Best of CASE Asia-Pacific Region Award
 

Institution: American University of Beirut

Title of entry: The American University of Beirut Christmas Village

About this entry: We organized a four-day Christmas Village on our campus in Beirut, Lebanon, on December 17-20, 2022. It was free and open to the public and featured visits from Santa Claus, music, vendor booths, games, arts and crafts, and live screenings of the third-place game and final match of the World Cup. People - young and old, of all religions (including those who do not celebrate Christmas) and backgrounds - flocked to the event.
We weren’t sure how many people would come because of the current situation in Lebanon, which is suffering from what the World Bank has described as "among the most severe crises globally since the mid-19th century." A record number of people are living in poverty; too many are hungry. Although the crisis posed formidable challenges, it also motivated us to organize this event. We wanted to provide hope and joy during a time of despair and sadness, something our university has done for more than 155 years.
The impact of the Christmas Village - especially on children - was beyond our very high expectations. The event also generated enormous goodwill among vendors, all of whom have been profoundly affected by the catastrophic economic decline in the country. Some had also been directly affected by the August 4 explosion in the Beirut port. We made a deliberate and conscious effort to work with small vendors many of whom work from home, primarily women, some of whom chose to donate their proceeds to benefit underprivileged members of the community.