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Posted Jun. 15/07
- Karim Karim (left), director of the School of Journalism and Communication, announced the creation of the El-Aggan Family Muslim Community Award at a special presentation at the school. More than 50 faculty members, students and friends gathered to celebrate the award including Fatma El-Mehelmy (right), President Samy Mahmoud (centre) and Karim.
The role of the media in examining and exposing social and political conflicts and struggles to eradicate injustice make an interest in human rights and journalism a natural fit. Thanks to the generosity of Wael El-Aggan and Fatma El-Mehelmy, a new bursary is being created to foster this link.
The El-Aggan Family Muslim Community Award will be given annually to an outstanding undergraduate student in the School of Journalism and Communication who is active in the Muslim community and who demonstrates interest in the area of human rights for Muslims in Canada.
El-Mehelmy says the family’s donation is in recognition of the significant contribution that Muslim-Canadians make to society and of the need to enable a broader representation of all Canadians in the media.
Through the family’s pledge of $50,000 and matching funds from the Ontario Trust for Student Support, the award, which will support up to four students, is valued at approximately $4,500 annually. The first recipient will likely be selected for the 2007-2008 school year.
“We are very pleased that the El-Aggan family has chosen to support students in our journalism and communication programs with generous bursaries,” says Karim Karim, the school’s director. “Human rights are a key part of the study of our two disciplines.”
With files from Carleton Now.