French role in Kuwait’s liberation discussed
Colonel Passot shares experience in ME
KUWAIT CITY, April 4 : The Humanities and Social Sciences Department hosted Colonel Olivier Passot, the French Defense Attaché to Kuwait, who gave a seminar on the importance of the French military in celebration of the 30th anniversary of Kuwait’s Liberation. The event titled, “The
Role of the French Army” was also a part of GUST’s annual Francophone Week, which celebrates French language and culture.
Colonel Passot discussed at length about the French Armies contribution during Operation Desert Shield, which was a UN coalition that included 35 member states, led by the United States, to liberate Kuwait from the Iraqi occupation. He explained to the young audience that this division was deployed in Saudi Arabia to help Kuwait during the occupation. The Colonel also talked about his experience in the Middle East carrying out many missions over his career. The talk was moderated by GUST’s very own Dr. Saleh Al-Nafisi, Assistant Professor of Political Science.
Head of Humanities and Social Sciences and Assistant Professor of French, Dr. Manal El-Kady, said, “We are very pleased to be hosting Francophone Day once again. A year after the pandemic forced us not to hold it, showing our commitment to bringing a different culture to the community and encouraging students to learn about the French language, culture, and history. More importantly, it felt like a great opportunity to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Kuwait’s Liberation by bringing in a specialist discussing France’s involvement and relating France to Kuwait. We hope to bring many more talks like these in future Francophone Days.”
Francophone Week is an annual event held at GUST during March, hosted by the Humanities and Social Sciences department that offers talks and seminars about French language and culture. The event falls under the internationally recognized Francophone Day, which falls on March 20. This year, they also hosted a “Regional Roundtable” with students from the Middle East who speak French and a lecture with the Global Studies Center given by Dr. Phillip Lane.