Everyone knows where they were on September 1, 2001. Dr. Ali Al Nuaimi was leaving his Abu Dhabi office when he received the call that planes had struck the Twin Towers. Then the chancellor of UAE University, Dr. Al Nuaimi’s thoughts went to his 76 Emirati graduate students completing their master’s and doctoral programs at universities across the United States. His worries were soon settled as he witnessed extraordinary acts of kindness from his American colleagues who were quick to offer their homes to the Emirati students as places of refuge from potential harm. This striking memory continues to be a driving motivator for Dr. Al Nuaimi’s work as Chairman of Hedayah, an organization founded by the UAE, US and others to counter violent extremism, break boundaries of intolerance and build bridges of peace. Set against the darkest of days, hear Dr. Al Nuaimi share a heartwarming tale of compassion and the power of people-to-people connection.
