News
Courtesy of the Daily Star
5th January, 2006
Event was held on 3rd January, 2006
Kuwait: American University of Kuwait held its first Annual Art Exhibition on Tuesday, showcasing art work that AUK students had put together. The art work included colour photos, pencil sketches, acrylic paintings, poetry, oil pastels with metallic paint, engraved pictures on black cardboard, charcoal and multi glitter glue posters.
The exhibition was organized by Coordinator of Student Affairs at AUK Tadd A. Kruse and a number of students. A student came up to me with a painting and proposed the idea of having an art night," Kruse said. He added that he gave the students about a months notice and that a lot of the paintings were completed prior to this notice.
This is our first attempt, and since it was a success, we have every intention of sticking to it in the upcoming years."
Many of the AUK staff attended the opening of the exhibition. The President of AUK Dr. Shafiq Al-Ghabra was delighted to be at the event.
"The exhibition is organized so that students can expose their talents and creativity in art. As you can see all the posters reflect their deepest feelings about the future, the present, and their strong connection to their culture and identity," Al-Ghabra said.
AUK wants the students to express themselves in doing different types of activities while they are in school," Al-Ghabra added. "It gives the students the opportunity to learn in school and pursue their interests and hobbies as well.
Professors at AUK also visited the art exhibition to see what their students have submitted. "I am interested to see what talent they have. I don't see their artistic side in terms of this kind of medium," said Steven Jacques, Intensive English Language.
Another IEP Professor David Hart suggested that AUK encourages having its students try expressing themselves in any way that is more creative than other students.
In addition, AUK students were present at the event. Some came to witness their art work being displayed and others were non-participants interested in the work.
AUK student Tasnim Saleh, who displayed her photographs, paintings, poetry, and bead work at the exhibition said, "It is really fun, inspiring and calming to take a photo or write poetry."
She said that this exhibition had encouraged her to pursue her talent in art. "This is the first time I have my work on display thanks to AUK."
Al-Ghabra gave a speech at the exhibition where he encouraged AUK students to continue to apply their creativity. The art exhibition will be on display in the multi purpose room at AUK for the next few days.
Copyright (c) 2006 The Daily Star
Courtesy of the Daily Star
30th November, 2005
Event was held on 28th December, 2005
The American University of Kuwait held a lecture on Monday evening titled "Muslims in European Politics after 9/11." The speaker, Sajjad Karim, is a Liberal Democrat Who represents North-West England in the European Parliament.
He serves in both the International Trade and Human Rights Committees of the European Parliament and is also a member of the Delegation for relations with the Gulf States. Karim describes himself as "a person of Pakistani origin, Muslim faith, and British birth."
Karim is part of a European Delegation being hosted by the National Assembly. During his stay in Kuwait, he met with members of parliament and gave lectures at both American University and Gulf University of Science and Technology.
His lecture at AUK was attended by students and faculty, as well as delegates from the British and Polish Embassies.
Karim spoke about the condition of Muslim politicians and Muslims in general in Europe after 9/11. "It's gotten to a stage where I wonder if the terms Islam and terrorism have become interchangeable. While the world speaks about a fight against terrorism I feel that's a wrong approach.
The fight should be against extremism. And the approach should be liberal," he said. Karim added, as parliamentarians we shouldn't achieve for the terrorists what they can't achieve through their actions."
"The response we saw in the UK and Europe was a further attack on our civil liberties," Karim said. He brought forth, as an example, the incident in London when an innocent Brazilian man was killed by the police simply because he fit a certain racial profile.
Another significant issue Karim discussed is Turkey's potential membership in the EU.
He listed the usual arguments used against Turkey's membership, and added that it is Turkey's large Muslim population that is the real deterrent. "Turkey offers us an opportunity to be a bridge to the western and eastern world," he said.
Karim concluded by praising the way in which Kuwait has held moderate Islamic ideologies. "I am very impressed by the work being done by this country in relation to the idea of moderate Islam. Muslims must act proactively to take back their religion as it is being defamed on a second by second basis," he said.
He described Kuwait as being a more open society than he had anticipated. Karim also said he was impressed by the level of dialogue and openness existing in the country.
However, he urged Kuwait to "tackle the issue of equality, whether that be women's rights, foreign workers or minorities. A country is judged by how it treats its weakest people."
He encouraged women and youth to mobilize themselves and use their votes, noting that 57 percent of eligible voters are now women and that 50 percent belong in the youth segment.
Copyright (c) 2005 The Daily Star
Courtesy of the Daily Star
8th December, 2005
Event was held on 5th December, 2005
Kuwait: The Alumni Association of Kuwait organized a symposium at the American University of Kuwait (AUK) on the role of youth in political reform. Both political science professor Dr. Nada Al-Mutawa and political activist Dr. Ahmad Al-Munayyes gave lectures and spoke about the current political landscape of Kuwait and the need for reform.
Al-Mutawa called on youth to be effective in sensitizing society on political issues and advocating reform. She added that if people distance themselves from politics, this will only entrench corruption.
She said that today's youth should try and understand the electoral process and the criteria by which representatives are elected. She encouraged youth to volunteer in the community and contribute to civil society activities. She highlighted Oman as a leading model in fighting corruption in the region, despite its little parliamentary experience. She added that Oman has designed a voting card against forgery and that Kuwait must emulate since it is a leading democracy in the region.
Meanwhile, Al-Munayyes indicated that the Kuwaiti youth faces a new challenge regarding its contribution in the political arena. He underscored their pivotal role in civic education in light of the endemic corruption plaguing life in Kuwait. He decried the loss of prominent former MPs, which he attributed to malpractices in the electoral process. Those MPs, according to him, have immensely contributed to political life in the country.
Copyright (c) 2006 The Daily Star
Courtesy of the Daily Star
6th December, 2005
Event was held on 3rd December, 2005
KUWAIT: On Saturday evening, the 16-5 Committee for Voter Education and Awareness held an hour-long presentation at the American University of Kuwait (AUK). The committee is responsible for an awareness campaign called "Vote 2007" and had a booth on the AUK campus Tuesday and Wednesday of last week as a way to communicate with students and introduce them to the work of the committee, encouraging them to be more active towards the cause. The campaign aims to get youth to register for and vote in the parliamentary elections of 2007.
The presentation included three young speakers, two of which are members of the committee. Dana Al-Mutawa gave a brief introduction thanking and welcoming the students of AUK both for attending that day and visiting the booth the week before. She highlighted the goals and general structure and plans of the committee and opened the floor to the guest speaker, a young Kuwaiti dentist, Dr. Eisa Al-Eissa.
Al-Eissa shared his experience of starting small businesses in Kuwait in comparison to doing so in the United States, where during university he had established a lucrative online business called the Arab Calling Card. He described how simple and seamless it was for him to start a business in the States, where he was literally able to establish the business from the comfort of his own home. In sharing this with the audience, he was trying to urge young Kuwaitis to become more involved in the policy-making of their country to make opportunities more accessible for themselves.
Aziz Al-Enezi, a member of 16-5, also spoke at the event. He delivered a poignant and inspiring speech about the importance of becoming more politically and socially aware. He cited examples of issues that are important to youth, including sports, education and employment, which are all facing different levels of deterioration.
Al- Enezi noted that those aged 21 to 40 make up 61 percent of the population, but unfortunately they are not using their voices and rights to influence policies to benefit them. Awareness of local politics will shape their futures and the future generations to come.
Copyright (c) 2005 The Daily Star
