Saint Joseph University of Beirut (USJ) signed, on December 9, 2025, at the Innovation and Sports Campus (CIS), a series of agreements for the Privilege Card Program with Hôtel-Dieu de France (HDF), the Federation of USJ Alumni Associations, Collège Notre-Dame de Jamhour, and its Alumni Association—thus marking the first collaborative project bringing together Jesuit institutions in Lebanon.
Launched in 2013 as a student initiative and since then led by the Student Life Office (SVE), the Privilege Card became, in 2023, an institutional program open to all members of the USJ community (students, staff, faculty, and alumni). In 2024, it experienced its first expansion through partnerships, thanks to collaboration with HDF. By 2025, the program offers more than 272 benefits across the fields of health, education, well-being, dining, sports, culture, and everyday services. Its primary aim is to ease the cost of living and strengthen bonds within the community.
During the signing ceremony, Prof. Salim Daccache, SJ, Rector of USJ, emphasized that this initiative is the first to bring together USJ, Collège Notre-Dame de Jamhour, and Hôtel-Dieu de France—not only through their rectors, but also through their students, pupils, and alumni networks. “It is a way of being together, of joining forces to better serve. I hope this is only the beginning,” he added, commending the SVE for its tireless work since 2013.
Rev. Fr. Marek Cieślik, SJ, Rector of Collège Notre-Dame de Jamhour, expressed his gratitude and highlighted the natural complementarity between the school and university environments. He also thanked the Alumni Association for its driving role in fostering this rapprochement.
H.E. Abbas El Halabi, President of the Federation of USJ Alumni Associations, likewise expressed, on their behalf, full support and sincere commitment to joining this initiative.
For his part, Mr. Nassib Nasr, Director of HDF, recalled his deep personal ties to Jamhour, USJ, and the Alumni Federation. He stressed the importance of “expanding the community” and offering concrete benefits to USJ and Jamhour alumni, including in the areas of health and hospitalization, underscoring both the practical and symbolic significance of this alliance.
Nadim Abboud, Esq., President of the Jamhour Alumni Association, spoke of the values instilled at the College—innovation, progress, and leaving a lasting impact—emphasizing that USJ and HDF represent a natural continuation of this spirit. He described the new alliance between USJ, HDF, Jamhour, and their alumni as “a powerful, coherent, and promising quadrilateral,” asserting that it will become a benchmark for inter-Jesuit collaboration.
Ms. Gloria Abdo, Director of the Student Life Office, noted that this signing “symbolizes the will to pool resources, unite efforts, and offer a shared service for the benefit of the entire community,” thereby paving the way for new inter-Jesuit initiatives in Lebanon. The ceremony concluded with a convivial gathering of representatives from the signatory institutions, marking the beginning of a new dynamic of sustainable collaboration among the country’s Jesuit educational communities.
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