Society of the Friends of the AUB Museum

The Executive Committee

Me. Antoine Abboud
Mrs. Tania Arab
Mrs. Jacqueline Ayyoub
Mrs. Helen Badaro
Dr. Leila Badre, Museum Director
Mrs. Lina Beydoun
Dr. Arda Ekmekji
Mrs. Nour Hakim
Mrs. Claude Issa
Mrs. Nora Jumblat
Mr. Henry Kettaneh
Mrs. Amal Saab
Mrs. Randa Smadi
Mrs. Dolly Talhame
Dr. Samir Thabet, President
Ms. Laila Tushan
Mr. Ziad Yamut

The Society of the Friends of the Museum was created almost 25 years ago to encourage the public to both support and patronize the AUB Museum. With a dynamic and enthusiastic membership, it continues to play an active role at the museum. The society sponsors a number of activities including lectures, exhibitions, children’s programs, tours of other museums, trips, and excursions. The museum-sponsored trips are extremely popular and have set a new standard for “educational tourism” in the region. The society also publishes a regular newsletter to keep its members informed of developments at the museum and in the world of archaeology generally.

This past year has been another successful and active year for the society. It sponsored trips in Lebanon to Chhim (in the Chouf), Tyre and Tell El Bourak, the Valley of Nahr Ibrahim, and outside Lebanon to Cappadocia and a two-week trip to Ethiopia.

In addition, the Society of the Friends of the AUB Museum hosted a number of lectures including talks by Dr. Jean-Paul Thalman on the current excavations at Tell ‘Arqa, Professor Peter Pfalzner on recent discoveries in the Orontes Valley in Syria, Dr. Arda Arsenin Ekmekgi on Ani in Turkey, and Dr. Claude Doumet-Serhal on Sidon. Other notable lecturers included Dr. George Yacoub, Mr. Nohad Schoucair, Professor Jean-Louis Huot, and Dr. Pierre-Louis Gatier.

The society also organized a number of very popular children’s activities. On November 17, a group of more than 50 children visited the town of Chhim to learn about Lebanon’s olive culture. Children also enjoyed a program on hats in March in which they had an opportunity both to learn about hats through the ages and to design and make some of their own. More than 60 children attended an event in May called “A Knight’s Tale” to learn about heraldry and watch clips from a movie.

All of these activities have encouraged public appreciation of the AUB museum, and of museums in general.