In collaboration with the American Space at the American University of Iraq-Baghdad (AUIB), the university’s Center for Climate Change, Water Security, and Environmental Sustainability (CWE) held a special event to launch the student Green Club in its new concept.
AUIB’s Vice President for Academic Affairs, Dr. Zouhair Atieh, spoke to the host of students in attendance on the intense competition for jobs that university graduates in Iraq face, prodding students to think about what would give them “a competitive edge” over other graduates. The answers he was looking for, in addition to the soft skills of communication and leadership that AUIB prides itself on honing for its students, were “values and community service.” These are manifest in the contributions to the welfare of Iraq’s environment and society that AUIB’s Green Club would offer, as per the Director of CWE, Dr. David Kargbo, who celebrated not only the energy and enthusiasm of the university’s green-minded students, but also “the commitment to building a sustainable campus.”
While the student Green Club at AUIB, in its new concept, will remain a student initiative, it will enjoy “the full backing of the university” and members will benefit from the guidance, mentorship, structured training programs, involvement in campus sustainability plans and research on sustainability conducted by CWE, as well as opportunities for internships with various institutions with which the university has partnered, announced Dr. Kargbo. The club will be a place where students can create new projects, with an aim to empower Iraqi youth with the skills, resources, and confidence to tackle the environmental challenges facing the country, he added.