Tomorrow's Leaders Programs Newsletter - Spring 2022

In its second edition, the Tomorrow’s Leaders Annual Symposium presented research findings and highlighted efforts made by community-led initiatives concerning two Sustainable Development Goals: goal 4 (quality education) and goal 5 (gender equality). In addition, students organized an open art gallery that ran throughout the day of the event. TL graduate and undergraduate students and gender scholars had democratically elected a chairperson and collectively chose the theme of community-led initiatives that address gender and education. Accordingly, TL students researched the topic and discussed their findings and recommendations with the symposium’s attendees. These included AUC’s president and provost, students, faculty and staff members, in addition to panelists and guests from the U.S. Embassy in Egypt, Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies and other civil society representatives.

TLG students went to Tunis Village, Fayyoum, to take part in a leadership camp that focused on community engagement and rural gender awareness. Throughout the two-day camp, students participated in several activities that adopted a participatory leadership approach. The camp culminated in a case study and a visit to Ezbet Sayedna Al-Khedr, where students conducted focus groups with working women from the village. The students worked on identifying the women’s problems, exchanging knowledge and solutions on how to improve the women’s livelihoods and how to positively impact the village’s economic conditions.

Reem Al Sulaimani, Shaimaa Almonefie and Sumood Al Bahlouli (TLG students from Yemen) collaborated with the Happy Yemen Initiative and the Hands in Hands project to motivate underprivileged students and refugees to learn English. The project aimed to help open doors to employment opportunities and personal development for the students and encourage them to continue to learn regardless of their age, profession or social status. The fees for the monthlong course were partially covered by collecting donations. During the project, TLG students worked with 49 students from Yemen, Sudan, Eritrea and Egypt. At the end of the course, the students received their participation certificates, and the closing ceremony included motivational speeches about their experiences. Almonefie reflected on the experience, stating, “the real gain was to spread my own learnings to others, and it is a great feeling to give back to my community.” For more information about the Happy Yemen Initiative, check this link.

In this session, Nehad Abulkomsan, senior lawyer and gender and development consultant, discussed gender from a religious perspective and pointed out the numerous misconceptions revolving around women’s rights in Islam. Abulkomsan also talked about the development of laws pertaining to women’s rights and the areas of improvement in the Egyptian legal system, including female genital mutilation, Egyptian women occupying the positions of judges and inheritance laws. Students were able to engage and critically examine cultural and religious arguments that hinder gender equality. At the end of the session, Abulkomsan advised the students to research, discuss and investigate gender-related societal issues and stressed the need for being informed and vocal about injustice toward women. Positive feedback was received from the students on how the session was helpful and engaging. One student mentioned that “Now I can respond to many controversial topics with a clear mindset,” while another student mentioned that she could use the information regarding gender equality in the workplace.

In cooperation with MADEV, TLS and TLU students participated in a filmmaking workshop where they created audio-visual projects on gender issues and self-knowledge.

Kicking off at AUC this spring, TLP provides a pipeline for TL students to find meaningful employment and leadership opportunities in their areas of interest or launch their startups upon graduation to become future employers. TLP students participated in a design thinking workshop organized by AUC’s Center for Learning and Teaching to build the students’ capacity for planning and implementing their projects.

Learn about TLP’s first cohort projects by watching this video.

A new group consisting of AUC students, faculty and staff is spearheading an effort to review the University’s gender-related policies to ensure inclusivity, equity, diversity and care for the entire community. Initiated by the Tomorrow’s Leaders Gender Scholars Program, the Gender Policy Working Group is the product of a TLS training titled Gender Policy-Integration: The Why and How? The training, which took place in March, aimed to support gender mainstreaming — or realizing gender equity — on the policy, process and procedures levels. From budgeting and human resources procedures to the design of academic programs, the group will strive to maintain AUC’s role as a model for other universities and an active player in combating gender stereotyping and discrimination as AUC President Ahmed Dallal explained earlier in March.

TLG student Wasim Dia (Syria), studying migration and refugee studies, received an award for academic excellence at the Academy of Liberal Arts Honors Assembly on April 13.

TL alumnus Ashraf Sabkha ’15 (Libya) is the first Libyan to be named a Knight-Hennessy Scholar, a prestigious graduate-level scholarship program at Stanford University. Sabkha is pursuing a master's degree in international policy at Stanford’s School of Humanities and Sciences. Sabkha graduated summa cum laude from AUC with a bachelor’s degree in accounting and double minors in economics and international affairs. Later, Sabkha was awarded a scholarship to the University of Oxford, from which he received a master's degree in public policy. Sabkha led his teams when participating in startup and product design competitions with NASA, PepsiCo and Clinton Global Initiative, among others. This fueled his interest in entrepreneurship and using technology to strengthen community building and empower structural change. Ashraf’s work on COP22 with the World Bank Group inspired him to develop global strategies at an energy conglomerate and aspire to lead the energy transition and economic diversification process in Libya.

Feeby Ramzy (MA ’22), manager, TL Finance, successfully completed her Master of Arts in economics in international development in June 2022.

Assistant Professor and TLU Academic Director Hakim Meshreki (MBA '05) is the recipient of AUC's 2022 Excellence in Teaching Award.