AUB and the Yafa Foundation Partner to Honor Shireen Abu Akleh
May 31, 2022
A day after the murder of Shireen Abu Akleh, the widely-respected Palestinian journalist who was murdered on May 11, 2022 while reporting for Al Jazeera on an Israeli military raid on the Jenin refugee camp, President Fadlo R. Khuri proposed to AUB’s Board of Deans that the university establish a scholarship in her name. The support was immediate. “A couple of hours later,” remembers VP for Advancement and Business Development Imad Baalbaki, “I had a request for a Zoom call from Hani Qattan who wanted to discuss something urgent. I have known Hani Qattan for many years. If he says it’s urgent, it’s urgent – and it was.”
The reason that Qattan was so anxious to reach Baalbaki was that he wanted to speak to him about establishing a scholarship at AUB in the name of Shireen Abu Akleh, “I was speechless for several seconds,” remembers Baalbaki. He then told Qattan about the intention of President Khuri and the Board of Deans. “We agreed to approach this initiative in full partnership and presented it as such to the Board of Trustees, which happened to be meeting that day. The trustees agreed unanimously to the proposal and also to match the contribution of the Yafa Foundation.”
Hani Qattan, who is the founder and chairman of both the Yafa Foundation and the PACES Charity, is a long-time supporter and good friend of AUB. His late father, AUB alumnus Abdul Mohsen Al-Qattan (BBA ’51), was founder and chairman of the A.M. Qattan Foundation, one of the leading cultural and educational institutions in the Arab world. Mr. Abdul Mohsen was also an AUB trustee (1995-2003) and trustee emeritus, from 2003 until his passing in 2017. Mr. Abdul Mohsen established the Abdul Mohsen Al-Qattan Endowed Scholarship at AUB in 1989 – a scholarship that has supported and continues to support the education of bright Palestinian students at AUB.
Like his late father, Hani is also a generous philanthropist who supports many Palestinian initiatives. “It is absolutely imperative that Shireen’s selfless sacrifices in lending an honest voice to justice and truth will never abate,” said Qattan explaining why the foundation wanted to establish a scholarship in her name. “The Yafa Foundation is truly honored that our approach to AUB to launch this initiative found a very ready partner who was considering the same idea and willing to act immediately to make this happen.”
“We did not hesitate,” says Khuri. “We are proud to partner with the Yafa Foundation on this important initiative to honor the memory of an undeterred champion of Palestine, a symbol of hope, a voice for the voiceless, and an inspiration to brave women everywhere.”
The Shireen Abu Akleh Endowed Memorial Scholarship will fund scholarships for women from Palestine who are pursuing master’s degrees at AUB’s Department of Media Studies. The scholarship will cover tuition, as well as living and related educational expenses, with applications to be considered immediately for the fall term of the 2022-23 academic year. Applicants should have a minimum of two years of experience in journalism and communication, including one year of field experience.