“Protocol Rules and Principles” students at USAL concluded their semester in the university with a lengthy meeting with the administrative expert in the management of Protocol and Public Relations in the Council of Ministers’ Presidency Mr. Samir Hatoum. The meeting was arranged and moderated by the course teacher Dr. Layla Shamsedine, who welcomed the guest on behalf of the Media Department in the university.
The meeting included presentations and discussions about several issues relevant to the course content in addition to Mr. Hatoum’s professional experience over 25 years he spent in the management of Protocol and Public Relations in the Lebanese Council of Ministers’ Presidency.
Mr. Hatoum introduced students with information about appropriate reception, means of communication and hosting of figures from different fields, and methods of adhering to the Protocol Rules and Principles when participating in social, political and other events, and during visits, activities and meetings held for delegates and missions.
The meeting also included discussions about the mechanisms, principles and pillars of organizing and keeping up with conferences, exhibitions, various activities, symposiums, celebrations and meeting, in addition to preparing invitations in accordance with the basics and roles required from people working in the field of protocol.
Students also had the opportunity to pose their questions on the subjects under study, and the guest expressed his content and appreciation for the efforts of the university aiming at providing its students with the necessary field experience by arranging meetings with significant persons specialized in their fields of specialty. He also noted that it was the first time such initiatives are being organized by a Lebanese university with the management of Protocol and Public Relations in the Lebanese Council of Ministers’ Presidency.
Mr. Hatoum gave the students a special file that includes fundamental details necessary for working in the field of Public Relations in accordance with protocol rules and principles. He also talked about the importance of Public Relations specialty and its essential role in relations between the various parties. He invited the students of Public Relations in USAL to visit the Lebanese Council of Ministers’ Presidency to participate in the preparations for formal meetings, conferences, banquets and other events.
By the end of the meeting, Dr. Layla Shamsedine thanked Mr. Samir Hatoum on her behalf, that of the Media Department and students of Protocol Rules and Principles, for the opportunity he offered for her and for her students. On his part, Mr. Hatoum thanked the university president, the dean, and the Media Department for this invitation through which he was able to present some of his experiences to the students, wishing everyone further success and distinction.
About the guest: Mr. Samir Hatoum holds a BA in Public Administration and MA in Political Sciences from the AUB.
He is responsible for organizing the visits of Presidents and Prime Ministers of foreign countries to Lebanon, preparing their agendas and schedules, and setting comfortable agendas for delegations. In addition to that, he follows up all relevant prerequisites, organizing meetings with high-ranked Lebanese and foreign officials, conducting all necessary procedures, preparing required documents needed from other public institutions and fully organizing official visits, both Arab and international conferences, banquets and meetings of the Lebanese prime minister to other countries.
