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To commemorate World Health Day, the Library at the American University of Kuwait (AUK) organized an event entitled Tips, Ticks and Talks to promote healthy practices that should be observed to escape avoidable stress on the mind and body. The event was moderated by the Library Media Intern, Abdulrahman Albastaki, and was catered with food provided by Caveboy Grubs, a local health food provider.

Professor Maryam Hosseinnia, Associate Professor of Graphic Design at AUK, who also instructs yoga sessions, has spent some time travelling to different places to learn a variety of yoga techniques. She explained that yoga can help the body overcome stress and bring relief to the mind. Yoga can be practiced anywhere at any time. Her tip to the attendees was, "Anytime you feel the need to do it [yoga], then just do it."

The Director of the Career Service and Wellness Center at AUK, Jason Sullivan, shared with the attendees some methods on how to deal with and eliminate stress. He offered some tricks to promote restful sleeps and deeper relaxation. Sullivan suggested taking long, hot showers before going to sleep and taking up coloring as a hobby, as it helps the mind to relax. He also advised students to escape stress by avoiding last-minute preparations for their exams and presentations.

Finally, Fadhel Husain, founder of Caveboy Grubs, talked about selecting the food items most suitable for the digestive system and the importance of getting checked for any food allergies. Caveboy Grubs specializes in offering a healthier alternative to traditional treats. Following the presentations, students and faculty attending the event were invited to sample some of Caveboy Grubs items.

The World Health Day is an annual event initiated by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 1950. Traditionally celebrated on April 7 of each Year, the date WHO was founded, World Health Day is seen as an opportunity by the organization to draw worldwide attention to a subject of major importance to global health each year.

Released by the Office of Public Affairs on the 22nd April 2014

Photography by the Office of Public Affairs (C) 2014

On March 24, Ms. Ghaidaa Mohamad, Instructor of Arabic for the Department of Arabic and Foreign Languages at the American University of Kuwait (AUK) presented her book, Excerpts and Sayings by Mahatma Gandhi, to the members of the AUK community as part of the ongoing Faculty Speaker Series. The book contains a collection of Gandhi's most famous sayings translated into Arabic, and summarizes many of Gandhi's ideas relating to education, economy, peaceful resistance, ethics, education, and industries.

Excerpts and Sayings by Mahatma Gandhi is a 130 page book that contains items selected, and translated, by the author which she believes reflect Gandhi's life philosophy in general, and contains images of Gandhi taken throughout his life.

"Throughout this project, I have become acquainted with translation as a tool, a sort of a magic wand that resurrects the dead. I found myself living Gandhi's thoughts, emotions, behavior and choices as I browsed through 18 of his works, searching for his most enlightening quotes. And they were many," explained the author. The book also covers a variety of topics the assassinated leader came across during his intellectual and philosophical journey.

In her presentation, Ms. Mohamad emphasized Gandhi's ideas on social activism and human rights, and she gave local and international examples of people who devote their lives to noble missions. She also shed light on Gandhiâs environmental philosophy, and his idea on the relationship between cities and villages.

The book was published by Masaa Publishing, Bahrain; a publishing house that is known for its encouragement and support of writers within the GCC. They have recently been involved in a fiction writing competition in Bahrain, and have launched the Ali Al Safi Fund, named after a promising young poet who died in an accident ten years ago, to support young and talented GCC poets.

Following her presentation, Ms. Mohamad proceeded to sign copies of her book for the attendees.

In November 2013, Excerpts and Sayings by Mahatma Gandhi was released and sold by Masaa Publishing during the annual Book Fair in Kuwait last year, and is now available at AUK bookstore. For further information, contact Masaa Publishing (instagram @masaapublishing).

Released by the Office of Public Affairs on the 10th April 2014

Photography by the Office of Public Affairs (C) 2014

The Arabic Literature Club of the American University of Kuwait (AUK) organized a workshop entitled "The Art of Arabic Calligraphy" run by the calligrapher Jassim Al-Nasrallah. The 5-day workshop introduced the participants to cultural and historical information about the different types of artistic Arabic fonts with special emphasis on the Thuluth font; a type of Islamic script developed around the 11th century. That was the first workshop of its kind to be organized by the Arabic Literature Club, and it was open to the public.

The workshop started with Al Nasrallah providing the 15 workshop participants with explanations and descriptions of the ways of writing Arabic letters in Thuluth font while giving examples of how to apply the font to letters, words and punctuations.

The aim of the workshop was to help amateur calligraphers to develop their calligraphy skills. Al Nasrallah's approach in training the participants involved perfecting their letter-drawing techniques, which led to complete word development, and finally the creation of full sentences. By the end of the course, each participant was required to write a verse or quote from the Holy Quran on a final poster to be evaluated by the Al Nasrallah.

The workshop also gave Al Nasrallah an opportunity to share his personal experiences with calligraphy and how he managed to develop his skills through practice and training for years under the supervision of renowned calligraphers.

The workshop ended with a ceremony in which the participants received certificates of completion and the calligrapher received an award of appreciation from the Arabic Literature Club.

The Arabic Literature Club at the American University of Kuwait is a student organization interested in different aspects of the Arabic language and culture such as Arabic poetry and literature. The main purpose of the Club is to reveal the Arab identity and practice Arabic language at AUK. Most of the club events currently focus on Arabic literature and poetry. The Arabic Club aims to host more cultural events that would include Arabic music and hosting of famous experts in the Arabic language to share their experience and thoughts with the students.

Released by the Office of Public Affairs on the 8th April 2014

Photography by the Office of Public Affairs (C) 2014

The Chartered Financial Analysts Society in Kuwait organized a challenge, entitled the CFA Institute Research Challenge, for university students in Kuwait to create and present an equity report for Jazeera Airways. Held for the first time in Kuwait, students from the American University of Kuwait (AUK), Kuwait University (KU), the American University of the Middle East (AUM), and the Australian College of Kuwait (ACK) participated in the challenge.

Five students majoring in Finance at AUK participated in the CFA Institute Research Challenge; Sally Zaghloul, Jihan Kablaoui, Manit Kaur, Nigel D'souza and Mireille Tannous. Prior to conducting their research, the students had the opportunity to meet with Jazeera Airways Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Mr. Donald Hubbard, who provided all the participants with a briefing on the airline's performance in recent years, then proceeded to answer questions the participants had.

The CFA Institute Research Challenge required the participants to play the role of financial analysts and value a publicly traded stock, provide a written paper for their analysis and then present their recommendations to a panel of investment industry experts. The AUK team was mentored by Mr. Raghu Mandagolathur, Senior Vice President at Kuwait Financial Centre/Markaz.

"After weeks of intense and careful preparation, we were able to present and justify our analysis clearly during a questions and answers session fielded by an imposing panel of judges," said Sally Zaghloul, a Finance Major at AUK and team leader. The panel included Mr. Talal Al-Tawari, Head of GCC stock at Gulf Investment Company; Mr. Ziad Al-Qaisey, Chief Investment Officer at KAMCO; Mr. Karim Kamal, Executive Director for Brokerage & Research at NBK Capital; and Mr. Gururaj Rao, Chief Investment Officer at Noor Financial Investment Company.

Professors John Russell, Dean College of Business and Economics, and Mr. Rafiqul Bhuyan, Professor of Finance at AUK, attended the presentations to encourage and support AUK's team.

Following the challenge, a ceremony was held at the Holiday Inn Hotel in Salmiya where the AUK team was awarded with Outstanding Investment Research certificates.

The 2014 CFA Institute Research Challenge in Kuwait was organized by CFA Mr. Robin Bhattacharya, who also served as the intermediary between the student participants and Jazeera Airways. The team was mentored throughout the completion of the challenge by Dr. Bhuyan, and Mr. Raghu Mandagolathur, Senior Vice President at Kuwait Financial Centre/Markaz.

Released by the Office of Public Affairs on the 7th April 2014

Photography by the Office of Public Affairs (C) 2014

The Office of Admissions at the American University of Kuwait (AUK) organized the 4th annual High School Football Tournament (HSFT) for private high school students in March. This year, male and female teams from 8 schools across Kuwait participated in the tournament. Finalist teams met at the AUK campus' football field on March 24th and March 30th to compete for the tournament titles.

Female finalist teams included the Gulf English School (GES), Kuwait International English School (KIES), the Lycee Francais du Koweit (LFK), American International School (AIS), as well as 2 teams from the American School of Kuwait (ASK).

The two ASK teams won the first and second places in the girls finals, AIS won the third and LFK came in fourth. Marine Villefranche from LFK was awarded Most Valuable Player of the tournament for the skills she displayed on the field. The Golden Boot Award went to Bibi Al-Bader, who scored 7 goals for ASK throughout the tournament, and Dina Noamani from GES was recognized as Best Goalkeeper.

Participating schools in the boys' tournament included GES, KIES, ASK, LFK, Dana Bilingual School (DBS), Arab Bilingual Academy (ABA), and the British School of Kuwait (BSK). ASK won the tournament title, GES came in second place, BSK came in third, while LFK came in fourth. The Golden Boot Award went to Fahad Al-Rezahan from GES for scoring 17 goals in the tournament. Mohammed Bin Haji from ASK was recognized as Most Valuable Player, and Ziad Al-Fulaij, also from ASK, was awarded Best Goalkeeper for his skills.

AUK President, Nizar Hamzeh presented the medals to the winner teams, as well as to the title awardees at the different categories.

The Football Tournament is held annually to engage High school students in different activities, and to provide a venue to promote healthy competition among students. "We would like to thank all of the private high schools that participated in this year's event. It is a great experience to see the competitiveness and sportsmanship of the football tournament every year. We look forward to seeing these great athletes on campus playing for AUK in the upcoming years," said Maher Dabbouseh.


AUK President, Nizar Hamzeh


Tournament Awards


ASK Girls Team Tournament Winner with AUK President


ASK Boys Team Tournament Winner with AUK Admissions Staff


Maher Dabbouseh, AUK Admissions Director Handing Medals to the Winning Team


President Hamzeh Handing the Golden Boot Award to Bibi Al-Bader from ASK


President Hamzeh Handing the Most Valuable Player Award to Marine Villefranche from LFK


President Hamzeh Handing the Best Goalkeeper Award to Dina Noamani from GES


Fahad Al-Rezahan - GES - Winner of Golden Boot Award


Mohammed Bin Haji - ASK - Winner of The Most Valuable Player Award


Ziad Al-Fulaij - ASK - Winner of Best Goalkeeper

Photos from the final matches

In celebration of the 10th anniversary of the American University of Kuwait (AUK), the Library held a photography competition called AUK Library 10 in which photographs taken by students in and around the AUK Library were submitted to compete for prizes. The competition was run by the Library's official Instagram account; @AUK_Library, and it gave students a chance to show their appreciation of the AUK Library through their photography skills. The competition started in February and ended in March 2014.

Students participating in the competition were required to hashtag their submission with "#AUKLIBRARY10". The contest involved almost 24 contestants, and each contestant was allowed to submit a maximum of three entries. Prizes for the winners included an iPad mini and gift cards. "We encouraged the contestants to have fun and be creative with their submissions," said Asmaa Al-Kanan, Director of the University Library.

Out of sixty photo submissions, the winning entries for the competition were selected by a committee of judges comprised of William Anderson, Assistant Professor of Studio Arts; Roland Lopes, Web Developer & Luminis (MyAUK) Content Administrator; Patrick Makoul, Graphic Designer; and the Library Director.

Released by the Office of Public Affairs on the 3rd April 2014

Photography by the Office of Public Affairs (C) 2014

The American University of Kuwait, which is currently celebrating its 10th Anniversary, held a grand concert at the Hashemi II Ballroom in Radisson Blu Hotel, Salwa, on Wednesday evening. Performers included faculty and advanced students, along with leading professionals of the community.

Over twenty-one pieces were offered with diverse instrumentation, including trumpets, tuba, guitars, clarinet, flute, piano, violins and cellos. Among the highlights of the evening were songs by the professional singers Anna Karadimitrova and Oana Severin, and AUKs own "Three Tenors:" students Nader Abdulla, Yousef Al-Muzairai, and Sulaiman Al-Banai who roused the crowd. AUK student guitarists Khaled Abdel Ghaffar and Anjan Sethi and cellist Abdulwahab Al-Sultan charmed the audience with their contributions. Former AUK students also took part, as Salem Al-Mathkour dazzled on "Czardas" for violin and flautist Sara Soliman enchanted with her duets. Faculty Stephanie Cheng and professionals Agnieszka Fajga and Dagmara Galas all gave stellar performances.

During her opening speech, Chair of the Department of Music and Drama, Dr. Lisa Urkevich, remarked on the growth of the program over these ten years: "We started with really nothing. No facilities, no instruments. Now we have one of the most substantial university Music Departments in the entire Arabian Peninsula. Thousands of students have passed through our classes, which we believe have enriched their lives. We owe thanks to our administration, faculty, staff, and all the embassies, organizations, and ministries who have collaborated with us over the years and supported our endeavors."

AUK President Nizar Hamzeh confirmed the significance of the performing arts, "I believe an important reason for the University's success over this past decade has been our commitment to providing students not only with the technical competency in professional fields but also critical thinking, sound values, strong leadership, intellectual curiosity, integrity, civic responsibility and above all mutual cooperation.

The American University of Kuwait believes that the goal of higher education institutions is to foster talented young people who will contribute to their greater communities. Although universities may differ in their capacities and the spheres in which they aim to exert their efforts, we must all strive to promote and reward young talented students, so that they are able to see beyond their own individual needs, wants and goals."

The AUK Department of Music and Drama offers a wide range of opportunities for both beginning and advanced students within the context of a liberal arts education. The faculty of talented professionals work closely with students to prepare them for campus concerts and plays, and to academically challenge them in courses on performing arts. The department fosters artistic proficiency, cultural appreciation, a sense of community, and a lifelong commitment to the arts.

Released by the Office of Public Affairs on the 1st April 2014

Photography by the Office of Public Affairs (C) 2014

International Week at the American University of Kuwait (AUK) is an annual event that takes place on the University's campus to celebrate cultural diversity within the AUK community. This year marks the 9th consecutive International Week, which included such activities as cooking competitions, a Global Village where international students got the opportunity to showcase their own countries' traditions, and the Parade of Nations. International Week is organized each year by the Office of Student Life with the aim to promote cultural exchange and understanding within the AUK community, and to enhance global and social awareness among its students. This year's Week began with students competing in a trivia quiz that tested their general knowledge of the different countries in the world.

"This year we saw so many students proudly representing their countries and cultures," said Dr. Carol Ross, Vice President of Student Affairs at AUK. She explained that the International Week provides a venue for members of the AUK community to embrace the cultural diversity that exists at the University.

Each year, representatives from the countries are assigned booths in the Central Hallway of the campus to showcase their cultures and create a "Global Village". Like every year, the booths competed for the Best Country Representation by displaying traditional clothing, books, music, and, of course, food. This year's winners were the Iranian, Pakistani, and Egyptian booths.

Cultural diversity was expressed through a variety of activities and competitions that took place throughout the Week. One of the more competitive activities was the cooking competition. Each participant was required to present traditional dishes from their own countries. Although not all the countries participated, there was a variety of cuisines for the judges to sample from; Kuwait, Egypt, Iran, Pakistan, Lebanon, Syria, and Armenia. Kuwait and Egypt were declared the winners of the competition.

International Week ended with the Parade of Nations, led by Kuwaiti flag, which was followed by 32 other flags of countries represented in AUK. Following the Parade, Dr. Nizar Hamzeh, AUK President, introduced the cultural showcase, which featured performances from 8 different countries. The Best Cultural Showcase title went to Armenia, while second place went to Palestine, and third place to Kuwait. This concluded the week-long celebration of diversity.

Released by the Office of Public Affairs on the 31st March 2014

Photography by the Office of Public Affairs (C) 2014