Al-Quds Bard College Civic Engagement Program Awarded First Place in the 2024 MacJannet Prize for Global Citizenship

ANNANDALE-ON-HUDSON, N.Y. (Oct. 2, 2024) — In an interactive panel discussion held today, the Al-Quds Bard Civic Engagement Program at Al-Quds Bard College (AQB) was presented as the first place winner of the 2024 MacJannet Prize for Global Citizenship. Established by the Talloires Network and the MacJannet Foundation, the prize recognizes exceptional student community engagement initiatives and financially supports their ongoing public service efforts. The prize, which comes with an award of $10,000, is a testament to the excellence in civic engagement that AQB has been committed to for the past 16 years. 
 
One of the remarkable milestones that have brought AQB to win this prize is the strategic academic partnership built with the Qatar Scholarship Education Above All Foundation (EAA) in 2021. EAA provides scholarships to outstanding students who are significantly marginalized to enable them to attend Al-Quds Bard. These scholarship recipients are at the heart of this work: 85% of the student leaders of the civic engagement projects recognized in the MacJannet Prize for Global Citizenship were Qatar Scholarship Education Above All Al-Quds Bard scholars. This partnership has a substantial civic engagement component and has empowered EAA-AQB scholars to earn this prestigious prize, despite the extraordinary challenges that they face. 
 
“At a moment of intense challenge for the Palestinian people, Al-Quds Bard students have risen to the occasion and renewed their longtime commitment to civic engagement,” said Daniel Terris, Dean of Al-Quds Bard College.  “I am grateful to Education Above All and the Talloires Network, and I am proud that the MacJannet Prize has honored our students’ steadfast commitment to principled action on behalf of their besieged communities.” 
 
Rana Hajjaj, Director of Middle East Development at Bard College, stated that “Al-Quds Bard (AQB) recognizes the outsized role that the MacJannet Foundation and the EAA Foundation play in enabling the AQB community to showcase its agency, which is often exercised under painful circumstances. The AQB community is grateful for their support and solidarity.” 
 
The AQB Civic Engagement Program considers civic engagement a fundamental and inseparable part of a liberal arts education. The Program aims to increase the capacity of the College to operate in the public interest by supporting faculty and students to link classroom and community, and enabling students with the theory and skills to be civically engaged, to develop and organize projects to bring about meaningful and positive changes in society, and to realize their full potential as community actors and educators in shaping their future, the future of Palestine, and the world. Student-led civic engagement activities included educational and social initiatives in support of the elderly, individuals with special needs, orphans, and marginalized communities across the West Bank.
 
Despite the grave challenges faced by young people in Palestine, Al-Quds Bard College was determined to maintain a lively civic engagement program, developing a Student Network for Civic Engagement. Launched in February 2024 in coordination with the student leaders and the Steering Committee on Civic Engagement, this initiative serves as an online network coordinating between in-person student work based in various regions and cities.​
 

This event was last updated on 10-02-2024

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