War Inflicts Huge Losses on Gaza’s Heritage and Culture; Birzeit U. Joins Global Action to Demand Ceasefire
Al-Fanar Media Organises a New Panel Discussion
In our new bulletin, Al-Fanar Media brings you our most prominent stories and news about higher education in the Arab world.
Today, December 11, we will host a new episode of the Al-Fanar Media discussion series, featuring Arab experts and academics for in-depth research into topical issues, and everything related to higher education and scientific research, and the needs of the labour market in the Arab world.
Today’s webinar discusses how Arab academics can support the Palestinian cause, and enable Arab university students to become “ambassadors” to confront Israeli media misinformation regarding the greater Arab cause.
This episode comes as part of Al-Fanar Media’s role in supporting Arab higher education, empowering Arab youth, and supporting media-literacy efforts, within the framework of our extended partnership with the Ford Foundation.
Explore more details of the webinar’s topics and list of prominent speakers in a description in this bulletin, below.
Mohammad El-Hawary
Al-Fanar Media editor-in-chief
From the Region:
Reports Detail Huge Losses to Palestinian Heritage and Culture
In a report last month, the nonprofit group Heritage for Peace estimated that more than 100 heritage sites had been destroyed in Gaza since the start of the bombardment that followed Hamas’s October 7 attacks on Israel. These included a Byzantine church, a seventh-century mosque, and scores of other cultural monuments.
The report’s authors acknowledge that “the humanitarian consequences and the immense tragedy being experienced by the people of Gaza are enormous”, and add: “We have prepared this report to shed light on another aspect of suffering: the loss of heritage associated with this land.”
In a separate report, published last week, the Palestinian Ministry of Culture details the tremendous losses the contemporary cultural landscape has suffered as well, through the deaths of creative and performing artists and the destruction of cultural facilities, including publishing houses, bookshops, theaters, and libraries.
The ministry’s report, titled “The Second Preliminary Report on Cultural Sector Damage”, marks the deaths of 28 artists, poets, writers, musicians, calligraphers, and dancers who have been killed since October 7. These include 15-year-old violinist Lubna Alian, 17-year-old folk-troupe dancer Tala Balousha, the writer Abdullah Al-Aqad, the poet and novelist Hiba Abu Nada, the writer and book collector Abdul Karim Hashash, the poet Omar Faris Abu Shaweesh, the children’s theater artist Inas Al-Saqa, the writer and musician Yusuf Dawas, the calligrapher Mohannad Al-Agha, and the poet Nour al-Din Hajjaj.
Birzeit U. Joins Global Strike to Demand Ceasefire in Gaza
Palestine’s Birzeit University announced on Sunday that it would pause classes and other activities on Monday in response to a global “Shut It Down for Palestine” movement’s demands for a ceasefire in Gaza and an end to Israeli aggression against Palestinians.
In a statement on Facebook, the university said that its administration, unions, and student council would participate in the strike “in rejection of the brutal aggression and crimes against our people in the Gaza Strip.” The university said teaching and working hours would be suspended, while exams and practical courses would be rescheduled.
The call for worldwide action came from a coalition of Palestinian activists and grassroots groups using the social media hashtag #ShutItDown4Palestine. The groups urged Palestinians and their supporters across the world to walk out of work or school on Monday in a show of solidarity against relentless Israeli attacks.
Arab Science and Technology Foundation Mourns Palestinian Scientists
The Arab Science and Technology Foundation mourns a number of Palestinian scientists and scholars who have been killed by Israeli bombing during its ongoing aggression against the Gaza Strip.
In a statement, the foundation mourned Professor Sufyan Abdel Rahman Othman Tayeh, who was killed with his family in an airstrike that targeted his home. Tayeh, who was president of the Islamic University in Gaza, was one of the world’s leading researchers in physics and applied mathematics.
The group also mourned the deaths of Muhammad Eid Shabir, a professor of immunology, virology and microbiology, who was killed along with a number of his family members, and of Ibrahim Hamed Al-Astal, a researcher and professor in mathematics curricula and methodology and a specialist in technological education in universities and colleges in the Gaza Strip, who was killed with his wife and members of his family.
British Council Showcases Its Climate Initiatives at COP28
The British Council is participating in COP28, the United Nations’ climate-change conference underway in Dubai, through numerous events and activities. Council events at the British Pavilion and other summit venues include a presentation showcasing the council’s Climate Skills programme, which focuses on developing green skills among 12,000 youths over the next three years in key countries.
Throughout the summit, the council, in collaboration with the University of Edinburgh, is presenting a “live” online course sharing insights into the challenges being discussed at COP28, as well as responses to the conference’s themes from young people, community groups, and government agencies around the world.
Other events will highlight research on topics like global priorities for school-based climate education and climate-change impacts on cultural heritage. The council is the United Kingdom’s international organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities. To read more about its activities at COP28, click here.
Forum at Georgetown-Qatar Explores Intersections of Energy, Culture, and Society
On the opening day of the “Global Energy Cultures” forum at Georgetown University in Qatar, experts discussed the interconnections between energy, culture, and society in the pursuit of equity and sustainability.
In a statement, the university said the forum was bringing together scholars, artists and filmmakers to explore how energy, its consumption, production, and distribution, intertwine with everyday life in diverse cultures around the world. In the words of Safwan Masri, the campus’s dean: “Energy is the essence of every aspect of life: science, technology, communications, economy. Its significance goes beyond the physical and extends to culture and society.”
From Al-Fanar Media:
QS Rankings on Sustainability for 2024 Include 72 Arab Universities
Seventy-two universities across 13 Arab countries are included in the QS World University Rankings on Sustainability for 2024, nearly 4.5 times as many as last year. The classification, published by the British higher-education analytics company QS Quacquarelli Symonds, evaluates how universities are taking action to tackle the world’s most pressing environmental and social issues. The American University of Beirut was the top-ranked Arab institution, placing 152nd, which put it in the top 11 percent of all 1,397 universities ranked. Egypt was the most represented Arab country, with 18 ranked universities, followed by Saudi Arabia with 17.
Read more in this article.
Al-Fanar Media Discussion Panel
Join a Panel Discussion on How Arab Academics Can Support the Palestinian Cause
Al-Fanar Media will host an online panel discussion on Monday, December 11, on the theme, “How Can Arab Academics Support the Palestinian Cause?”
This webinar is part of the Al-Fanar Media panel discussion series, which hosts experts and academics, from various fields, to discuss higher education-related topics and issues and the needs of the labour market in the Arab world.
This webinar will be conducted via Zoom and will also be broadcast live, starting at 7 p.m. Cairo time, on Al-Fanar Media’s Facebook page. You can register to attend and participate here. For more details about the panel and speakers, read this article.
In Conflict
Gaza War Dominates Discussions as Arab Investigative Journalists Meet
The 16th Annual Forum of ARIJ—Arab Reporters for Investigative Journalism was set to discuss several topics, but it was the Israeli aggression in Gaza that attracted participants’ attention most. The forum ran three days, December 1 to 3, in Amman, Jordan, under the theme “Cross Border Collaboration in a Fragmented World”. Topics on the agenda addressed the challenges facing journalists while covering wars and conflicts, in addition to sessions on investigative reporting, its relationship with artificial intelligence, monitoring gender in the media, and other issues. Read more in this article.
Tips and Resources
How to Write and Publish Research: Damascus Professors Offer Guidance
Recognising the importance for young academics of getting published in internationally respected journals, two professors at Damascus University have published a paper outlining the basics of how to write and publish research. The professors, Raneem Husam Darkazali and Omar Hamadah, also describe helpful factors that will increase young academics’ chances of getting their papers accepted for publication by a journal in their field. Read this article for more details about the most important tips provided in their paper.
Opinion
How to Make Students Feel Cared for in Spaces Increasingly Filled with Technology
Technology increasingly mediates interactions between instructors and students, writes Jörg Matthias Determann, who teaches history at Virginia Commonwealth University in Qatar. There are software systems for accessing class lists and entering grades, posting syllabi, and gathering feedback. Professors may even be tempted to use chatbots to help write emails or recommendation letters. On the whole, technology is fast, efficient and reliable. However, it also makes everyone in the classroom communicate more with machines than humans. And what professors gain in speed, they might lose in terms of personal style. His advice: preserve your authentic voice as much as possible. Read more in this in this essay.
Podcast
Learn about Chatbot Tutors in New Episode of Al-Fanar Media Podcast
A new episode of Al-Fanar Media Podcast explores chatbot tutors, one of the notable new applications of artificial intelligence in educational technology. You can listen to the new episode and previous episodes of the podcast through Al-Fanar Media’s accounts on SoundCloud, Spotify, and YouTube.
Scholarships
Al-Fanar Media maintains a database of quality scholarships available to Arab students, which we continuously update. To stay up to date on the latest scholarships available in international universities, check the Scholarships section here, and watch for updated feedback on free learning opportunities in our News and Reports section, here.
