Under the patronage of Mrs. Nazek Rafik Hariri, Chair of Rafik Hariri University Board of Trustees, the Sixth Annual Symposium on the Teaching of Writing in Lebanon “Writing Research: Design, Sustainability and Assessment”, jointly organized by Rafik Hariri University and the American University of Beirut, was held at RHU on Saturday, April 13, 2019. The event provided a platform for teachers of English at both the high school and university levels in Lebanon, to have conversations on the teaching of writing in their contexts.
Dr. Najwa Fares and Ms. Malaki Khoury, from RHU and AUB respectively, served as event coordinators. They both welcomed a total of 90 participants, including English language high school teachers, coordinators, and principals and English language university instructors.
RHU President, Dr. Makram Suidan, welcomed the attendees on behalf of Mrs. Nazik Rafik Hariri, emphasizing the importance of such a collaboration between Rafik Hariri University and the American University of Beirut. Following his word, was a word from Dr. Amy Zinger, Director of the Writing Center at AUB. Dr. Christine Coombe and Dr. David Lades served as the keynote speakers in this event. Both highlighted the importance of research and media ecology.
Following the opening ceremony, the participants attended separate sessions, presented by RHU and AUB faculty members that dealt with the following sub themes: Designing Engaging research assignments, Team writing/collaborative writing, Civically engaged writing, Assessment and research writing, Feedback and research writing, and Digital tools for writing research.
Since its inception, this annual inter-institutional gathering has served as a venue for teachers of writing from different universities and high schools to share knowledge and experience and to discuss best practices.
