Project Tag: aub

ABLE Summit

It was a delightful experience to have a Global Compact Network Lebanon track in the very well designed conference ABLE (Accessibility for a Bolder Learning Experience) summit at American University of Beirut (AUB) on April 12!

ABLE (Accessibility for a Bolder Learning Experience), is an IT@A.U.B initiative by the Office of Information Technology (IT) in collaboration with the Student Affairs Accessible Education Office (A.E.O) at the American University of Beirut (A.U.B) to open the doors of higher education for all through digital accessibility .


Governmental policies discussion is crucial for ensuring digital accessibility for all with no exception.
Powered by Global Compact Network Lebanon, the Governance and Regulations track of the#ABLESummit2019 

The goals of the ABLE summit are to:
-Trigger a high impact awareness wave
-Create a knowledge-share hub
-Bring together expertise and experiences
-Energize the community and trigger collaborations
-Amplify the impact of the current initiatives
-Sketch a roadmap to Digital Accessibility in Higher Education

The summit brought together Students with special needs and their parents, educators and academicians, special education schools and institutions, policy makers, officials and specialists, NGOS ,Industry leaders among many other.

I gladly moderated a panel on Governance and regulations with honorable guests:

  • H.E. MP Nadim GemayelChairman of the ICT Committee, Lebanese Parliament
  • H.E. Former Minister of Telecom & MP Nicolas Sehnaoui, Chairman,UK-Lebanon Tech Hub
  • H.E. MP. Dr. Inaya Ezzeddine, Minister of State for Administrative Reform, Lebanese Parliament
  • Ms. Angela Zettler, Disability Focal Point, Inclusive Social Development Section/Social Development Division,United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia

The Summit ended by a great panel discussion on the major takeaways and the roadmap to digital accessibility in Higher Education in Lebanon.

I was happy to take part in this discussion with Dr. Yousif Asfour, CIO at AUB, Mr. Fadi Yarak, Director General of Education at the Ministry of Education and Higher Education (MEHE), Ms. Hiyam Fakhoury, Director of the Rights and Access program at MOSA Ministry of Social Affairs (MOSA), Mr. Sergio Moukarzel, Consultant at ProAbled, Dr. Talal Nezameddin, Dean of Student Affairs at AUB, Dr. Fawzi Baroud, CIO at NDU and Mr. Camille Abu Naser, CIO at LAU. This panel was moderated by Mr. Rami Farran, Director of IT Academic Services at AUB.