FEBRUARY 18 , 2009

Strengthening palestinian society

bethlehem university graduates international cooperation and development masters students

Twenty-six international cooperation and development masters students have graduated from Bethlehem University in January knowing that the skills they acquired in the University’s first masters program are needed more than ever.

Although Israeli bombs had stopped raining on nearby Gaza, in her valedictorian speech to the graduating class, Areej Ibrahim Suleiman Daibas emphasized the connection between the importance of what her classmates had learned during part-time weekend classes at Bethlehem University and its relevance to the current dire humanitarian situation in Palestine. 

“We celebrate today the fruit of efforts made over the past two years under the umbrella of MICAD,” she said of the program: masters in international cooperation and development. “It is strange to be here celebrating at a time when more than 1300 innocent Palestinians were killed and more than 5000 injured in the Israeli Attack on Gaza. However, because of this, we should be here to celebrate the strong will, achievement, and progress despite the difficulties.”

The graduation ceremonies were held at Bethlehem University’s Auditorium on Friday, 23 January, at 4:00pm. 

Mr. Fouad Kattan, Chair of the Board of Trustees of Bethlehem University, as well as His Beatitude Fouad Twal, Patriarch of Jerusalem and President of Bethlehem University, along with Brother Robert Smith, Interim Vice Chancellor and Academic Vice President, as well as Brother Peter Bray, Vice Chancellor Designate, presided over the graduation ceremony. “Despite the difficulties, Bethlehem University has always made sure to provide high quality higher education to the Palestinians,” Mr. Fouad Kattan assured the full auditorium.

Brother Robert continued: “Bethlehem University is proud of this program and we are proud of the graduates of this program. Now, get out there and do your job and make us all the more proud of you!”

Brother Peter Bray gave the keynote address to the graduates, highlighting themes of perseverance by illustrating the stories of local and international leaders who triumphed in challenging circumstances.

“You are immersed in a difficult world where peace and development are not very obvious. The events of the past few weeks are a tragedy for Palestine with such a senseless loss of life and all of us deplore what has happened in Gaza,” he said. “Those events have severely impacted on the way Palestine will develop. The restrictions under which you will work are very real and we can’t deny that. However, each of us makes decisions within the context where we are.”

Brother Peter closed his speech by challenging graduates to dream large and to have the courage and fortitude to pursue their dreams and make them come true.

Designed to further enhance the leadership of civil society, governmental and non-governmental organizations, the MICAD program runs part-time over two years and is intended for students who are already working in these fields.  It is supported by the generous assistance of more than 21 donors and partners, including the Catholic Bishops Conference of Italy, VIS, Volontariato Internazionale per lo Sviluppo, and TEMPUS as well as partner organizations in collaboration with the University of Pavia, Italy, University College Dublin, Ireland, and Radboud University Nijmegen, The Netherlands.

 “It was a challenge for most of us to combine between work, family, and studying. However, if this means something, it means that we have the strong will and the ability to reach our goals and dreams no matter what the constraints are,” Areej said.