The Arab Institute for Women (AiW) at the Lebanese American University (LAU) is proud to announce that it has been shortlisted for the Research Project of the Year: Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences category at the Times Higher Education (THE) Awards Arab World 2026 for its theatrical play Wadad Halwani: An Ant that Digs in Stone.

The play was the flagship outcome of a research-based project launched in 2023 to mark the AiW’s 50^th anniversary, with the support of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), UN Women, and the Government of Canada. The project examined women’s leadership in Lebanon by documenting the journeys, struggles, and achievements of influential figures. Through research and public engagement activities, it amplified women’s stories, challenged social barriers, and advanced broader conversations on societal change.

Based on the personal journey of activist Wadad Halwani, whose husband disappeared during the Lebanese Civil War, the play – directed by Dr. Lina Abyad, Stage Theatre Director and former Associate Professor at LAU –   drew on archival research, oral histories, legal analysis, and activist testimonies. It transformed these findings into a powerful public narrative on the experiences of families of the missing and forcibly disappeared, while documenting women’s roles in struggles for justice and accountability. Performed at LAU, schools and universities across Lebanon, and Beit Beirut, the play was accompanied by community discussions that fostered intergenerational dialogue, making complex social and historical issues accessible to wider audiences and raising awareness of Law 105 (2018) on missing and forcibly disappeared persons.

This marks the second time the AiW has been recognized by the THE Awards Arab World, reaffirming the Institute’s position as a leading contributor to impactful research, knowledge exchange, and public engagement. This recognition builds on the AiW’s previous success in 2024, when it received the Research Project of the Year: Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences award for the Countering Backlash: Reclaiming Gender Justice research project, funded by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) through the Institute of Development Studies (IDS).

This latest recognition highlights the power of interdisciplinary approaches in advancing gender justice and demonstrates the AiW’s continued role in connecting research, storytelling, and public engagement to address critical social issues in Lebanon and the Arab region. Through initiatives that bridge academic inquiry and creative expression, the AiW continues to create spaces for dialogue and meaningful change.