November 30, 2022
A trip from Beirut to Arnaoun Village that students called a “stress reliever,” “joyful,” and a “time to bond with other students,” occurred in October as part of the Qatar Scholarship—Education Above All (EAA) Program at AUB. Ropes courses, zip lining, team-building challenges, and dancing allowed the group a rare day away from classes and an opportunity to interact with fellow beneficiaries of the program.
It has been an eventful fall semester, with 280 newly selected students for the scholarship, bringing the total to 400. Early on, they attended a “meet & greet” session where continuing scholars shared their experiences with new beneficiaries. The students also made a video for a UNESCO conference giving their take on the theme of “Protecting Education from Attack.”
Check out the video here.
And just in time for FIFA World Cup fever, two scholars from the program traveled to Doha for workshops and life-skills training as part of Qatar Connection and the Generation Amazing Youth Festival that aims to equip youth with the tools to harness the popularity of sport to bring about societal development and positive change.
“It was a life-changing experience meeting with 120 youth from all around the world who share the same passion for making the world a better place under the theme of sports,” said AUB student Mohamad Hayek. Fellow student Lynn Fathallah on the other hand expressed that: “Imprinted forever in our minds are the days we spent in Qatar breaking barriers and perpetuating memories.”
The partnership between Qatar Scholarship-EAA and AUB began in August 2021 to help provide undergraduate education for Lebanese, Palestinian, and Syrian students residing in Lebanon. The scholarship facilitates “Access to quality education, Connecting locally and internationally, and Engaging with meaningful opportunities” (ACE)
As Dr. Joseph Costantine, the program director, explains, “The activities of the Qatar Scholarship-EAA aim to bring AUB students together to have memorable experiences. We are very happy to witness the students’ excitement and we look forward to more engagement with all our students. Opening new horizons and exploring new opportunities remain the goals that we wish to deliver to our students who can only ACE in everything they do. We are very proud!”
Dr. Lina Choueiri, AUB’s deputy provost expressed that “this partnership with Education Above All is grounded in our shared belief that education has the power to bring people together in the pursuit of knowledge to lift the quality of life for everyone in their societies, and we look forward to working with our partners and our students on this important project.”