IC Alumni Association Conference at AUB

The ICAA in collaboration with the OSB conducted a conference last Saturday the 18th of March titled “A Battle for Prosperity: Navigating the Crisis with Confidence”. This conference comes at a time of much economic and political turmoil in Lebanon.

The first speaker to take the podium was Mr. Walid Assaf who walked the attendees on the evolution of his company through the many crises that hit Lebanon since 1952 but continues to believe in the potential of the country. He calls for investment in the productive sectors in Lebanon like agriculture, industry, and tourism.

The second speaker was Dr. Yusuf Sidani, the Dean of OSB, who explained the challenges of the OSB in navigating the crisis and how they were able to get out of it with the least damage. He advises transparency and honesty with stakeholders, and to always listen to their perspectives.

After the break the first panel moderated by Dr. Bassem Bawwab began with three panelists: Mrs. May Makhzoumi, Mr. Bijan Azad, and Mr. Karim Baalbaki. All three panelists confirm that the changing environment and the ensuing financial crisis has taken a great toll on their operations and presented great challenges.

The OSB is particularly active in developing exportable businesses and is now reactivating the departments across AUB that enable companies in Lebanon to achieve exportability by issuing licenses and accredited certifications as to quality, content, and traceability.

The second panel included Yusr Sabra, Patrick Fitzgerald and Yasser Ackawi. Yusr walked the audience through her journey to develop her company “Wakilni” and explained the challenges it faced. Mr Fitzgerald took the stage to explain the programs and initiatives that the OSB are taking to accommodate the changing environment.

Dr. Samer Doughan had a brief intervention just after lunch and introduced the current recipients of the ICAA award for 2022. ICAA is now supporting 14 students with their university tuition and aims to support even more students especially in these turbulent times.

The last panel of the conference received Dr. Marwan Barakat, who was assisted by Saad Jamaleddine. Dr. Barakat illustrated the Lebanese financial crisis with data and figures, and explained the prospects for Lebanon in the near and medium term. The conference came to a close and certificates were distributed to the attendees. The ICAA is committed to having this series of lectures and conferences on a yearly basis and will begin a process early on to develop the programs to be in line with the times and needs of the community.