The Amal Clooney Scholarship: A New Link Between Lebanon and Armenia

Amal Clooney.

Amal Clooney has launched a new scholarship, which will annually see a female student from Lebanon study at the prestigious United World College in Armenia.

To establish the scholarship, Amal Clooney has partnered with the Armenia-based 100 Lives initiative. This collaboration with the 100 Lives is not the first for the Clooneys. George Clooney is set to present the organization’s inaugural Aurora Prize for Awakening Humanity next year of which he is a committee member.

By establishing this scholarship, Amal Clooney continues her trajectory of advocating for human rights. The candidate will be chosen not only based on her exemplary academic performance as well as “demonstrable interest in the promotion of human rights and international issues.” Mrs. Clooney hopes that a cross-cultural education will be transformative for the recipient and an “opportunity of a lifetime.”

Amal’s scholarship will pay $70,000 for a two-year baccalaureate program at the UWC international boarding school in Dilijan, Armenia. UWC was established with the aim of promoting cross-border collaboration and educating “champions of peace.” The UWC Dilijan branch is part of the educational institution’s network of over 15 colleges, hosting students from 180 countries.

Amal Clooney was part of the legal team that represented the Republic of Armenia at the European Court of Human Rights at the Dogu Perincek v. Switzerland case.

Ruben Vardanyan, co-founder of 100 Lives and UWC Dilijan College says the college strives to make education a force for peace by bringing together aspiring young leaders from all over the world.

The first recipient of the scholarship is Pamela Tebchrany, a peacemaker and a human rights activist in the making, who is already fluent in Arabic French and English.