Shaikha Dana Nasser Al-Sabah Honors AUK Staff and Faculty in commemoration of the University's 10th Anniversary

In a remarkable banquet held at Shaikha Salwa Al-Sabah Ballroom, the American University of Kuwait celebrated its decade of accomplishments with its Board of Trustees, management, faculty and staff. The highlight of this year's event was a keynote speech given by Shaikha Dana Nasser Sabah Al Ahmed Al Sabah, Founder and Chair of the AUK Broad of Trustees, in which she acknowledged the AUK faculty and staff for their "commitment, service and effort" throughout the past 10 years.

During her commemorative speech, Al Sabah analogized the AUK start-up phase to giving birth to a new human being. "AUK was born out of sheer will and determination. Similar to the experience of every mother, I and others felt a huge responsibility toward its growth and success," said Al Sabah, who described the 10-year journey of AUK as "everything but easy." As a founder of AUK, Al Sabah looked back at the 10-year life of AUK as a collaborative endeavor that "many hands and minds" helped to create. "For all of us AUK was a first. We labored, guided, made good and sometimes not so good decisions, we tried to correct, we were successful in part, and were challenged by the expected, as well as the unexpected. But despite all of the ups and downs, we moved forward, and we made every attempt at holding the course and the direction," she said

Al Sabah concluded her speech by a notable statement that encapsulated the mission of AUK, saying that "Through our students and alumni, we have given this nation an opportunity to Learn, Think and Become."

Held at the end of each academic year, the AUK Annual Dinner brings together the University management, faculty and staff members in celebration of their dedicated services. During the event, "10 Years of Service" and "5 Years of Service" awards are presented to employees who completed the relevant service years at AUK. This year, two additional award categories were added to include; the "AUK Start-up Team" award- granted to the 19 faculty and staff members who joined AUK before it started its operations in 2003; and the "AUK Board of Trustees" award granted to the found members of the AUK Board of Trustees.

In addition to the awards ceremony, the evening also featured a special documentary exclusively produced for the event, and chronicling AUK's achievements through the eyes of its alumni. The ambiance of the evening was enriched by a live piano performance presented by AUK student Faisal Al-Buhairi.

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