Bicharaf Leadership Camp on Academic Integrity Thrives, Rewarding for Participants

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

(Beirut, Lebanon) 24 February 2011 – Bicharaf, the initiative for academic integrity and business ethics in the Arab region, engaged 60+ enthusiastic students from over 25 local area high schools across Lebanon in a two-day leadership camp on academic integrity. The camp took place at Bethania Conference Center in Harissa, Lebanon, on February 18-19.

At the leadership camp, students learned practical strategies to manage issues of academic integrity at their schools, cultural differences concerning academic integrity, how to coordinate their own Bicharaf Clubs at their schools, and how to communicate Bicharaf’s message using social media outlets, including Facebook, Twitter, blogging platforms, and YouTube.

Several students candidly evaluated their experiences, exclaiming, “The camp rocked!”

Students took part in a wide range of activities that kindled students’ awareness and concern about academic integrity. They worked together to answer questions that challenged their sense of ethics in situations they directly encounter, such as, “If the ATM dispenses more than what you requested, what should you do?” and “If my friend asks for my help on his homework, am I obliged to help him?”

Dr. Tony Feghali, Bicharaf founder, shared that he originally created Bicharaf because he believes that students should be feel more responsible for their own education and should feel as committed to the reputation of their learning achievements as their teachers, parents, and schools.

Feghali also offered the students practical approaches to respond to their peers when the students are pressured to cheat or compromise their personal ethics. Feghali is the director of the Olayan School of Business (OSB) Entrepreneurship Initiative at the American University of Beirut (AUB) and a professor of e-business.

The students also collaborated to generate strategies to promote academic integrity and ethics in their schools. Joelle Stephan and Nour Osta, along with 3 other Bicharaf teammates from the Collège des Frères Maristes Champville, plan to start a Bicharaf Club at their school. “We will start small, and then branch out,” they strategized. Riad Al Soufi, Layan Khreis, Tarek Nasreddine, and Hala Merhebi from Dar Jana International School intend to promote academic integrity through movie screenings and group discussions. “We also want to publish newsletter articles that will push students to do the right thing,” they added. Feghali encouraged all students, “As soon as you start with action, people will follow.”

Keynote speaker Dr. Don McCabe is a professor of management and global business at Rutgers University and founder of the International Center for Academic Integrity based at Clemson University. He roused students’ perceptions about academic dishonesty in a comparative presentation.

McCabe highlighted the similarities and contrasts between the U.S. and Middle Eastern students’ self-reported responses about questionable academic behaviors, including Internet plagiarism.

The high school students at the camp concurred with McCabe’s research conclusions, that cheating is widespread and that students feel teachers and administrators overlook academic dishonesty. The students expressed frustration that they feel enormous pressure to achieve academically in order to pursue university degrees at leading institutions in Lebanon and abroad.

Bicharaf alumni led the students in a team building activity that emphasized how optimal leadership depends on the collective contributions of all team members working in sync.

Ayman Itani, digital media strategist for ThinkMedia Labs, accentuated the potentiality for social media impact in a presentation that highlighted how popular youth celebrities such as Justin Bieber and Lady Gaga promote their message. Itani recommended personal branding through social media outlets as a means to extensively impact peers with Bicharaf’s message.

Students were specifically trained how to use Facebook, Twitter, and blogging outlets to promote Bicharaf’s message of academic integrity and how to continue interacting with the Bicharaf network on the interactive Bicharaf website, www.bicharaf.org.

The camp concluded with students being awarded certificates for becoming official Bicharaf Ambassadors at their respective high schools.

Participating schools in the Bicharaf Leadership Camp include Adduha High School, Adma International School, Al Irfan School, Antonine International School, Ashrafieh Oula Public School for Boys, Beirut El Horsh Public School, Collège de la Sagesse (Achrafieh), Collège des Frères Maristes Champville, Collège Mont La Salle, Collège Notre Dame de Louaize, Collège Sacre-Coeur (Gemmayze), Collège Saint Georges (Zalka), Damour Public School School, Eastwood College (Hadath), Fakhereddine El Maani Public School for Girls, Ghbayre Oula Public School for Girls, Ghbayre Second Public School for Girls, Ghbayre Third Public School for Girls, Gibran Andraous El Tueni Public School, Harat Hreik Public School, Hassan Saab Public School, Heritage College, International School (Koura), Jamil Rawas Public School for Boys, Jesus and Mary School, Laure Mghayzel Public School for Girls, Lebanese International School, Lycee Amshit, Lycée‎ Ulama Sobhi Mahmassani, Montana International College, Mufti Hassan Khaled - Hawd el Wilaya Public School, Raml Zaydaniyi Public School for Girls, Ras El Nabi’ Public School for Boys, Rawda High School, Saint George School, Saint Joseph School, Universal College of Aley, Universal School of Lebanon (Koura), Zahia Kaddoura Public School for Girls, and Zahia Salman Public School.

The Bicharaf Leadership Camp was supported by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC). Interested persons can learn more about IDRC at http://www.idrc.ca.

Bicharaf, the initiative on academic integrity and business ethics, was founded in 2004 and is housed at the Olayan School of Business at the American University of Beirut. Using online web material with on-the-ground awareness campaigns, activities, and workshops, Bicharaf supports institutions in nurturing a more ethical and responsible Arab citizen.

Contact Information

Dr. Tony Feghali
Bicharaf
Olayan School of Business
American University of Beirut
P.O. Box 11-0236 Riad El Solh
Beirut 1107-2020, Lebanon

Phone: +961-1-350000 ext: 3756
Email: info@bicharaf.org
Web: www.bicharaf.org

This release was published on openPR.