The Swiss Chapter: helping Lebanon by supporting AUB
February 4, 2020
“AUB gave us a lot of tools that helped us get to where we are now and shaped all of us in so many ways. The least we can do is to help back,” says Swiss Chapter President Hussein Nassereddine (BEN ’12). “We all love helping our country and people—and especially want to do this today. In my opinion the best way to help Lebanon is through education—and the best way to do that is to support AUB.”
It is that motivation that prompted the Swiss Chapter to support the Solidarity Appeal that AUB launched in late November to help current students and needy patients at the AUB Medical Center. “We have been contacting alumni chapters and urging them to support the appeal,” explains Salma Dannawi Oueida, associate vice president for development and alumni relations. “The Swiss Chapter is one of the chapters that responded. We hope other chapters will step forward as well. The Alumni Relations Offices in Beirut and New York are here to offer whatever assistance chapters need.”
The Swiss Chapter has been especially busy in recent months. In September 2019, it welcomed President Fadlo R. Khuri, Vice President for Advancement Imad B. Baalbaki, and Salma Dannawi Oueida for a fundraising gala that was headlined by celebrated musician Guy Manoukian and attracted 230 guests. (“That’s a record for a Swiss Chapter gala,” says Nassereddine.) On January 8, 2020, the chapter hosted AUB alumnus and renowned comic Nemr for his first and only appearance in Geneva as part of his “NEMR – The Future Is Now!” tour. All proceeds from the event benefited the Student Solidarity Fund that AUB established in late November 2019 to assist current students at AUB.
Switzerland attracts AUB alumni from many disciplines including banking, marketing, and nutrition. Nassereddine himself is an engineering alumnus. Some alumni, like Muwaffak Bibi (BBA ’77), have been based in Switzerland for many years. Others, like Cynthia Houmani (BEN ’18), are very recent arrivals. “One of my priorities since becoming president in 2018 has been to recruit more young people. We now have a much more diverse chapter in terms of age—some members are as young as 23 years old. They are bringing great energy to the chapter,” says Nassereddine.
The committee is also expanding its geographic profile. Although it is based in Geneva, the chapter has started organizing events in Zurich as well. Ali Beydoun (BA, BEN ’12), who works in Zurich, is taking the lead on reaching out to alumni in Switzerland’s largest city. “We had a good response to our first event in Zurich, and so are planning a second event on February 6th,” he says.
“No matter where we are in Switzerland,” says Nassereddine, “our connection to AUB and to Lebanon is strong. We all want to support our alma mater.”