By Dalia Al Nimr | This story appeared in the July 2017 edition of AUC Today.

Born in 1946 in Ramleh/Jaffa on the Mediterranean shores of Palestine, Souhail El Farouki '68 immigrated to Egypt in 1948, when the Arab-Israeli war broke out. In 1963, he graduated from Victoria College in Alexandria, then moved to the United Kingdom to complete his A-levels. For El Farouki, things in life did not come easy.

"Having been forced to leave my homeland in Palestine, I can relate to the refugee crisis plaguing our world today," reflected El Farouki. "When I went to the UK, I worked there during my holidays -- as a farmer; as a wheelbarrow porter transporting luggage and cargo at Folkestone Harbour Railway Station; and as a kitchen helper in restaurants. Being exposed to all these different types of jobs motivated me to do well in my studies."

Following in the footsteps of his father, Ghaleb El Farouki '33, Souhail El Farouki attended AUC, where he met his life partner Abla Leheta '69, who is originally from Port Said.

"I still remember the year -- 1964," recalled El Farouki. "We were on a freshman trip to Al Qanater Al Khayria. My camera ran out of film, but I pretended to take pictures of the scenic environment whereas my focus was to talk to Abla. When she asked me later about the photos, I never lied; I admitted that I had run out of film. There was and continues to be a lot of mutual respect between us."

For both El Farouki and Leheta, their University years were all about hard work and perseverance. With the close-down of her father's business in Port Said and Suez, Leheta found herself obliged to work as a part-timer at AUC's mail office and at an airline travel office to partially help support herself and finish her studies. Similarly, El Farouki overloaded himself with credit hours and took summer classes to graduate quickly in order to join the workforce and help his father. "AUC instilled in us the motivation and desire to work hard, make our lives worthwhile and be the least burden on our families," said El Farouki.

"AUC inspired us and opened our eyes to the fact that there are no privileges except through hard work and knowledge acquisition, whether you own a Ferrari or commute using a second-class bus ticket, whether you dine at posh restaurants or eat foul and ta'meya, whether you wear the same or different clothes every day. All students are equal at AUC, independent of background, social class or status. AUC gave us a different outlook on life and taught us not to be distracted by petty issues."

AUC was a home away from home for both El Farouki and Leheta. Not only did their siblings and relatives join AUC, but the University carried special memories for both of them: from Am Abdou who greeted them every day at the University gate to their favorite campus spots such as the cafeteria, Ewart and Oriental halls, the library and hostel to entertaining activities such as theatre performances, sports games and social events.

Even the "demanding professors, the tough graders," whom El Farouki and Leheta described as their favorite because they learned the most from them, were an unforgettable part of AUC. And of course, there are the extracurricular activities, which were not only fun, but a fertile learning ground outside of the classroom. These included El Farouki serving as a sports manager for the freshman class and as a social manager for sophomores, and running for the position of head of the AUC student body. Leheta was also chosen as one of the finalists in the Miss AUC competition. "Each of these activities taught us something new," said El Farouki. On one occasion, during an AUC trip to the American University of Beirut, their travel was partially funded by carrying items with them that were later sold in Lebanon.

After graduation, armed with their degrees -- a bachelor's in chemistry for El Farouki and a bachelor's in economics and political science for Leheta -- the two alumni were ready to venture into the real world. "AUC prepared us for the real world and equipped us with an eagerness to learn, which gave us the courage to get married and apply for graduate studies abroad," El Farouki noted.

Soon enough, El Farouki received an assistantship to pursue graduate studies at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, where he received his PhD in chemistry in 1976. Leheta worked as a full-time librarian at the same university until she acquired her master's in educational administration. "We lived in low-income housing and used Salvation Army furniture," El Farouki said. "I used to hitchhike to the university until we were able to buy a second-hand car. I distinctly remember receiving a Teaching Assistant Award -- a $25 check -- in 1975 and taking my wife and young daughter, Roba, to a pizza parlor where I used to work for extra money."

After graduating from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, the married couple moved to Saudi Arabia, where El Farouki joined the Juffali family business. The group's managing partner, the late Sheikh Ahmed Juffali, husband of the renowned philanthropist and AUC Advisory Trustee Suad Al-Husseini Juffali, had plans to add Dow Chemical Company to the organization's diverse business activities. El Farouki was offered a job as a salesman to introduce Dow Chemical products into the market. Over the next four decades, El Farouki helped develop the Juffali chemical business into one of the largest, most diversified private sector chemical operations in the region. His achievements were cited in numerous publications, such as Growth Company: Dow Chemical's First Century and the late Ahmed Juffali's biography, Ahmed Juffali: A Life in Business.

Both El-Farouki and Leheta actively give back to their communities, be it contributing to local and regional charitable organizations, serving on the boards of trustees of local international schools, and developing a passion for the culinary arts by heading the International Chaine Des Rotisseurs Jeddah Chapter and the Gourmet Club Saudi Chapter

Although El Farouki recently left the Juffali group, he is still active in developing his family's coffee and roasted nuts wholesale and retail business and building a personal chemicals platform in Jordan.

Throughout their life journey, El Farouki and Leheta were keen to pass on a valuable lesson to their three children and nine grandchildren. "We have tried to implant in them the importance of working hard -- daily and over a period of many long years -- and contributing to others," said El Farouki. "All our children have been encouraged to have part-time jobs while studying at university. Even our grandchildren are active in fundraising, charity calls and serving in refugee camps. It is through both hard work and contributions to others that people, looking back, can appreciate and value all they have achieved."

Recognizing their accomplishments, AUC presented El Farouki with a Distinguished Alumni Award in 1999 and Leheta with a Distinguished Alumni Volunteer Award in 2004. Becoming forever a part of the New Cairo campus, the married couple named the Abla Leheta '69 and Souhail El-Taji El-Farouki '68 Courtyard.

"When we look back at our beautiful journey, we are grateful for what we have achieved," said El Farouki. "AUC was a stepping stone for us and helped us get to where we are now. We hope today's students who pass through this courtyard will have an even better journey than ours."

He added, "Giving to AUC was also part of my father's legacy, when he established the Ghaleb El Farouki '33 Endowed Scholarship in 1985 to support Palestinian students. I am very touched by the notes I receive from the scholarship recipients and want to do more for this University. AUC has a great snowball effect: It teaches us to excel in everything we do, and employers look specifically for AUC graduates because they have proven themselves in the job market. Then these employers, many of them big corporations, give back to AUC because of their gratefulness to it for producing such fine graduates."

To these fine graduates, El Farouki and Leheta advise: "Life is short. Live every moment. Work hard. Stay in touch with your classmates. Treat people with kindness, modesty and respect, no matter how much knowledge you have. This is the secret recipe for success."

By Claire Davenport

Carbon is a major indicator of climate change. In the last century, the amount of carbon in our air has exponentially risen to a record high of over 400 particles per million -- a level reached on Earth only millions of years ago. Yet while carbon emissions have a volume measurable in units of metric tons, calculating the amount any given country, organization or even person is emitting yearly is a difficult task.

When AUC initially decided to measure its carbon footprint in 2011, it faced similar challenges. However, since the first task force was commissioned to assemble this data, the University has lowered its energy consumption by 35% and published six climate footprint reports. "We measure everything in these reports, from our water and electricity use down to our composting and recycling activities," said Khaled Tarabieh, University architect and associate professor of sustainable design in the Department of Architecture.

AUC is a pioneer in Egypt and the region in terms of measuring and publishing its carbon footprint. The University's desire to share its knowledge in this area is what inspired the idea to create AUC's Data Hub for Climate Change Mitigation -- a new initiative that is in its initial phase and will bring together AUC faculty from diverse disciplines to share measurement tools with higher education institutions in the region.

As Tarabieh, the project's principal investigator (PI), noted, "The dream team of Co-PIs is formed of faculty who are experts in their specializations and in what they can contribute to this ambitious project: Nouri Sakr '13 (computer science), who is a leader in building data hubs; Ali Awni (business), who specializes in operations management and environmental policy; Omar Abdelaziz (mechanical engineering), who focuses on building mechanical and energy systems; Ahmed El-Gendy (construction engineering), whose work centers on environmental and water resources; and Sherif Goubran '14 (architecture), a sustainability expert and one of the key contributors to AUC's carbon footprint report."

Despite AUC holding instructional events with other universities to share how it puts together its climate footprint report, there weren't tangible results, Tarabieh said. "This is not due to a lack of interest, but rather to a lack of resources for collecting information and conducting data analysis in a validated and institutional way," he noted.

The data hub overcomes these barriers by allowing AUC to create a centralized database across higher education institutions in Egypt and beyond. AUC faculty members will train other institutions on how to collect their energy data, analyze the information, and pass on insights and learnings. "Through the hub, we will be able to scale the methodologies and best practices we've successfully piloted at AUC, equipping other institutions across Egypt and North Africa with the ability to measure their carbon footprints and take action. It will also help us aggregate and assess trends over time as well as across universities and countries while compiling best practices in tackling climate change."

Data hubs can operate as a mechanism for accountability. Once other institutions are presented with their climate impact, they will have more of an incentive to make a change. Tarabieh believes this will create channels for universities to collaborate in the fight against climate challenges.

"We hope that a data hub like this could ultimately inform how many institutions -- banks, hospitals and airports -- measure their carbon footprints, drawing on the hub for best strategies to lower their emissions," he said. "The more measurable data within the hub, the more institutions can learn how best to be energy-efficient and, most importantly, know the areas of their operations to control their daily emissions. This way, sustainability is more than a goal. It becomes a value."

He added, "For me, this topic isn't just strategic for our operations but for our future as well. It's not about competition. It's about the achievement of a higher level of building performance and data acquisition, and what a consortium of higher education institutions can put together for others to follow."

By Yasmin El-Beih and Abigail Flynn

As major flooding wracks Pakistan, droughts choke much of East Africa and wildfires raze Australia, it is becoming clear that the consequences of climate change are not distributed equally across the globe. Industrialized countries in the Global North, particularly those with strong colonial histories, have the worst carbon emission records. Yet it is the Global South, with relatively lower emissions, that is bearing the brunt of the resulting environmental catastrophes.

Ali Awni, professor of practice in the Department of Management and director of AUC's John D. Gerhart Center for Philanthropy, Civic Engagement and Responsible Business, explains the need for a "just transition" to address this inequality.

A just transition can be defined as "a fair and equitable process of moving toward a post-carbon society," said Awni, using the words of researchers Darren McCauley and Raphael Heffron. This approach to cutting carbon emissions prioritizes fairness and equity in global justice concerns, especially pertaining to ethnicity, income and gender. It considers the realities of marginalized communities while recognizing that the solution must be globally connected and systemic. "The transition to net-zero emissions means a fundamental change in the current fossil fuel-based growth model to a more regenerative and sustainable economy," said Awni.

These changes will not be subtle. A just transition intends to do much more than patch one hole in the boat. It aims to build a newer, stronger ship. The way we work, live and develop public policy will all need to change. A just transition ensures that no one gets left behind. This will require an intricate balance of environmental, socioeconomic and political concerns, explained Awni.

"This is what we mean when we talk about climate justice," Awni said. "Climate change affects various sectors of society differently. A just transition is about making the shifts more equitable across societal segments so that some aren't more drastically affected than others."

For instance, individuals who work in the fossil fuel industry must be taught new skills and provided with new employment opportunities. The costs of economic adjustments must be distributed fairly between the privileged and underprivileged. The way future generations may be disrupted by this transition must also be considered and prepared for. In short: It won't be easy, but it is necessary.

Climate change catastrophes are no longer a speculation; they are a proven reality. Egypt itself is facing problems with water scarcity, land degradation, desertification and mass migration as a result of global climate change. While larger economic decisions about carbon emissions remain in the hands of governments, solutions can also be found in universities.

AUC's research on climate change solutions is expansive. To address water scarcity, the Center for Applied Research on the Environment and Sustainability is exploring how to recycle wastewater from fisheries to act as fertilizer for plants. The Department of Physics is using light waves to identify pollutants in water reserves. These are only a few examples of a multitude of AUC projects that can be used to fairly address local and regional impacts of climate change through their implementation in underprivileged communities. A just transition will use these projects and build upon them with larger, systemic and multidisciplinary approaches.

AUC's Gerhart center helps to connect projects across Africa, including the Johannesburg-based Centre on African Philanthropy and Social Investment. "African universities and networks have a major role to play, given the need to change the mindsets of individuals, culture and the way we conduct research," Awni said. "African universities don't only create and disseminate knowledge. They also produce a generation of young people who are aware of sustainability and climate issues, as well as the injustices that surround them."

By Claire Davenport

Breaking Silos

Large global issues such as climate change are difficult to tackle across sectors. Scientists, politicians, local governments and corporate industries often get isolated in their efforts to address environmental challenges, coming up with solutions that are narrower or smaller in scale.

"When you're just adopting the views of a single entity or governorate, you focus on its needs only," explained Laila El Baradei '83, '85, professor in the Department of Public Policy and Administration and director of AUC's Public Policy Hub. "But environmental issues, in particular, cut across all boundaries, and there is a need for different ministries to talk to one another and figure out the responsibilities they have to shoulder in order to achieve their common objectives."

The Public Policy Hub at the School of Global Affairs and Public Policy (GAPP) bridges the divide between research and implementation, offering well-researched solutions to Egypt's policy dilemmas around climate change and beyond.

Policy Proposals

The Public Policy Hub was co-founded by El Baradei in 2017 to advance evidence-based policy recommendations that meet the needs of government organizations. Participating graduate students and alumni from AUC and other universities work in teams to tackle policy issues identified by Egyptian government bodies, developing creative and cohesive policy solutions to the problems Egypt faces.

The hub is currently focused on climate change policy issues, which include examining the effects on agriculture and tourism in Egypt, mitigating the impact of climate change on Egyptian cities, studying the localization of climate change alleviation and adaptation efforts, as well as evaluating the current impact of these strategies.

When creating a public policy recommendation, there is a lot for the researchers to consider: existing data, how other countries have tackled similar issues, what is administratively feasible and politically acceptable, affordability and any challenges they foresee.

After a weeklong intensive training and four months of research on a given subject, each group is assigned a mentor and works to create a policy research paper, policy brief and advocacy tools, such as graphics and animated videos, to raise broader awareness. The groups then present their work at an annual conference held by GAPP, an event often attended by sector leaders and government representatives.

A Hub for Impact

By allowing government agencies to propose issues for the researchers to tackle, the hub has a unique ability to affect government decisions and have its policy recommendations taken into consideration.

"What's unique about our Public Policy Hub is that we follow a demand-based approach, and we are very proud of that -- so it's not us the researchers and academics who decide what the policy issues or research problems are, but it's the government agencies that do so," explained El Baradei.

To date, the hub has published 40 papers that have more than 8,200 downloads across 112 countries, and it has tackled issues as diverse as child marriage and care for the elderly.

Beyond the hub's impact on influencing policy decisions and legislation, it is also an incubator for the next generation of policy leaders.

By putting together reports and taking part in the day-to-day operations of policymaking -- from navigating scheduling to parsing through data -- researchers leave the hub well-equipped to enter the policy sector and bring their climate insights to bear through their future work.

"We hope that the focus on climate change is continuous and sustainable," said El Baradei.

Today, I wear two professional hats: one as director of Transport for Cairo (TfC), a strategic advisory consultancy enhancing urban mobility in emerging cities; and another as road transport co-lead of the UN Climate Champions, a group working to gather state and non-state actors, such as local governments and banks, to tackle climate change. The work is highly connected. I bring my expertise in improving mobility to conversations about improving our climate, focusing on how to have sustainable transit systems in Africa's emerging markets.

After graduating from AUC, I worked on creating a map of all public transit systems in Cairo for trip planning, then worked with the World Bank for the benefit of the Ministry of Transport with a front-row seat to the changes happening in the sector. Egypt has more than doubled its investment in the transport sector in 2021, creating a huge opportunity for innovators in the space to access funding.

I got connected to the UN Climate Champions through an article I wrote for Project Syndicate, "Electrifying African Transport," about the options to make the continent's transit systems more electric and more local. And the solution isn't only electric vehicles. It's about traveling differently -- leaving your car at home and taking your bike or public buses. It's also about traveling less and having shorter commutes, or investing in informal transit like microbuses.

Our work as transit consultants is all about driving the government toward such projects by creating knowledge and contributing to the debate on what sustainable transit can look like, along with tangible strategies to get there. TfC finished 45 projects so far in Egypt and six other countries in Africa. We added Egypt's public transportation to Google Maps, working to make transit information more accessible to the public. And we've put together Egypt's first Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan (SUMP), which assesses the mobility needs of a city and opportunities for improvement. We need more SUMPs in cities across the country and in emerging markets because such reports result in bankable project ideas and investment opportunities for the sustainable mobility transition.

COP27 is another opportunity to drive not only investment but also awareness of climate change as a reality that we must design for and navigate. We now need everyone to participate and appreciate the size of this challenge as well as maintain the stubborn optimism that we bring to our work. That change is possible, and we can accomplish it together.

An economics graduate, Mohamed Hegazy '12 is the founder and director of Transport for Cairo and an associate of the UN Climate Champions, where he is developing a transformation strategy for road transport systems in Africa.

By Claire Davenport 

The Egyptian government has minted AUC's centennial coin, designed by five AUC students.
 

This accomplishment was the culmination of a summer of work, research and brainstorming for graphic design students Ahmad Khalil, Ingy Fawzy, Lana Kurdi, Mariam Ibrahim and Mariem Abutaleb. Aiming to highlight the impact of the University's architecture on AUCians past and present, the minting of the coin finally made the group's vision a reality. 
 

To create a coin for AUC's centennial, the five students took part in a mentored workshop supervised by Nagla Samir, associate professor in the Department of the Arts and co-chair of the Materials and Collateral Taskforce for the centennial, and Ghalia ElSrakbi, instructor in the Department of the Arts. "They are the dream team," Samir exclaimed. "Ahmad and Mariam are seniors, Lana and Ingy are juniors and Mariem is a sophomore, so the team brought three-generation perspectives to the design." 
 

The team conducted extensive research before beginning the design process. Over the summer, they administered an online survey to determine what the campus meant to old and new AUCians. They then held multiple focus groups, narrowing down their designs until the two finalists were shown to President Francis Ricciardone. The final selection embodied what AUCians had expressed in the survey: that everyone related to AUC's architecture, specifically its idiosyncratic arches and portals. "We worked throughout the summer, mainly on research," explained Khalil, one of the student designers. "We went to the library and the archives, and this is where the design stemmed from. We wanted to base our design on AUC's architecture, so we looked at books about that and studied photos of the campus." 
 

For the students, it was very important that the coin would resonate with the AUC community. "This wasn't just a theoretical project; it was something that was going to be made," said Ibrahim, another student designer. "Your eyes and your professor's eyes are not the only ones that will see this. Everyone has to understand it, and it has to be of value for all. Architecture is the connecting dot between all the generations." 
 

Explaining what he hopes people would envision when they look at the coin, Khalil noted, "I hope they get a feel of the heritage of this institution and realize that's it's been there for a very long time."
 

The final coin features two striped arches on one side, one slightly smaller than the other, bowing together to create an impossible bridge where they alluringly meet in the middle. "We picked the old and the new arches and morphed them together," Ibrahim said, explaining how they used a rendition of AUC's classic arch to connect the old with the new. It seemed fitting to ElSrakbi that the campus would be the inspiration behind the coin's design. "The campus is where everything happens, where people meet, where people study, and where faculty and students spend time together. The campus itself is a kind of time capsule," she said. 
 

Besides reflecting the values and history of AUC, the coin's design also carries symbolic weight. "The arches connect the past to the future, and the portals take on another meaning. They become a portal to the past, where 100 years ago, people walked through the first arched portal to AUC," Samir explained. 
 

Beyond the design, the five students who worked on the centennial coin also got exposure to the technical side of the design process. They had to make sure the coin's design -- including logo size, spacing and lettering -- all conformed to government standards. "Working on a coin is not something you get to do every day. It was cool because we got to see the technical part of it," said Kurdi, a student on the design team. Samir and ElSrakbi both believe that creating the coin and going through the minting process gave the students valuable real-world work experience. "It was the first time I produced something that would go out into the world; it's very meaningful," Khalil expressed. 
 

The students also designed a unique packaging for the coin. While it has not been finalized, the essential concept was to make the package interactive, with fold-out flaps containing information about AUC and 100 years of its events. "It's not designed to go into a drawer. It's designed to stand," Samir explained proudly. 
 

"The campus is where everything happens, where people meet, where people study, and where faculty and students spend time together. The campus itself is a kind of time capsule."

There will be both a silver and a gold coin for sale. The silver coins will be available for sale at the AUC Bookstores, while some of the gold coins will be given as gifts to donors and trustees. The rest will potentially be auctioned off. AUC ordered 1,000 silver coins and 20 gold coins. The coins will be sold for a bank set value. Samir hopes that AUC will always keep one gold coin, "perhaps in a time capsule or in the University Archives," she said. 
 

The coin is ultimately a celebration of AUC's 100 years of learning, growth and service in and outside of the University walls. "As well as commemorating this important occasion, these coins will help raise money for student-related causes and scholarships," explained Lamia Eid '82, '92, head of the Materials and Collateral Taskforce for the centennial.
 

"One hundred years is a big thing, so commemorating this event is really important," added Fawzy, a student on the team. 
 

As ElSrakbi explained, the coin is a perfect vehicle because it withstands time. "The coin as a medium has been there for so long, as an object to preserve the memory of an event that happens," speculated ElSrakbi. "By collecting it, you preserve this event for the future, but you are also trying to talk about the past."
 

Earlier this month, 14 AUCians joined young changemakers from the MENA region at the first-ever Regional American Field Service (AFS) Youth Assembly in Cairo to tackle urgent issues like climate change, education and food security.

Inspired by the United Nations Summit of the Future, the regional assembly met for one day to discuss the needs and interests of future generations while calling for meaningful participation of youth in forums for progress. Junior Jannah Hella, who attended on behalf of AUC and is a representative of the student-led organization Heya: The Women’s Initiative, said, “Having these discussions in Cairo, surrounded by passionate peers, made the issues feel even more urgent and relevant to our region.”

The theme was “Leading with Purpose: Empowering Generations to Create the World We Want,” bringing together youth and older generations to dissect topics of global importance. It consisted of four panels focused on climate change, the future of learning, foot security in MENA and Africa, and innovation for the future. 

“These themes couldn’t be more relevant,” said Hella. “The MENA and Africa are already facing the consequences of climate change, from water scarcity to disrupted agriculture, making the discussion extremely urgent. We need solutions designed by those who understand the region’s context and challenges, and that’s why youth must be involved.”

Sophomore Nathaly Thoma of the AUC Folklore Troupe also represented the University at the regional assembly. “I think the overall theme and panel topics are quite significant for our region,” she said. “I especially appreciated how the discussions emphasized the importance of empathy and inclusivity, even in areas like innovation, which are often seen as purely technical.”

"We need solutions designed by those who understand the region’s context and challenges, and that’s why youth must be involved.”

The conference sought to create a space where young voices can be heard and youth can engage with experienced leaders. “Being in a space where my ideas were taken seriously was incredibly empowering; it made me feel seen, heard and motivated to advocate for change in my own community,” Hella said. “I hope that this assembly inspires more youth to step out of their comfort zones in order to learn new things about themselves as well as the world they live in. 

“Investing in youth is the best way of investment for our future,” Thoma added.

Ultimately, this network sought to serve as a catalyst for action, enabling participants to create lasting change through mentorship opportunities for growth and sociocultural exchange. “My main takeaway is the fact that peace can be achieved through cross-cultural programs … [The Regional AFS Youth Assembly] revealed a fresh and powerful perspective on how peace can be fostered at the grassroots level,” said Thoma.

Hella has big hopes for the assembly’s future, from continued youth involvement to real community-based change: “I would love to see the ideas we shared turned into action. I believe in the AFS mission because it goes beyond empowering individuals; it builds a global community that lasts for generations.”

Photo caption: Jannah Hella and Nathaly Thoma attend the Regional AFS Youth Assembly alongside 12 other AUCians.