Cornerstone Laid for Sameer Owaidah Garden

Birzeit University celebrated the laying of the foundation stone for the Sameer Owaidah Garden project on April 13, 2013. Designed by architectural engineering students, the garden is located in the area between Al Maktoum building and the Faculty of Arts and will serve as a social and cultural space for students.
The opening ceremony was attended by Board of Trustees Chairman Hanna Nasir, university president Khalil Hindi, Palestinian community figures and businesspeople, honorary board member Sameer Owaidah and several board members.
In his opening address, President Hindi thanked Mr. Owaidah for his support, emphasizing that the garden being established in his name reflects established Birzeit University traditions such as freedom of expression and dialogue and intellectual pluralism.
Owaidah expressed his pleasure at being able to be present at the university to lay the garden’s foundation. He said that his support is driven by a feeling of national duty - one that all Palestinian businessmen should act on.
Director of the university engineering office Bishara Abu Ghannam gave attendees an overview of the garden project, which will occupy more than 3.5 dunams of land and include shade trees with stony corridors and tables and chairs. He said that the garden will also include an outdoor platform, waterways and plant beds, a variety of seating areas and outdoor spaces with display screens, in addition to Internet access and a cafe.