ALES / Newsletter - April 16, 2007

We are happy to announce that most of the 91 bridges demolished or damaged after the July 2006 war in Lebanon, have their funds donated and that many of them are under construction or 100% completed. The major donors reported on the “Bridge Reconstruction Status” website of the Lebanese Government are: the Hariri Brothers (22 bridges), Iran (18), Saudi Arabia (4), USAid (1), Italy (1), Greece (possible 4), the Lebanese Institutions (19), and the rest by several private donors.

We are delighted that private competition in Lebanon appears to have solved the problem of the bridges, and that the Lebanese people would be able to travel and to rebuild their economy faster than expected.

Our original goal to help Lebanon in the reconstruction of the bridges is now redundant. Lebanon proved to be different from countries struck by a disaster resulting from hurricanes, earthquakes or tsunamis. Reconstruction in those countries is taking several years. Not in Lebanon.

Nabil and I are very grateful for your generous support and encouragement.

Our efforts and those of ALES will now be redirected towards other goals that can help the Lebanese people.

Sincerely Yours,

Charles Sacre, P.E. and Nabil Hourani, P.E.

ALES Members

PS: The official Update report can be found in PDF format at:

http://www.alesonline.org/initiatives/docs/ALES-RebuildLebanon_Update-April2007.pdf

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ALES Employment Pages

(ALES Events and Affairs)

Dear ALES Colleagues and Friends,

We have created a new section on the ALES website to help students, fresh graduates, as well as professionals who are seeking employment. If you are currently seeking employment, please send your resume and cover letter to ales@alesonline.org. If you are an employer, please feel free to contact the candidates directly.

To help The Employment Pages be more effective and useful, I kindly ask you, even if you are not an employer, to review the resumes there and forward them to your connections in the specific field.

URL: http://www.alesonline.org/initiatives/employment.html.

Best Regards,

Hani Al-Dayaa
ALES, President

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ALES Annual Meeting

(ALES Events and Affairs)

The ALES Annual Meeting will be held on Thursday June 07, 2007. The location and time will be determined in the coming days. The meeting agenda will mainly consist of the following items:

- A Summary of ALES Activities and Accomplishments in the past ALES year (June 2006 - June 2007)

- Election of a new board of directors as the current board will complete its 2-year term in June

You will be receiving more details (nomination process, location of the meeting, etc.) in the coming days. ALES current members (who submitted a membership application and paid the membership dues by December 31 of 2006) are encouraged to attend the meeting and participate in the elections. ALES non-members are more than welcome to attend the meeting, but they can not participate in the elections.

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Sonic Dialogues @ MIT

(Community Events and Notices)

rami khalifé & kinan azmeh in
Sonic Dialogues
a fundraiser concert

april 16 | 8pm | kresge | mit | 48 mass ave (map)
$10 (students) | $25 (general public) | buy ticket(s)

“The coincidence of our musical pedigree and development, being two Arab musicians with Juilliard School education, made it inevitable that we meet on more than one plane. Personal friendship and artistic affinity together led to a common creative vision and a joint professional pursuit that we find ever enriching and refreshing.

Our music tends to walk a fine line between the composed and the improvised, and our musical vocabulary reflects this delicate posture. The music we love to make is both broad and personal, anchored in tradition yet wide open to the full sweep of the contemporary lexicon. As much as our music gravitates towards the Syria-Lebanon region, our sails navigate the wider Arab musical seascape as well as the world musical scene that we have been exploring, relishing, and absorbing.

It has been said that music is the art of becoming. In our work, the struggle of becoming is also a struggle for encompassing and embracing otherness and difference, giving little heed to stylistic labels. Is our music Western or Arabic, traditional or contemporary, classical or techno, Acoustic or electronica? Are we a duo, or two soloists in a contest?

We are two twenty-first century troubadours whose ambition is to create music that is true to the constant becoming of our existence. In that, we find infinite joy.”

Kinan Azmeh (Clarinet) & Rami Khalifé (Piano)
www.kinanazmeh.com | www.ramikhalife.com

all concert proceeds will support non-profits in Lebanon as part of the 'Boston to Lebanon' campaign
Lebanese Club at MIT © 2007| http://web.mit.edu/lebanon

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AlKoura League Mother's Day Hafli

(Community Events and Affairs)

It is our great pleasure to invite you to the

AlKoura League Mother's Day Hafli

Saturday May 12th, 2007 at St. George Orthodox Church Hall

55 Emmonsdale Road in West Roxbury, MA [map]

The event starts at 8:00 PM. Entertainment and full dinner are provided.

Please refer to the event flyer for more details or visit the AlKoura League website at www.alkoura.org.

We look forward to seeing you and your families and friends at this event.

Sincerely,

AlKoura League Board of Directors

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