Notre Dame University-Louaize (NDU) and the Archdiocese of Sarba signed a memorandum of understanding to launch the annual Jocelyne Khoueiry award organized by the Women’s Pastoral Committee.
The award carries the legacy of the late Dr. Jocelyne Khoueiry reflecting her mission in the church and society. The theme of this year’s award pivots around the strong partnership between man and woman in creating and drawing the history of Man with a particular focus on the current state in Lebanon. The competition calls for suggestions to optimize this partnership in an attempt to cultivate the needed humanistic values on both, the individual and societal levels.
Attending the signing ceremony were NDU President, Fr. Bechara Khoury, Bishop of the Archdiocese of Sarba, the Most Reverend Boulos Rouhana, Ms. Dani Gemayel Akiki, the Coordinator of the Women’s Pastoral Committee, the committee members Ms. Marie Therese El Mir and Ms. Liliane Boustany (BA’98), Vice President for Academic Affairs (VPAA) at NDU, Dr. Elie Badr, Vice President for Administration and Finance (VPAF) at NDU, Abbot Semaan Bou Abdo, Dean of the Faculty of Humanities (FH), Dr. Kamal Abouchedid, University Counsel, Ms. Asma el Khazen, Director of the Office of Protocol and Public Affairs (PAP), Mr. Majed Bou Hadir, Director of Communications, Ms. Emma Chacar and Assistant Director of Public Relations, Ms. Tatiana Rouhana Bou Hadir.
The competition’s judging committee - headed by the Bishop of the Archdiocese of Sarba and comprising NDU President along with the coordinator of the Women’s Pastoral Committee and the Dean of FH - will select the winner of the award who will receive a full scholarship to study at NDU at the Faculty of Humanities.
NDU President, Fr. Khoury, welcomed the invitees and highlighted the importance of this award as it reflects the NDU mission in shaping the values of the upcoming generation and helping them cultivate the necessary responsibility of building a stronger Lebanon.
The Bishop of the Archdiocese of Sarba, the Most Reverend Boutros Rouhana, reflected upon the nature of the award and how it symbolizes who Jocelyne was as a person, a fighter, achiever, and believer who worked towards empowering the role of women while focusing on the strong partnership between Man and Woman.
From his end, VPAA, Dr. Badr, reiterated the important role women play in society and how their social positioning should be embraced by providing them with greater opportunities to showcase their inherent capabilities.
Dr. Abouchedid, Dean of FH, believed that this partnership also reflects what the faculty stands for in terms of innovation and service learning; the faculty strives to partner with key entities to collaboratively work towards strengthening the involvement of students in society.
The coordinator of the Women’s Pastoral Committee in the Archdiocese of Sarba, Ms. Dany Gemayel Akiki, thanked NDU for this partnership and for adopting this cause. She explained how this award represents and perpetuates the memory of the late Dr. Khoueiry who initiated this committee and strived to strengthen and support women’s various roles in the church, family, and society at large. She hoped that this partnership serves as a stepping stone for many more to come.
To win, the candidate should present the best project describing the theme either in writing or in video format not exceeding two minutes. Candidates can register for the competition between October 1st and October 22nd using the link shared by the Archdiocese and need to submit their project by January 31st. The Archdiocese will announce the winner on International Women’s Day on March 8, 2022.