If you seek fellow alumni who share your interests, remember that the Harvard Alumni Association has approved more than 20 Shared Interest Groups (SIGs)—“any collection of Harvard University alumni who actively engage in communicating and/or gathering around a central unifying purpose, mission, background, or activity beyond class affiliation or regional proximity.” Group interests range from “Architectural and Urban Society” to “Harvard Veterans” (a full list appears at http://post.harvard.edu/harvard/clubs/html/SIGdir.shtml).
Harvard Magazine has invited SIG officers to share news of their groups’ forthcoming activities in this space. (Send items to classnotes@harvard.edu, using SIG and the group’s name in the “class year” line.) The first responses appear below.
GLOBAL NETWORKING NIGHT
On Tuesday, December 30, SIGs and local Harvard clubs around the country and the world, from Spokane to London to Houston and 11 other places in between, are sponsoring a Global Networking Night--local events offering alumni and graduating students the opportunity to share experiences and form connections. The informal events are designed to combine business networking with a relaxed and fun setting. For more information, visit http://post.harvard.edu/harvard/alumni/html/globalnetworking.shtml.
HARVARD ARAB ALUMNI ASSOCIATION
HAAA City Dinners are informal social and networking events, held most recently in Dubai in December. (A dinner in Cairo, originally scheduled for December, has been postponed until February 5; other details remain the same.) Check www.harvardarabalumni.org for details on 2009 dinners in Beirut, Bahrain, Riyadh, and Amman, or contact May Aldabbagh at Dabbagh@post.harvard.edu. The HAAA’s fourth annual Arab Region Conference, for alumni and fellow professionals, held in Cairo in May, seeks to foster economic and social development in the region; the theme is “Building Bridges: Crossing Divides and Shaping Futures.” For information, contact conference chair Amer Lahham (amer.lahham@booz.com) or program director Sena Halabi (sena@harvardarabalumni.org).
HARVARD ASIAN AMERICAN ALUMNI ALLIANCE
We are proud to announce the launch of the HAAAA, a global network aimed at improving the unity and cohesion of Harvard alumni of Asian descent. While our official website is under construction, prospective new members interested in attending our events may consult our temporary home at www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=30319585826 or e-mail founding president Eric Yeh at eyeh@post.harvard.edu.
HARVARD-RADCLIFFE SCIENCE FICTION ALUMNI NETWORKING SOCIETY
Our undergraduate group, HRSFA, presents the ninth annual Vericon, a science-fiction, fantasy, gaming, and animé convention at Harvard, Friday to Sunday, January 23-25, with science-fiction writer Kim Stanley Robinson as guest of honor. For details, visit www.vericon.org, or www.hrsfans.org.
HARVARDWOOD
Harvardwood welcomes alumni interested in the arts, media, and entertainment. Its newest programs include Harvardwood Books, which publishes original and reprinted works by members for mainstream distribution, and the Harvardwood Channel, where members can upload and publicize their creative work and watch taped Harvardwood interviews and panel discussions on topics of interest. To learn about membership, the group’s active online community, and local chapters in major cities around the world, visit www.harvardwood.org.
