n order to celebrate the university’s 30^th anniversary, the Public Relations Department, in cooperation with the university library, organized an exhibition of photos from the university’s archive. The exhibition contained pictures of An-Najah old school as well as pictures of sporting, cultural, political, and social events from the university’s history. The exhibition included a number of manuscripts which were maintained by the university library.

The commencement of the exhibition was conducted by the University President, with the presence of a number of his deputies and assistants. In regards to the exhibition, Dr. Nabil Alawi, Director of the Public Relations Department, said that it reflects the University’s achievements and successes, and also sheds light on the university’s history since 1918, when it began as an elementary school which was known as An- Najah School, and was later developed into An-Najah National College in 1941, which only offered two year degrees. The College then moved to its current location, which is now known as the old campus, in 1965.

In 1977, the College became a university and was re-named An-Najah National University. It was at this point that the university adopted the slogan, “we challenge the present to shape the future”.

Mr. Ala Yousef, The Coordinator of the Zajel Program that organized the exhibition said that the idea of the exhibition came to him while he was working on an electronic archiving of the university’s heritage. The Public Relations Department’s electronic archiving project chronicles the memories of people who’ve had a prominent role in An-Najah School in the past, as well as those who have prominent roles for An-Najah National University at present. The Director of the library, Mr. Hani Jaber, said that it’s very important to establish such exhibitions, which show the history of the university, to enable future generations to become familiar with their university’s history.