3. MESH Alumni Meeting in Beirut, January 2020

The first MESH alumni meeting for Lebanese students of the program took place in January 2020. Prof. Dr. Birgit Schäbler and Dr. Mara Albrecht hosted this event at “Salon de Beyrouth”, in an informal setting with a great atmosphere. Lebanese professors and former students of the MESH Master program gathered there to reconnect with each other and reflect their enjoyable time in Germany. Furthermore, the MESH meeting provided a perfect space to exchange news about the MESH alumni and their current situation. Birgit Schäbler and Mara Albrecht were very pleased to find out how MESH has helped facilitate the professional careers of the Lebanese alumni. For example, one MESH alumna is currently working for a German foundation in Beirut or another one with refugees in Lebanon. It is great to see how the MESH master program helps students to become cultural mediators between Lebanon and Germany. After having a wonderful dinner, laughing a lot, and remembering many pleasant moments, the time had come for a group photo and a temporary farewell. All participants of the alumni meeting in Beirut are looking forward to a next meeting.

Review of the meeting by alumni

Celine: "The MESH meeting was a very good idea, because it helped us to meet students like us, who made the same experience and also exchange our experiences."

 

Mirna: "Yeah, it was a really good idea, because we met a another generation of MESH students and we also met people that we already know like Madame Schäbler, like Madame Mara and it was a very, very good meeting."

 

Jessy: "The MESH program actually helped me to get my current job here in Lebanon which is with a German foundation. And yeah, it was based on my experience with the MESH program that they took me and I got recruited."

 

Eliane: "It’s a great meeting. It’s the first in Lebanon and it’s like a walk down memory lane. It was five years ago that we went to Erfurt in the exchange program. So, it was great to catch up with my old professors and to meet other students. And yeah, I hope that we can do this every year."