Sunday, November 18 marks the World Day of Remembrance for road traffic victims. To commemorate the day, Notre Dame University-Louaize (NDU) partook in the ceremony held on November 13, 2018, organized by the General Secretariat of the National Council for Traffic Safety under the patronage of His Excellency Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri, and in partnership with ALFA and Digeao. The Prime Minister was represented by the Minister of Public Works and Transportation H.E. Youssef Fenianos.
During the ceremony, the Road Safety Training Center and the ALFA road safety academy were launched. This academy is the first of its kind in the Middle East and North Africa, a platform held by various stakeholders from the public and private sectors.
NDU has recently expressed its intention to cooperate with the Secretariat to help conduct the necessary research to build national policies in the field of traffic safety.
Major Michel Moutran inaugurated the ceremony with the Lebanese national anthem followed by a minute of silence in memory of the victims of the car accidents. He then welcomed Master of Ceremonies and Office of Public Affairs and Protocol Director at NDU Majed Bou Hadir who greeted the audience and presented an introductory film about the Research Center and the Alfa Academy for Traffic Safety.
For his part, NDU President Fr. Najem said, “We are meeting today to launch the Traffic Safety Training Center. It is no coincidence that NDU is an essential part of this project, because of its keen interest in societal involvement, and its impact on the students, our ambassadors for life. All these efforts were crowned with the full accreditation by the New England Commission for Higher Education (NECHE). This distinction brings us together with the Secretariat in putting human beings at the core of our homeland and our work.”
The National Traffic Safety Medal was presented to NDU President Fr. Najem for being the first university to support the Road Safety Training Center in the Middle East and North Africa.