Tackling Water Scarcity Through AI

As developing nations face increased and disproportionate threats of climate change, Professor Shahjahan Bhuiyan’s research found that public administration efforts need to be tailored to the specific infrastructure of development. With growing international environmental insecurity, sustainability must work in tandem with development conscious governance. Together with Jose Puppim de Oliveira, Bhuiyan co-edited a special issue of Urban Climate titled “Cities and Climate Change in Developing Countries.” “This issue reflects our passion for the topic,” Bhuiyan said. “The papers included in the issue, individually and collectively, improve our understanding of the diverse impacts of climate change and highlight the responses and solutions that cities have adopted to address these challenges.”As climate change continues to threaten our world, a perspective that assesses the moral imperative to solving the environmental crisis is crucial. While audiences might not initially consider the climate crisis a matter for public administration, Bhuiyan argues that without a holistic, public-sensitive approach, long-lasting, equitable change is unlikely.“Climate change poses a serious threat to humanity, impacting food security, natural ecosystems, freshwater supply, and health,” he said. “Governance plays a role in all these elements, and so we must focus on how to improve the quality of governance.”Bhuiyan found that climate change solutions must be sensitive to a city’s level of development, with approaches changing for centers still undergoing urbanization. There is an extra challenge for developing countries, as they have to discover sustainable solutions alongside building fundamental public administration systems, such as waste management and transportation infrastructure. However, this also means that developing nations have more opportunities to include climate-conscious policies in their strategic plans and programs. Instead of having to rework their whole system, developing nations can urbanize with climate solutions in mind.“Advancing the urban climate agenda in developing countries is based largely on linking climate change to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, as these countries often struggle to provide basic services and face numerous 'wicked' problems,” Bhuiyan said, explaining the increased struggle for developing nations.  It is imperative that developing countries work with climate-forward solutions in mind, as they have a higher vulnerability to climate change. Bhuiyan said: “A number of African cities —  including Cairo — are undergoing rapid urbanization and are doing so with climate based solutions in mind, such as urban agriculture and institutional reliance on sustainable energy.”  “A number of African cities —  including Cairo — are undergoing rapid urbanization and are doing so with climate based solutions in mind, such as urban agriculture and institutional reliance on sustainable energy.” Bhuiyan’s research builds off of the work of 27th Conference of the Parties (COP 27), hosted in Egypt, as well as the Symposium on Cities and Climate Change in Developing Countries, hosted by AUC’s School of Global Affairs and Public Policy. These conferences gave academics and industry leaders the platform to understand the differences in climate-smart solutions needed from developing and developed nations. Bhuiyan worked with colleagues to compile these findings into a research paper and make recommendations for climate-smart development.Bhuiyan has been researching public administration for almost three decades, studying how the governance of a country impacts its people and its international relationship. His research has focused on a number of countries, from Bangladesh to Kazakhstan to Egypt. He has learned the ways good governance can positively impact people’s lives and wants his legacy to be helping people implement good governance. “Governments have an ethical duty to stop climate change,” he professed. “And as researchers, we can help guide them.”By using lessons learned from countries that have successfully implemented climate mitigation strategies, Bhuiyan is helping to develop policy solutions to support a climate-smart future. Information sharing through conferences such as COP 27 and the Symposium on Cities and Climate Change in Developing Countries is one way to improve policy research.“The Global North and Global South have a duty to share information,” he said, addressing the importance of collaboration. “As societies continue to develop, all we need is transparency, rule of law and good governance. With this, we can work together as an international community to improve the human condition.”“As societies continue to develop, all we need is transparency, rule of law and good governance. With this, we can work together as an international community to improve the human condition.”

With the support of the new Kerr Family Scholarship, AUC freshman Malak Hashem is on her path to becoming an architect whose buildings will address challenges to sustainability faced by communities worldwide. “We have a lot of global challenges, like pollution and the use of nonrenewable resources,  so I chose architecture in order to solve these global issues. My current interest is in sustainability and net-zero building. I hope, with my knowledge, that I can help a lot of people and communities in installing these methods so that we can maintain a stable and sustainable environment,” Hashem says.Hashem’s studies at AUC were made possible through the newly founded Kerr Family Scholarship, which partially supports an undergraduate student from freshman year until graduation based on their academic merit and financial need. A lifelong passion for drawing, crafting and sculpting led Hashem to study historical art, where she discovered the beauty of geometric Islamic architecture and the grandeur of ornamented Baroque ceilings. This blend of beauty and function inspired Hashem to major in architecture, a discipline she says “can’t be replaced with AI because humans are the only ones capable of being creative.”  "I became interested in architecture because it's a mix of both worlds, art and also practicality. It's something that can help people around the world with."The University’s New Cairo campus is the perfect place for an aspiring architect to study. The low-lying Andalusian-inspired campus gardens provide crucial greenery and shade, recirculating water to minimize waste amid Egypt’s water shortage. Summer winds usher its cool moist air into the heart of campus, which spreads through internal courtyards and windcatchers, reducing the need for air conditioning. Hashem’s dream is to use sustainable energy in her future buildings to dull the blow of the water crisis. “I hope with my knowledge that I can support a lot of people and help communities in installing these methods so that we can maintain a stable and sustainable environment,” Hashem says.On a campus built brick by brick to encourage connection and prioritize sustainability, Hashem has found a likeminded community. Conversations with seniors in her major have made her excited to take an architecture theory class, which analyzes the historical purposes behind structures and offers new opportunities to explore the architecture that inspires her. AUC’s Core Curriculum has also exposed her to new topics at a deeper level, such as the study of beauty in the rhetoric and composition department. “I got to learn about beauty as a really important concept that is deeply rooted in every aspect of our life, and it doesn’t have to do with appearances or social media trends,” Hashem says.With opportunities to address the world’s greatest challenges, Hashem is taking classes across disciplines— business, psychology, sociology— to develop as an architect and person, in preparation to create a more beautiful and sustainable world.“I won’t just stop at undergraduate. I will also do my best in order to attain more knowledge through my graduate studies, so that one day I could achieve my dream to build communities that are sustainable,” she affirms.

“I always insist on the collective because this is how you change history,” says Bahia Shehab (MA ’09), professor of practice in the Department of the Arts and co-editor of Revealing, Recording, Reflecting: Graphic Women from Southwest Asia and North Africa (SWANA), the first publication of its kind to document the work and legacy of contemporary women designers.“This landmark book is about the ‘us’ of women,” says Shehab, who founded AUC’s graphic design program in 2011. ‘When people hold the book, I want them to recognize women’s voices in the Arab world. They are beautiful, they are colorful and they are varied. And they’re not limited to the geography of the Arab world. We are everywhere.”Full of vibrant images, the book emerged from a collaborative initiative aimed at documenting and celebrating the contributions of SWANA women in the field of design. It all started when four women graphic designers from different institutions — Shehab from AUC in Egypt, Huda Smitshuijzen AbiFarès from Khatt Foundation in the Netherlands, Yasmine Nachabe Taan from the Lebanese American University in Lebanon and Soukeina Hachem from Shape interior design studio in Morocco — decided to research and showcase the work of Arab women designers. “We are four women from various parts of the region who came together to reflect, collect and reveal stories of Arab women designers,” says Shehab. Not only were they tapping into an undocumented frontier, but their research process was atypical. “The normal route usually involves archives and a lot of reading,” explained Shehab. “But for this book, we decided to do something else: We opened up our research to a bigger community. So we were four curators, not authors. The idea is that it is a collective story of over 80 Arab women graphic designers that we are telling together, so there isn’t a single authority or voice.”The first step for the co-editors was to focus on themes, the types of stories they want to tell. For Shehab, the choice was clear. “I love everything about Arabic design — its calligraphy, letters and typography — so I chose to work on Ladies of Letters: women who are as passionate about Arabic letters as I am. Each of us worked on a topic that she felt eager to explore in-depth.” The book explores themes of Visual Storytelling by Women, Engaged Image-Making for Social and Political Commentary, Ladies of Letters (connecting generations of women writers and designers) and Navigating Diasporic Identities. Focusing on the work and impact of Arab women graphic designers, illustrators, calligraphers and typographers, the book includes critical writing, testimonials, primary documents and artwork. The co-editors proposed the project online, collecting reflections on the different themes through Zoom panels and collaboration with a cultural space in Berlin, Germany for people to share their insights and recommend women in the field who can be featured in the book. “That physical space became our living research space, with sticky notes, observations, posters and new books. It was the first time for us to experiment with collective crowd-sourced research, and it was an enriching experience,” Shehab says.Questionnaires were then sent out to women graphic designers, asking them to tell their own stories. “In the book, we are not reflecting on how they feel or assuming the meaning of their work. They are choosing what stories they want to tell — in their own words,” affirmed Shehab. 

The year was 1964 when alumna Leila Saad, soon to be Miss Egypt, first fell in love with theatre and launched an acting career that has lasted 61 years (and counting) A tall wooden door guards the Heliopolis apartment where, on a Saturday afternoon, Leila Saad ’66 checks emails on her iPad and prepares for a day of work. Amid the funky statues, potted plants and fairy lights that furnish her apartment, Saad fills the space with a smile, her white hair and pixie cut accentuating her vibrant energy. She insists on coffee — for her, karkade — and an hourlong chat before beginning the interview.Donning black leggings, a colorful blouse and a cross necklace alluding to her Coptic roots, Saad is adamant that she would never leave Heliopolis as she gives us a tour of her old Cairo home. “God will take care of the destination and the rest,” insists Saad, relying on her faith in the present as she has during much of her eventful life.The octogenarian’s career is going strong — she has an acting job later today, and she recently wrapped up a project she directed for AUC, The Importance of Being Earnest.Church bells ring in the vicinity as she takes a seat on her balcony, a private garden filled with greenery. The first question — “Who is Leila Saad?” — prompts the actress to spring to life, her voice heavy and animated with conviction: “Leila Saad is an 88-year-old who is passionate about theatre and has been on a journey doing theatre for 61 years, since she was cast in a 1964 AUC rendition of Oklahoma in Ewart Memorial Hall.” She laughs that her first role caused three music directors to quit after Bob Harper, the casting director, insisted that she sing in the play (“I can’t sing,” says Saad). Thus began a love for theatre, which has since colored every aspect of Saad’s life. A New Life in North AmericaSoon after Oklahoma, Saad opened up a cafeteria called Greedee’s in the basement of the newly acquired Greek Campus, where she started meeting with AUC’s theatre group: “There was no theatre department at the time, but there was something called the Maskers Club,” she reminisces. “I have the best memories with them.”Saad was majoring in English literature at first, but following Harper’s guidance, she soon received a full scholarship to study theatre at the University of Southern California (USC) — an offer she couldn’t refuse. She knew then she had to follow her dreams, even though she was sad to leave AUC in 1966.“There was no theatre department at the time, but there was something called the Maskers Club. I have the best memories with them.”“I was scared and nervous and hesitant, but I went. I took my suitcase and $11 because during Nasser’s rule, we were only allowed 5 Egyptian pounds (equivalent to $11 at the time),” says Saad. “I didn’t know anybody except a friend of mine whom I knew from Cairo and who happened to be studying television and film, and we lived together as roommates.”Saad’s journey in the United States was one that spanned decades: She loved USC but disliked California, so she moved to Oregon, where she joined a graduate program in the theatre department and Middle East Studies Center at Portland State University. After a few years, Saad relocated again. “I was thriving in Portland, but it was time to move to the East Coast where there was more opportunity in theatre,” Saad says. She worked at Boston University (BU) and joined a professional theatre company in the city, where she remained for 25 years.