[LCM Events] MIT Honors Lebanese Club as "Agent of Change"

[Dana Najjar]

MIT Honors Lebanese Club as "Agent of Change"

Cambridge, May 21-  At its annual Student Leader Awards ceremony, the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) presented the 2007 Agent of
Change award to the Lebanese Club at MIT (LCM). In announcing the winner, an
MIT spokesperson described how "during the July 2006 Israeli-Lebanese
conflict, the LCM moved swiftly into action, organizing the ongoing Boston
to Lebanon grassroots fundraising campaign to raise public awareness and
funds for Lebanon".

"At a time when the local Lebanese community needed the most support, [the
LCM] found a way to positively channel the community's energy into a
productive, proactive effort on behalf of Lebanon", she added. The LCM was
also officially credited for making "the highest deposit ever by a student
group after a single event fundraiser", in reference to a benefit concert
held by the club during the 34-day conflict.

The annual Agent of Change award honors the MIT student organization that
best displays commitment to and passion for justice and activism to create
positive change in and beyond MIT. The Lebanese Club received the award
because of its "dedication, resourcefulness, and professionalism in
spearheading this Boston-wide campaign", according to MIT. The Institute
hosts over 300 student-run groups and organizations.

"This prestigious honor is a powerful endorsement by MIT of our efforts to
bring justice, awareness, and aid to Lebanon", said Loai Naamani, President
of the Lebanese Club at MIT. Naamani dedicated the award to "the memory of
Lebanon's lost ones; to the countless innocent victims of the savagery we
call the July 2006 Conflict and to the statesmen and leaders of thought &
action who have been cowardly eliminated through political assassination in
Lebanon's recent history."

Anchored at MIT and managed by the Lebanese Club, the Boston to Lebanon fund
offers donors tax exemption and ensures direct transfer of all proceeds to
local NGOs in Lebanon at 0% overhead. The campaign is apolitical and sheds
light on the massive need for economic and humanitarian aid in Lebanon.
Activities supported by the campaign and conducted by local beneficiaries,
such as Bahr Lubnan, Offre Joie, Mines Advisory Group (MAG), and the
Lebanese Red Cross include cleaning up the Ramlet El Baida beach from the
oil-spill by paying the daily salaries of 20 fishermen, reconstructing 4
households in the widely demolished Qaouzah village, removing unexploded
mines in South Lebanon by supporting 7 skilled technicians, and purchasing
the equipment for a new blood bank in Jbeil.

LCM member and former Secretary, Mesrob Ohannessian, a PhD Candidate in the
Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, was also
recognized at the 2007 awards convocation with a Distinguished Dedication
award for his "selflessness and dedication, which was most evident during
TECHLEB|06", according to MIT.

TECHLEB|06 is the 1st International Conference on Technology Development in
Lebanon, held at MIT in May of 2006. The 3-day conference attracted
registrants from 15 countries and 20 US states, representing 168 unique
companies and organizations. Bringing together the stakeholders of Lebanon's
technology sector in one place for the first time, the conference proved to
be an ideal vehicle for defining and building consensus on the pressing
requirements for developing Lebanon's technology sector and for
transitioning Lebanon towards a knowledge-based economy. The outcomes of
TECHLEB were officially endorsed by Lebanon's Council of Ministers and
mandated by Prime Minister Fouad Siniora to a newly founded Coordination
Unit responsible for supervising their implementation.

The Lebanese Club at MIT (LCM) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan MIT-based
organization established in 1970 to foster a sense of community among the
Lebanese students at MIT and to promote Lebanese culture and concerns at the
Institute and the Greater Boston area at large. For more information about
the LCM and its members, events, and programs: http://web.mit.edu/lebanon |
lebanon-exec at mit.edu | +1 (617) 452-5380



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