

The conference runs through November 26. Check here for more information about the program

Through the discussion organizers hope to better mobilize the international community’s support for democratization.

On its second day, the conference held a panel focused on Lebanon’s experience with election reform with MPs Ghassan Moukhaiber, Ahmad Fatfat, Ali Fayyad, Arda Ekmekji, dean of Haigazian’s school of Arts and Sciences and former member of the SCEC and Lebanese Forces reprsentative Charlotte Sarkis. The panel was moderated by LAU Associate Professor Bassel Salloukh.

Run by the Outreach and Civic Engagement unit (OCE) at LAU and inaugurated in late October with the Hariri Foundation for Sustainable Human Development and the Bringing Europeans Together Association, the Model European Union (MEU) is a simulation leadership program that aims to give Lebanese high school students the opportunity to explore the European Union and its strategic potential.

“The LAU MEU is a pioneering model implemented for the first time in the world for high school students in order to explain the complexity of the decision making process inside the EU, especially that pertaining to the European Parliament and Council of Ministers,” proudly declared Elie Samia, assistant vice president for Outreach and Civic Engagement at LAU.

The program consists of five training sessions through which students are first taught about the history, institutions and function of the European Union, followed by the rules of procedures, as well as negotiation and conflict resolution skills.

A final conference―scheduled for February 18 and 19―will draw the program to a close with a simulation of the European Parliament and Council of Ministers by the participants.

“We expect it to be the biggest simulation of the world with around 300 participants,” said Hassan Baalbaki, program coordinator.

Exploring the political, economic, social and cultural diversity of the EU is extremely important for Lebanese students, especially since the program highlights the intensity of the Euro-Mediterranean partnership.

LAU students from different majors contribute to organizing these sessions through their coordination role in five teams: school relations, logistics and operation, training, public information and public relations, which also help them develop skills and gain experience in their field.

For the high school students present at LAU Byblos last weekend―with some of them also involved in the Model United Nations (MUN) program―the European Union model is quite challenging, offering a different perspective to that of the United Nations. 

Mira Ghamrawi, 15, particularly appreciated the fact that “the European alliance brings another approach and one gains a lot of information and skills that make you feel you're worth something.”

Meanwhile, Nour Zeineddine, also 15 and from the Saint Georges School in Beirut, feels that “understanding how the European Union works is really complex and instead of just countries, you have to deal with political parties.” On a personal level, this program also helps him to “meet new people and speak better in public.”

Indeed, for Baalbaki such an experience is very helpful for the students on both personal and professional levels: “It targets human beings at the perfect age to develop their leadership skills and their interest in citizenship politics,” he remarked.

LAU boasts no less than 12 years of a successful experience with the Model United Nations and six years with the Model Arab League. MEU and MAL are made available to students in Sidon through the Outreach and Leadrship Academy (OLA).

LAU students from different majors contribute to the organization of the training sessions.

“I am doubly proud today,” declared Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri to representatives and friends of LAU and the Hariri Foundation at the launch of the Outreach Leadership Academy (OLA) in Beirut this morning. “The launch of OLA in Sidon in 2014 was the result of a great partnership. Now, in Beirut, we must restore to our capital its role in fulfilling the ambitions of our youth,” continued the Premier during his address in Arabic.

He took the opportunity to thank his aunt Bahia Hariri, president of the foundation that began a fruitful collaboration with LAU in 2011 which has borne many a successful initiative. “Not only has she had an essential role in parliamentary and political life, but she has always held high the torch of our beloved Rafik Hariri.”

The late prime minister established the Hariri Foundation for Sustainable Human Development in 1979 when, “we stood between destruction and construction, life and death,” said Bahia Hariri during this morning’s ceremony.

The foundation has since signed a number of agreements with strategic partners, among them LAU. The first joint initiative with the university saw the establishment of the Model Arab League in 2011. In the following years, the Leadership and Constitutional Education Academy (2012) was followed by the launch of the Moderation & Justice Academy for Leaders (2013), the Outreach Leadership Academy in Sidon (2014) and most recently the Model European Union (2016). Many of the educational initiatives were first launched in the southern city of Sidon, the hometown of the Hariri family.

“We came together for the benefit of society and … now we have moved to Beirut, to Solidere, the heart of Lebanon, to bring people together and implant in them a desire to care for each other,” said LAU President Jospeh G. Jabbra at the inauguration of the two-story academy in Downtown Beirut. “We will carry out our mission effectively and lovingly, and will add exponentially to what we have achieved in Sidon … and onwards to Tripoli, Mount Lebanon and the Bekaa to bring Lebanon together,” added Jabbra, calling on Lebanon’s politicians to both hear and help in that mission.

In the two and a half years since OLA opened its doors―in a building that used to house a school attended by the late prime minister―LAU students, faculty and staff have hosted 239 training sessions attended by 3,922 beneficiaries. So said Elie Samia, assistant vice president for Outreach and Civic Engagement at LAU.

“OLA is about openness and moderation. Our beneficiaries include young children, middle- and high-school students, civil society actors, civil servants, and entrepreneurs,” he added. While boasting about a number of the academy’s many programs, certifications and partnerships, he explained that its aim is to make the leap from policy recommendation to policy making. It is then perhaps most fitting that the new hub is but a stone’s throw from the Grand Serail. 

Since the opening of OLA in Sidon LAU students, faculty and staff have hosted 239 training sessions attended by 3,922 beneficiaries.

From left: Vice President for Student Enrollment Elise Salem (LAU), MP Bahia Hariri, LAU President Joseph Jabbra, AVP for Outreach and Civic Engagement Elie Samia (LAU), Executive Director of Training & Development at the Central Bank Mohamad Jabri and Assistant to the President for Special Projects Saad El Zein (LAU).

LAU graduate Diala al Masri is the first scholar from Lebanon to receive a Rhodes Scholarship, a prestigious postgraduate award granted to exceptional students from around the world to study at the University of Oxford.

Upon graduating in 2014 with a degree in political science and international affairs, al Masri said she had been blessed to receive a merit scholarship that allowed her to study at LAU. “This institution has given me the best of the best. Most importantly, it gave me self-growth.”

The exceptional student was not only a high achiever academically, but was, and remains, an active scholar and citizen. Before moving to the U.S. to pursue a master's in policy economics and economic development, al Masri was a member of the U.S. embassy Youth Advisory Council, an assistant director of operations at the World Youth Alliance, working as an advocate of human dignity, and a project manager at UNDP.

At LAU, she was active in the Global Classrooms LAU Model United Nations (MUN) and held the positions of under-secretary-general for school relations and outreach, and high school trainer and school relations coordinator, receiving the Harvard MUN Diplomacy award in 2013. Her dedication to civic engagement also earned her the Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI) Community Ambassador Award. 

Her diverse extra-curricular activities did not deter al Masri from attaining the highest GPA in the School of Arts and Sciences. In recognition of her stellar accomplishments, she was granted the university's Torch award, given only to the most exemplary students who show dedicated service to their community.

“The Rhodes is interested in phenomenal people, not just in students with high grades,” said Elise Salem, vice president for Student Development and Enrollment Management, upon hearing of al Masri’s latest achievement. “This is one of my proudest moments at LAU. The Rhodes is the Nobel Prize of student scholarships, and for Diala to become a scholar is beyond words.”

Currently working as a research assistant in economics at Williams College, where she obtained her master’s degree on a Fullbright sholarship, al Masri will move to Oxford in 2017 to pursue a Ph.D. in the subject. “I am a true believer that if you want to have an impact on something that interests you in this world, you have to start with yourself and move steadily from there,” said the soon-to-be Oxford scholar.

Al Masri is one of the first three students from the Levant to win the Rhodes Scholarship for Syria, Jordan, Lebanon and Palestine (SJLP), a new award announced in May this year and enabled by the leadership and generosity of the Saïd Foundation. “These outstanding students are representative of the many exceptional young people whose talents, determination, courage and commitment will build a better future for the region,” said Wafic Saïd, founder and chairman of the Saïd Foundation, upon the announcement of the awards.

The new scholars will both enhance and benefit from the additional cultural diversity the scholarship now affords. “Our aspiration is to identify and support innovative, energetic and ethical young leaders globally,” said Charles Conn, Warden and CEO of the Rhodes Trust. “The addition of these new scholars from regions that have an important international role to play in the 21st century marks a substantial step in that direction.”

For more details, read the press release issued by the Rhodes Trust.