AAI Foundation
Foundation
Frequently Asked Questions
Posted on Wednesday May 10, 2006
Established in 1999, the Kahlil Gibran Spirit of Humanity Awards recognize those whose work promotes inclusion, cultural understanding and cooperation across ethnic, racial and religious lines. The Awards are a program of the Arab American Institute Foundation (AAIF), incorporated in 1996 as a 501© (3) by the founders of the Arab American Institute. AAIF develops and disseminates research, public information and educational materials on the role of the Arab American community in American society. The Foundation promotes a deeper understanding of Arab Americans, their history, aspirations, and vital role as an integral part of a diverse and multicultural America.
AAIF officers are George R. Salem, Esq. (chair), Dr. James J. Zogby (President), Jean R. AbiNader (Treasurer), John Zogby (Vice President) and Helen Samhan (Executive Director). The Gibran Awards are supported by an Honorary Committee and Steering Committee. The Arab American members of the U.S. Congress are Honorary Co-Chairs of the event.
The award is named for the world-renowned Lebanese-born author of “The Prophet” whose work underscored his respect for the dignity of man, his belief in the sanctity of individual freedom, and his universal love of humanity. The award further symbolizes Gibran’s pride in his Arab heritage and respect for the freedoms that he found in the United States.
Past recipients of Gibran awards include St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Reading Is Fundamental, the Ford Motor Company, former Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell, Her Majesty Queen Noor al Hussein of Jordan, British rock star Sting, Reebok International, ExxonMobil, the StarzEncore media group, the RFK Memorial Center for Human Rights, the Grameen Bank, and the Aga Khan Foundation.
The Gibran Awards Steering Committee nominates distinguished international and domestic organizations, institutions, corporations and individuals whose work, commitment, and support make a difference in promoting coexistence and inclusion. The nominations are drawn from recommendations submitted by individual committee members, co-chairs, and AAI’s board and staff.
President Bill Clinton, Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham, Secretary of State Colin Powell, HHS Secretary Donna Shalala, Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, Senator Russ Feingold, and Academy Award-winning actor F. Murray Abraham are among those who have addressed the Gibran awards ceremony.
The Gibran Awards Gala is the annual fundraising event of the Arab American Institute Foundation. Proceeds provide AAIF with most of its operating budget and support a broad range of educational and leadership programs designed to encourage Arab American participation in American civic life.
For example, recent AAIF publications include Healing the Nation: The Arab American Experience After September 11 (PDF), which documents the ways the Arab American community participated in relief and healing efforts in the wake of the terror attacks and how other Americans responded to the backlash, and the fourth edition of Casey Kasem’s popular Arab Americans: Making A Difference (PDF) brochure which promotes the scores of Americans of Arab descent who have made a significant contribution to American political, cultural, business, and scientific life.
As the leading source of research on the Arab American population, AAIF sponsors a Census Information Center and distributes comprehensive background materials about the history, demographics, and contributions of Arab Americans, Muslims, the Arab world, and Islam to thousands of high schools, universities, and libraries as well as the media and general public.
Also in 2002, AAIF sponsored civic education workshops in eight U.S. cities in cooperation with the Center for Civic Education. Directed at local Arab American communities, the workshops were designed to address the rights and responsibilities of citizenship and civic participation.
Each year U.S. corporations, prominent Arab American business leaders, Middle East-based companies, Arab embassies and Arab American celebrities generously sponsor the Gibran awards gala. Past sponsors have included General Motors, ChevronTexaco, Phillip Morris International, Fannie Mae, the Liberty Media Corporation, Occidental Petroleum, Dominion Power, the Arab Bank, Middle East Airlines, Aramco, and the embassies of the Gulf Cooperation Council.
The Gibran Awards are presented each year at a black-tie gala in Washington, D.C. that is among the most prestigious Arab American events in the country. Each year the awards gala attracts a host of high-profile political figures, corporations, prominent Arab American business and community leaders, celebrities, and ambassadors from the Arab world.
