Posted: Wednesday, February 27, 2019

Lina Serge Attar will be the speaker for the Scholars for Syria Lecture on April 11 at the University of Evansville. The lecture will begin at 6:00 p.m. in Room 162 in the Schroeder School of Business Building. It is free and open to the public, but donations to the Karam Foundation will be accepted at the event.

Attar is a Syrian-American architect, writer and founder and CEO of the Karam Foundation. During her lecture, Attar will map out an alternative vision for Syrian refugee youth, one that is a world away from war and despair. At her team's Karam Houses in Turkey, hundreds of Syrian teens are building their ideas while gaining world-class critical and creative thinking skills.

“They are on pathways of future success and leadership for their communities and beyond,” said Attar. “Within their inspiring stories of resilience and determination, another Syrian narrative emerges about the limitless potential and possibilities for a better future we can create together."

In 2007, Attar developed the vision of Karam (which means generosity in Arabic). Since 2011, she has directed Karam in its focus on the Syrian humanitarian crisis: developing an innovative education program for Syrian refugee youth, distributing aid to Syrian refugee families, and funding projects initiated by Syrians for Syrians. Her articles and essays have appeared in the New York Times and the Chicago Tribune, and she has appeared on CNN, NBC News, the BBC News, NPR and other media outlets. Attar is a graduate of the University of Aleppo, Rhode Island School of Design, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

More information on the Karam Foundation can be found at www.karamfoundation.org.

For more information on the lecture, contact mk225@evansville.edu.

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