Ten students from American University of Sharjah (AUS) have been selected by the Arab Thought Foundation to participate in the Youth Café Meeting to be held on October 1 in Beirut, Lebanon. The Youth Café Meeting is a pre-conference meeting intended to incorporate the voice of the youth in the agenda of the foundation’s upcoming FIKR8 conference, which will be held December 9–10 in Kuwait.

The following students have been selected to participate in the event: Alia Almehairi, Hayaa M. Azzam, Hichem Aichour, Mahmoud Riad Ghandour, Razan Munir Majdalawieh, Sara Al Khawaja, Sawsan Tawfik Haji, Yousef Khalifa Al Ghufli, Yusur Y. Abbas Al Bahrani and Zaid Ousamah Al Rayes .

 At the Youth Café Meeting, 40 youths from various Arab nationalities will debate, exchange ideas and experiences, and share thoughts in order to generate the most innovative and creative ideas that will contribute to enriching the FIKR8 conference agenda.

The Arab Thought Foundation conducts a number of activities in the fields of education, art and culture, youth empowerment and others. It also offers Arab communities a unique, annual platform to exchange ideas, to think creatively and focus on innovation during its annual conference, entitled FIKR. Every year, FIKR addresses major issues of the Arab region through a particular theme. This year, it will engage in a debate on economics under the theme of “Integrating Arab Economies: Partners for Prosperity.”

The AUS students’ participation in the event has been arranged by the Student Leadership Programs of the university’s Office of Student Affairs (OSA). “This is a good opportunity for our students to represent themselves, the university and their countries. I wish for our students to become good ambassadors at this event and seize every opportunity the event has to offer so that they may gain the requisite qualities to become future leaders,” said Dr. Moza Al Shehhi, Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs. “OSA will be offering more programs as we establish a dedicated office for Student Leadership Programs. We encourage our students to take advantage of these services as they will enhance their leadership potential for personal and professional growth,” she added.

“This is the second time that I will be participating in an OSA program overseas,” said AUS student Hicham Aichour. The AUS students’ participation in the event has been sponsored by the Arab Thought Foundation.

September 17, 2009