Latest news with #Khoury
Gulf Today
3 days ago
- Business
- Gulf Today
Young creators changing digital narrative globally
The Arab Youth Media Forum, held on the opening day of the Arab Media Summit 2025, featured a series of engaging 'Media Chats' exploring how young creators and regional media leaders are reshaping the digital narrative, locally and globally. From online communities and cultural storytelling to the growing influence of podcasts, the sessions highlighted the power of authentic voices in defining the future of Arab media. In a session titled 'Online Communities', moderator Ayesha bin Kalli, Project Manager Expert at the Dubai Media Council, moderated a conversation with three influential creators shaping Dubai's evolving digital identity: Holly Williams-Lloyd (The Huntr), Hessa Alechla (Wild Arab West), and Hessa Al Jasmi (Dubai Food Babes). Each panellist reflected on how their personal passions gave rise to digital platforms that have grown into trusted community spaces, championing local culture, entrepreneurship, and relatability. From The Huntr's curated city guides to Dubai Food Babes' community-led events and Wild Arab West's culturally infused memes, the discussion underscored how digital communities can foster belonging and highlight grassroots narratives. The session 'Regional Narratives in Global Media' featured Thomas Khoury, Managing Director of Condé Nast Middle East, in conversation with Hamda Al Najjar, Senior Executive, Project Management, Dubai Media Council. Khoury shared his perspectives on how Dubai's diverse, digitally native population makes the city as an ideal launchpad for global media expansion. 'Dubai is a young, vibrant, and multicultural society with a strong digital spirit, one that shares our values of inclusion, diversity, and creativity,' he said. Khoury stressed the importance of creating content for the region, from the region, and to the world, with an emphasis on cultural authenticity, speed, and editorial quality. The growing influence of podcasts as a storytelling and journalism tool was the focus of 'Podcasts Take the Lead', moderated by Maya Hojeij, TV Presenter, Asharq News. The session featured Hussein Al Sheikh, TV Presenter Al Arabiya, Muna Al Raisi, Editor and Author, and Mohamed Kaiss, TV Presenter, Al Mashhad. Al Sheikh highlighted how podcasting caters to audiences seeking depth and nuance, while Kais emphasised its appeal to younger, dialogue-driven listeners. Al Raisi pointed to podcasting's editorial freedom, which enables more emotionally resonant and human-centered storytelling. Mona Ghanem Al Marri, Vice Chairperson and Managing Director of the Dubai Media Council, President of the Dubai Press Club, and Chairperson of the Organising Committee of the Arab Media Summit, met with members of the Arab Young Media Leaders Program, organised by the Arab Youth Center. The inspiring session was moderated by Sadeq Jarrar, Executive Director of the Arab Youth Center. The meeting took place on the first day of the Arab Media Summit, which runs until May 28 in Dubai, as part of the Arab Youth Media Forum's activities. During the meeting, one of a series organised by the programme, Al Marri highlighted key aspects of the media landscape in the UAE and the region and shed light on experiences in supporting and empowering youth in this vital sector. In the presence of Zaki Nusseibeh, Cultural Advisor to His Highness the UAE President, along with several leaders of local and regional media organisations, Al Marri shed light the pioneering role of the Dubai Press Club and its various initiatives, most notably the Arab Media Summit. She highlighted the Summit's main events, including the Arab Media Forum, the Arab Youth Media Forum, and the Arab Social Media Influencers Summit, in addition to the Arab Media Award, the Ibda'a – Arab Youth Media Award, and the Arab Social Media Influencers Award. The first day of the Arab Media Summit 2025 opened with a series of 'Media Chats' at the Arab Youth Media Forum, offering the audience unique insights from change-makers across diverse fields — from AI art and physical endurance to viral digital storytelling. In a session titled 'Limitless Inspiration', Emirati adventurer and National Geographic Arabia explorer Khalifa Al Mazrouei shared lessons from his extraordinary personal journey, focusing on the keys to success in both personal and professional life.
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Unity Environmental College celebrates largest graduating class ever with Neil deGrasse Tyson
May 21—NEW GLOUCESTER — Once a small college struggling with declining enrollment, Unity Environmental University is bringing in astrophysicist Neil DeGrasse Tyson as its commencement speaker to help graduate its largest-ever class this Friday. The president of Unity Environmental University, formerly Unity College, says the school has evolved in response to the challenges of higher education and its 10,000-person student body is now mostly online. "Our purpose at Unity is to offer quality environmental science and sustainability-based degrees, for everything from traditional students to working adults, so they can make an impact where they are," President Melik Peter Khoury said in an interview Wednesday at the school's new campus at Pineland Farms in New Gloucester. "But anything else is basically a construct." Unity is now the second-largest university in the state based on enrollment, behind only the flagship public University of Maine with 12,000 students as of this fall. On Friday, more than 1,000 students will graduate with bachelor's and master's degrees in environmental fields; about 200 are expected to walk in-person at Merrill Auditorium in Portland, joined by more than 1,000 guests. Tyson, the famed astrophysicist and science communicator, is just the latest in a line of notable commencement speakers: Khoury said primatologist Jane Goodall and the zookeeper TV star Steve Irwin have both given the address in the past. "With this invitation from Unity Environmental University, I am reminded that some institutions of higher learning have taken the shepherding of our precious Earth seriously enough to embed it into everything they preach and everything they teach," Tyson said in an announcement from the university. TRANCENDING TRADITION More than a decade ago, Khoury said, Unity's board of trustees took a look at the college's problem of declining enrollment, which was below 600 students in 2012. Their conclusion was that environmental science degrees were in demand, but often too expensive or exclusive for most of the students interested in them. "I was brought in to try to figure out, how do we transform the institution to really become a little bit more accessible," Khoury said. "So our mission transcends tradition." The school began experimenting in 2016 with institutional changes, like adding hybrid programs and graduate degrees. Then, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, Khoury said, the university made the decision to close its residential undergraduate college in 2020. The school relocated administrative operations to Pineland Farms, where it offers in-person classes to about 200 students, and put its 225-acre campus in Unity up for sale in 2023. The institution changed its name that same year. Now, the vast majority of students, 800 graduate students and 9,200 undergrads, complete their degrees online. Rather than studying in semesters, the academic year is divided into eight terms, which Khoury said helps with retention and graduation rates, because students don't fall far behind when they need to take time off. Angelica De Hoyos and Javier Montanez, a married couple from southern New Jersey, are both graduating with a master's of professional science in environmental geographic information science on Friday. De Hoyos is a surveyor with the Army Corp of Engineers, and Montanez is a supervisor at the Atlantic City International Airport who got his bachelor's degree at Unity. They also have two kids, a 10-year-old and 6-year-old. When they decided to go to grad school, they said Unity's flexible and remote programs made sense. "With two full time jobs, barely having time to actually spend with the kids in the afternoon and evening, we decided that distance learning was the best fit for us," De Hoyos said. Montanez is hoping the degree will open the door to new professional opportunities that allow him to use his passion for the environment, and De Hoyos said she was motivated by her constant desire to learn and her industry's move toward using more GIS technology. She also wanted to show her kids that at any point in life, they can chase a new goal. When they drive eight hours to Maine to walk across the stage at Merrill Auditorium Friday, it will be their second time ever visiting the state. NON-TRADITIONAL CHANGES Khoury said Unity's transition hasn't been without difficulty and has involved trial and error. Many alumni and former faculty criticized the decision to eliminate the traditional campus. But while small residential environmental colleges like Green Mountain College in Vermont and Northland College in Wisconsin have shuttered in recent years, he said Unity has a graduating class this year that's larger than the school's entire population was when he first started in 2016. He believes American higher education is still stuck on a vision of college as an experience that involves four years of full-time commitment and living on campus. But he said that just doesn't match the reality of who wants degrees: often it's adult students with full-time jobs, sometimes with children. The average age of a current Unity student is 29. "Are we confounding an American coming-of-age experience with the need for for education?" Khoury said. "I think we need to uncouple those two, and we need to look at one for what it is, which is: How do we want to transition our young adults into adulthood? And then we need to look at the other one as: How do we get people educated, no matter where they are in life?" Copy the Story Link
Miami Herald
21-05-2025
- Sport
- Miami Herald
Westminster Christian's remarkable softball run ends in state semifinals
Westminster Christian ran out of miracles. The Warriors softball team, after executing a pair of incredible comebacks in its previous two games, lost on Tuesday night, 4-3, to North Bay Haven Academy in the Class 2A state semifinals at Longwood. Westminster finished its season with a record of 20-8-1. North Bay Haven (25-3) will play for the state title on Wednesday night. Last week, Westminster earned a pair of walk-off wins despite trailing by six runs in the sixth inning of the regional semifinals and by seven runs in the sixth inning of the regional final. On Tuesday night, however, the Warriors led 1-0 and 3-2, but North Bay Haven rallied each time. 'I'm super proud of these girls,' Westminster coach Nic Varsi said of his team. 'There were several lead changes – it was just a really good game back and forth. 'Our girls did awesome.' Senior Gigi Khoury, Westminster's star third baseman, got things going in the first inning with a double. She advanced on a sacrifice bunt and scored on Jasmine Armenteros' sac fly. After North Bay Haven took a 2-1 lead on a two-run homer, the Warriors came right back in the top of the fourth inning. Khoury singled, and Mya Rodgers reached on a two-base error to start the rally. Armenteros then hit a fly ball that carried so far into right field that Khoury scored from third and Rodgers sped home from second. Unfortunately for the Warriors, North Bay Haven scored an unearned run in the fifth to tie the score, 3-3, and then another unearned run in the sixth to make it 4-3. There was no Warriors comeback this time. Only sadness. 'The girls are emotional and upset,' Varsi said. 'But more than the loss, I think they're sad because this team won't get to play together again. 'It's over.'
Miami Herald
18-05-2025
- Health
- Miami Herald
Westminster Christian softball draws inspiration from a child's fight for life
Pray For Maya – it's the sentiment that has inspired Westminster Christian's softball team to Tuesday's Class 2A state semifinals. The girls on the team have been writing 'P4M' – in shorthand that means Pray For Maya – on their pink wrist bands, and they believe that helped lead them last week to a pair of miraculous, walk-off playoff wins. The Warriors trailed by six runs in the sixth inning of the regional semifinals and by seven runs in the sixth inning of the regional final. Tragically, Maya Kirk, who was just 10 years old, died on Friday of a rare form of brain cancer. She left behind many loved ones, including her parents, Westminster boys' soccer coach Josh Kirk, and his wife, Yafy, and their eight-year-old son, Jacob. 'Maya loved and protected him,' Josh Kirk said of Jacob. Senior Gigi Khoury, Westminster's star third baseman, said she and her teammates have been praying for Maya for weeks. 'I'm devastated,' Khoury said. 'It may sound naïve, but we were hoping for a miracle.' Maya, who had taken up gymnastics before getting sick, was diagnosed with cancer on Feb. 12, 2024. She spent the last 58 days of her life in the Intensive Care Unit, and her parents slept in her hospital room all that time. The irony is that the girls on the softball team never met Maya. Still, when they found out what a Westminster family was going through, they kept Maya in their prayers before and after every practice or game. Nic Varsi, Westminster's softball coach, said he had quite a few talks with his team regarding Maya. 'Softball is important to our team – we put a lot of time and effort into it,' Varsi said. 'But life is more important. 'When you think about Maya and what her family is going through, it puts everything into perspective. The girls are now playing for something bigger than themselves.' On Tuesday night at 8, Westminster (20-7-1) will play Panama City North Bay Haven Academy (24-3) in Longwood. The winner will play either Ocala Trinity Catholic (22-8) or Clearwater Calvary Christian (28-1) for the championship on Wednesday at 8 p.m. Last Tuesday, however, it appeared that Westminster's season was over … until Khoury slugged a three-run homer, cutting Oxbridge's lead to 8-4. 'That gave us a jolt of energy,' Varsi said. 'It gave us hope.' In the seventh, Khoury hit a two-run double. Mya Rodgers' two-bagger tied the score, and Jasmine Armenteros had the game-winning single. Two days later, the Warriors started a rally in the sixth inning once again, scoring four runs to close their deficit to 7-5. In the seventh, the Warriors were down to the last out of their season, and the bottom of the lineup was due up. But eight-hole hitter Abby Barbosa singled, and ninth batter Kelsie Kenny was hit by a pitch, setting up Khoury for a two-run single that sent the game to extra innings. Then, in the bottom of the ninth, Erin Perez hit a walk-off single, sending the Warriors to state. 'This is not the most-talented team we've had here, but it's one of the scrappiest,' Varsi said. 'After our last two wins, the girls believe they're never out of a game.' Khoury, who has a 5.41 weighted grade-point average and will study biomedical engineering at Georgia Tech next fall, said she feels fortunate to be able to still play the game she loves. 'Maya was the symbol to not take things for granted and to never give up,' Khoury said. 'Her story grounded us and made us approach life with humility, heart and purpose.'
Sydney Morning Herald
15-05-2025
- Business
- Sydney Morning Herald
Underworld grip on Big Build sized up by government as contractors warned to purge suspect players
Armed federal agents searched the Thornbury home of Anthony Malcolm, who was last year appointed as director of a waste company the AFP suspects was used to collect payments from companies seeking support from figures within the CFMEU's construction arm, over which Gatto has long wielded influence. The CFMEU has in turn played a decisive role in which firms can secure contracts on major construction sites, including CBD developments and Big Build infrastructure projects. Federal police are investigating if payments to companies linked to Gatto and his gangland associates have been made to unlawfully secure union backing on large projects or involve potential money laundering or accounting offences. In March, the AFP raided Melbourne accountant Charles Pellegrino, who fronts several companies suspected to have received payments police suspect were intended for Gatto, Khoury or other construction industry or union players. No charges have been laid in connection to the investigation. There is no suggestion Malcolm, Pellegrino, Khoury or Gatto are guilty of any offence, only that police are investigating why construction firms are paying companies controlled by Pellegrino and Malcolm. Gatto and Khoury did not respond to inquiries but have previously denied wrongdoing. Malcolm was unable to be contacted by this masthead. An AFP spokesperson said Tuesday's raid formed 'part of the AFP's response to allegations of corruption in the Victorian building industry'. The leaked Victorian Infrastructure Delivery Authority (VIDA) files obtained by this masthead reveal the peak Big Build agency is, alongside the federal police and a host of other government bodies, seeking to combat the construction industry nepotism and corruption exposed in this masthead's Building Bad series. Six sources working with Big Build contractors, speaking anonymously to discuss confidential information, told this masthead that after the scandal erupted, Big Build and Labor officials were no longer encouraging contractors to acquiesce to CFMEU pressure. Some said they had previously warned the Allan government about the problems that have now sparked police investigations and industry reform, and seen the CFMEU plunged into administration. While sources said gangland figures were seeking to adapt to the Building Bad crackdown, the surge of recent scrutiny was 'bad for business'. This masthead can also reveal that Gatto has taken the extraordinary step of threatening to sue the CFMEU administrator's chief investigator, Geoffrey Watson, SC, claiming that Watson's public denouncement of Gatto had 'caused persons in the construction industry community to refuse to do business with Mr Gatto'. In a letter sent recently to Big Build contractors by VIDA's director-general, Kevin Devlin, the firms are urged to stamp out 'violence, bullying, harassment and intimidation' and refuse 'requests or demands for preferential treatment of contractors, subcontractors, suppliers or individuals'. Devlin, without identifying any individuals in his letter, has also demanded the Big Build contractors take 'all appropriate steps to prevent the presence of persons with known criminal associations on site' and implement 'robust controls' to combat risks of 'fraud and corruption by suppliers and subcontractors … [including] so-called 'ghost shifts', double dipping, inappropriate substitution of labour or materials and theft of materials'. Senior industry sources said Devlin was one of several senior public servants who had privately expressed frustration at how his previous warnings to the government about the problems on the Big Build had gone unheeded. VIDA has also created a secret list of suspected gangland-linked entities, which it is attempting to map across the Big Build as it seeks to have underworld-linked firms removed from government projects. Big Build companies have been asked by VIDA to check their supply chains and in some cases remove firms from Big Build projects. The VIDA list features multiple firms and individuals that are also separately being targeted in the federal police probe into payments linked to Gatto. One of those also named on the VIDA list is Big Build contractor Nick Maric, whose company LTE boasts on its website that it is helping construct the West Gate Tunnel. LTE has made multiple 'consulting' payments to the suspected front companies now under AFP investigation. 'LTE Construction Group have constructed nearly 1000 bored piles for bridge foundations, noise walls and other structures all socketing into hard basalt,' the company's website reads. 'This includes occupation works for bridge piles at the M80 interchange, night shift and weekend works as required by the project to meet program requirements.' In addition to Gatto and Khoury, Maric's business has connections to Comanchero outlaw bikie gang members involved in the construction sector and who are also named in the VIDA file: Bemir Saracevic and Krstomir Bjelogrlic. Maric denied any wrongdoing. The VIDA list also names a bikie associate and MC Labour manager, Matt Lunedei. MC Labour has won a half-billion-dollar contract to supply workers to the Metro Tunnel and was recently embroiled in a ghost-shift scandal involving two union delegates. CFMEU sources said MC Labour, which was known to have employed gangland and bikie figures on the Big Build, is poised to be thrown off the Metro Tunnel project and replaced with another labour hire provider. The VIDA documents also name Rangedale, a company that had made multiple payments to front companies linked to the underworld as it conducted major works on several Big Build sites. Big Build officials have begun requesting contractors examine their relationship with Rangedale, a move which sources said had led to Rangedale being ousted from government sites. Loading Asked about the list, a VIDA spokesperson said: 'Following recent reports of alleged illegal misconduct, checks were made on the identified individuals or entities to see if they were currently engaged on Big Build projects.' When pressed about how many of the identified firms were still on the Big Build, the spokesperson said: 'Recent reports of alleged illegal misconduct have been referred to Victoria Police and enquiries are ongoing. It would be inappropriate to sanction individuals without an appropriate process.' Also named on the VIDA files are several bikies – such as Joel Leavitt – who last year were sacked as Big Build CFMEU delegates but who continue to exercise influence over Big Build subcontractors. The VIDA list names two firms started recently by Leavitt, along with a construction health and safety firm founded recently by ex-Mongols bikie boss and union delegate Tyrone Bell in partnership with a former CFMEU organiser, who is also named individually on the VIDA list. While this masthead has uncovered no evidence that Bell and his business partner have managed to gain work via the Big Build, another figure on the VIDA list, Billy Mitris, (who does not have criminal convictions) was earlier this year still running two companies working on major government projects, including North East Link. Mitris, who has ties to underworld figures and sacked union boss Elias Spernovasilis, controls a labour hire firm called X-Forces, which has employed veterans on the North East Link project. Mitris gained access to the North East Link via his close connections within the CFMEU, sources said. In his letter, Devlin, the VIDA director-general, told Big Build contractors they must immediately report 'any known or suspected instances of … individuals or companies that you suspect may be of ill-repute being involved in or having connections to your projects'. 'VIDA can potentially exercise contractual powers to direct the removal of particular individuals from projects,' the letter says. 'Depending on the issue, it may also be appropriate for your organisation to report the matter to another body such as the Fair Work Ombudsman, Fair Work Commission, WorkSafe, Comcare, Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission (IBAC), Labour Hire Authority, the CFMEU administrator or the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), all of whom have reporting channels available.'
