AIT to confer Honorary Degree on H. E. Abdurrahman Wahid, President of the Republic of Indonesia
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| H.E. Dr. A. Wahid |
AIT will confer the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Philosophy on H.E. Dr. Abdurrahman Wahid, President of the Republic of Indonesia, at the Institute's 90th graduation on Friday, 15 December. The degree is in recognition of President Wahid's commitment, as a public figure and a respected scholar, to the systematic and sustained development of higher education in Indonesia. The degree will be conferred by Prof. Jean-Louis Armand, AIT President.
The 90th graduation brings the total number of AIT alumni to over 10,600 since the first graduation in 1961.
President Wahid has always been a strong advocate of a democratic system of education. As leader of the world's third most populous country, President Wahid upholds education as the single most important basis for nation building and for character formation. In his earlier years as one of Indonesia's foremost educators, President Wahid promoted an innovative approach to improve education, including its distribution, through community development projects based at the pesantren or traditional Muslim school.
President Wahid received the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Community Leadership in 1989.