First Ma’an Alliance Training Institute Opens New Horizons toward Civic Engagement in Beirut
“We forget that university education is only a small segment of world learning, and when we help students gain community learning, we will open up their horizons,” says Amani Elshimi, director of community-based learning at the Gerhart Center for Philanthropy and Civic Engagement. Participants in the Ma’an Arab University Alliance Institute titled: “Expanding Civic Engagement in Arab Universities: A Peer Learning Workshop for Faculty” (Beirut, June 23-26, 2009), experienced a different learning methodology, one embedded in hands-on experience, and not only in academia. Community-based learning bridges the gap between both worlds, making each relevant, and, in fact, essential to the other.
Co-hosted by the American University in Beirut and the American University in Cairo (the Ma’an Alliance’s secretariat), the institute was an intensive workshop that served as an introduction to various elements of civic engagement in Arab higher education. With sessions covering community-based learning, community-based research, and community-campus partnerships, the workshop tried to contextualize civic engagement to the Arab region. Facilitated by regional and global experts in the field, it explored different paths towards creating a more civically engaged Arab university campus.
Waddah Nasr, acting provost of the American University in Beirut, delivered the opening address which focused on the importance of promoting civic engagement in Arab universities. “Though the hosts of the training have only been recently established, it is great to see how quickly the centers and universities have become involved with their communities,” said Provost Nasr. Indeed, the range and growth of university-based civic engagement became all the more apparent later in the trainings sessions through engaging discussions held by 37 enthusiastic participants, from 9 universities, representing 5 different countries in the Arab region.
The training institute included a public panel, and also a site visit to Dayr Qanoon Ras al Ayn Village Women Coop, a women’s cooperative located in Southern Lebanese village of Sour. There, the participants met with community leaders and partners, and were able to meet students who were continuing their work with the organization as an extension of a community-based learning class.
This inaugural Ma’an Alliance training institute is only the beginning. As the Alliance builds and grows, it hopes to hold similar training sessions focusing on various aspects of the university including fundraising and university-tailored consultations on community-based learning.
