Strategic Plan 2026–2029

Draft 1, not yet adopted. Dated September 28, 2026, for the Council, the Faculty Advisor and the Office of Student Life. Targets are estimates and will be reset each April.

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The signed and dated copy is the authority. This page is the same text, set for reading on screen.

Prepared by Shaheen Farjo, Founder & President. Presented to Ali Najm, Office of Student Life.

Since this draft: the journal’s name is the AUIB Literary Journal (“Waraq” was its working title); its Issue 1 call opened early, on October 8, and closes November 26; and the Society has no charity partner on record (Natrok Athar was removed on October 8, 2026). The draft text below is quoted as written.

Where we are

SAL began as a handful of students who wanted the campus to read, write and make things together. In one year it has become four programmes, a brand and a following. What it lacks is structure.

When	What
[founding date]	The Society is founded. Shaheen Farjo starts the Society of Arts and Letters at AUIB.
February 2026	The journal brief. A first brief, guidelines and rubric for a campus literary journal.
Spring 2026	The Typewriter Tour. A typewriter travels the campus and collects six-word stories, with permission to publish. It proves the campus will write when invited.
September 2026	Three programmes proposed. Second Chapter, a charity book drive for Natrok Athar; Waraq (working title), a bilingual journal; Side Quest (working title), a campus video series. Each with a full operating package.
October 13, 2026	Charter Day. The Constitution is ratified and the Society gets the structure to carry all of this.

The gap this plan closes. We have more ideas than people, more programmes than procedures, and a founder who will one day graduate. This plan, and the documents around it, turn a successful group of friends into an institution.

Who we are

Mission. To cultivate a culture of literature and creative expression across AUIB. Vision. A campus where every student has a place to read, write, perform and make, and a Society whose work outlasts the people who start it. Motto. The paper and the pen (والقرطاسُ والقلم). Values

Open door. Free, for every student, in every college, in both languages.
Craft. We take the work seriously, even when it is fun.
Two languages, one page. Arabic and English on equal footing.
Care. Consent before cameras, safety before spectacle.
Every dinar visible. Money is counted twice and reported.
Built to last. Written down, handed on, archived.

Instagram @auibsal · Telegram The Common Room

Four pillars

The pillars come from the Society’s founding overview. Every programme must serve at least one; the Council asks which, every time it greenlights one.

Pillar	What it means	We measure
Connecting students	Bring people from every college into one room, and one publication.	Share of members from outside the humanities; joint events with other clubs
Fostering creativity	Turn private drafts into finished work, with deadlines, editors and stages.	Submissions to Waraq; pieces performed at Scratch Night; workshop attendance
Celebrating culture	Arabic and English side by side; Iraqi writing next to world writing.	Share of Arabic content; translations published; Majlis guests
Building a community	A society people stay in for four years and come back to after.	Two-semester retention; volunteer hours; alumni at Charter Night

Which programme serves which pillar

Programme	Connecting	Creativity	Culture	Community
Waraq		●	●	●
Side Quest	●	●		●
Second Chapter	●		●	●
Typewriter Tour	●	●	●
The Majlis	●		●	●
Open Pages		●	●
Scratch Night	●	●		●
Book Circle	●		●	●

Learning from the old societies

The best campus literary societies have lasted two centuries. We borrowed what made them last, and left behind what made them exclusive.

Since	Society	What they do	What SAL takes
1795	Dialectic & Philanthropic Societies, UNC, USA	Among the oldest student societies in the US. Its members built a library of over 10,000 volumes that seeded the university library, and chose a motto that still stands.	A motto; the SAL book-swap shelf; the archive left to the Library on dissolution
1802	Philolexian Society, Columbia, USA	Weekly Thursday meetings of debate and literature, the magazine Surgam, and the famous Joyce Kilmer Memorial Bad Poetry Contest. New members earn their place by taking part.	Motion Night; Bad Poetry Night; voting rights earned by taking part
1848	University Philosophical Society, “the Phil”, Trinity College Dublin	Paper readings and debates every Thursday; an elected council of nine officers; medals for the best paper and speaker, and honorary patronage for distinguished guests.	A small elected Council; SAL Prizes; Honorary Members
1883	Footlights, Cambridge, UK	Informal “smokers” where anyone can try new sketches before an audience, and a path from there to full productions.	Scratch Night and the theatre ladder
1911	The Elizabethan Club, Yale, USA	Founded for students and faculty to talk about literature over tea, served every afternoon of term, beside a vault of rare books.	The Majlis, with tea, where faculty come as readers
1920	Al-Rabita al-Qalamiyya, the Pen League, New York	Gibran, Naimy and their circle met in salons and set out to renew Arabic literature, writing across two languages.	Bilingual by design; translation as a craft; the salon
Today	The Harvard Advocate, Harvard, USA	Boards by craft (art, fiction, poetry, features, design, business, tech) and a “comp” through which newcomers join.	Departments by craft; the three-week Apprenticeship
Always	Al-Mutanabbi Street and the House of Wisdom, Baghdad	A city whose book market and Abbasid-era translators are the oldest literary society we can claim.	Our motto; the name Waraq; the Mutanabbi Walk

What we did not borrow: invitation-only membership, secret initiations, and fees. SAL is open, free and public, and our traditions (six words on the typewriter, the Ribbon) are ones anyone can join.

The programme portfolio

Standing programmes, each with a chair and a handbook

Programme	What it is
Waraq	The bilingual journal (working title). Two issues a year, read blind, launched in public. Issue 1: February 24, 2027.
Side Quest	The campus video series (working title). Six episodes a semester; pilot premiere November 19, 2026.
Second Chapter	The charity book drive and fair, every fall. Edition 1: November 1–11, 2026, for Natrok Athar.
Typewriter Tour	The Society Typewriter on tour every spring, collecting six-word stories for the archive and Waraq.

Regular programmes, run by the departments

Programme	What it is
The Majlis	Monthly salon with tea: a guest, three readings, open conversation. Faculty welcome as readers.
Open Pages	Writing workshops, twice a semester, with editors on hand.
Book Circle	One book a month, alternating Arabic and English.
Scratch Night	Try a scene, poem or sketch in front of friends. The first step on the theatre ladder.
Motion Night	”This house would burn the classics.” A literary debate, once a term.
Bad Poetry Night	The worst poem at AUIB wins. Low stakes, high laughter, many new members.
Gallery Wall	A rotating wall of student art and photography.
The Mutanabbi Walk	A Friday visit to al-Mutanabbi Street, with Student Life approval and a safety plan.

Annual moments

Moment	When
Charter Night	Every October: the anniversary, the Founders’ Roll, new members type their six words.
SAL Prizes	From Year 2: prizes for writing in Arabic and English, awarded at the AGM.
The AGM and the Ribbon	Every April: reports, results and the handover.
Term Card	Each semester’s programme on one printed card, in the Oxford tradition.

A year in the Society

The 2026–27 academic year. Exam weeks are kept clear once the University calendar is confirmed.

Stream	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May
Governance	Opening GA	Charter Day · Open Call		Semester report	Spring Open Call		Elections Committee	Elections · AGM · Ribbon	Handover
Waraq		Call opens Oct 18	Deadline Nov 26	Selection	Editing	Launch Feb 24	Issue 2 call
Side Quest		Pilot shoot	Premiere Nov 19	Reels	Season 1 prep	Episodes	Episodes	Finale
Second Chapter		Drive prep	Drive · Fair	Impact report
Typewriter Tour							Tour	Pages to archive
Letters			Open Pages	First Majlis	Majlis · Book Circle	Majlis	Majlis · Motion Night	Majlis
Stage & Arts						Scratch Night		Bad Poetry Night
Community	Welcome evening	Charter Night			Spring Welcome			SAL Prizes (Yr 2)

The rhythm. Council every two weeks. One Majlis a month. One big programme moment a month. Nothing big in exam weeks.
The Term Card. Each semester’s dates are fixed by week 3 and printed on one card, so members can plan around us.
The summer. A half-day planning retreat for the new Council in the first week of term: budget, calendar, work plans.

Three years

Foundation, growth, institution. Each year’s goals are reviewed at the AGM and rolled forward.

Year 1 · 2026–27 · Foundation

Constitution ratified; recognised by Student Life
Council of 8 seated; first Open Call
All four standing programmes deliver: Second Chapter Ed. 1, Side Quest pilot, Waraq Issue 1, Typewriter Tour
Monthly Majlis from December
First elections and a clean handover
60 registered members, 25 voting

Year 2 · 2027–28 · Growth

All 10 Council seats filled by students who joined after founding
Waraq Issues 2 and 3; Side Quest Season 1 in full
First one-act festival; Motion Night; Bad Poetry Night
SAL Prizes launched
Alumni Circle and the first reunion at Charter Night
120 members, 45 voting; 5 active club partners

Year 3 · 2028–29 · Institution

A full theatre production
An inter-university student letters day with other Baghdad universities
A Waraq issue fund that pays for the next issue in advance
Handbooks reviewed and reissued by a Council that never met the founder
200 members, 70 voting
SAL named in AUIB welcome materials as a campus tradition

The one test that matters. In October 2029, will Charter Night be run by people who never met the founder, with more members than the year before and a programme nobody on the founding team imagined? If yes, the plan worked.

Measures

Targets are estimates for a new society and will be reset each April against real numbers. The KPI tab in the Operations Tracker fills in the actuals.

Measure	Year 1	Year 2	Year 3	Owner
Registered members	60	120	200	Membership
Voting (active) members	25	45	70	Membership
Two-semester retention	50%	60%	65%	Membership
Council seats filled	8/8	10/10	10/10 + deputies	President
Events held per semester	6	10	14	Programmes
Average Majlis attendance	15	25	35	Letters
Waraq submissions per issue	80	100	120	Waraq EIC
Arabic share of Waraq pages	25%	35%	40%	Waraq EIC
Side Quest episodes released	1 (pilot)	6	12	Media
Second Chapter raised (IQD)	1.5M	2M	2.5M	Partnerships
Volunteer hours logged	600	1,200	2,000	Membership
Club partners with an MoU	3	5	8	Partnerships
Ledger matches receipts at Audit	100%	100%	100%	Treasurer
Minutes sent within 72 h	90%	95%	95%	General Secretary

Second Chapter targets follow its proposal (1.5M IQD illustrative). Waraq targets follow its plan of record (80+ submissions, 25% Arabic pages).

Resources

A modest core budget for the Society itself. The standing programmes carry their own budgets, set out in their proposals. Core budget, Year 1 (estimate, IQD)

Line	Basis	IQD
Majlis: tea, printing, guest thank-you gifts	8 × 40,000	320,000
Open Pages workshops: materials	4 × 15,000	60,000
Welcome evenings	2 × 75,000	150,000
Charter Night	1	250,000
AGM, elections and the Ribbon	1	100,000
Print: term cards, membership cards, certificates		200,000
Typewriter: ribbons, paper, servicing		50,000
Contingency (10%)		113,000
Total core		1,243,000

Estimates, not quotes. The Treasurer replaces them with real prices in the Tracker before the budget is adopted. Programme budgets (from their plans)

Programme	Budget
Waraq Issue 1	~2,500,000
Side Quest pilot	~200,000 running
Second Chapter	costs only; proceeds go to the charity
Typewriter Tour	to be planned

Where money comes from

Student Life support for recognised societies (to be requested)
Waraq copy sales into the Issue fund
Partners and sponsors under the Partnerships Policy, from Year 2
In-kind: rooms, printing, faculty time
Never membership fees

People are the real budget. Year 1 needs about 18 people in Society roles plus the programme teams, roughly 60 hours of volunteer time a week in term. The Open Call, the Apprenticeship and recognition are how we pay for it.

Risks

The risks to the Society itself. Each programme keeps its own risk register.

Risk	Level	What we do about it
The founder graduates and energy leaves with them	High	Elections in April 2027; a Founding Advisor year; handover dossiers; Year 2 Council fully post-founding
Too many programmes for too few people	High	Staffing by stage; the smallest working Society; the Council says no to new programmes until seats are filled
A few people do everything and burn out	Medium	Two roles at most; honest hours; step-back always allowed; deputies named
Approvals arrive late and events slip	Medium	The General Secretary as single contact; lead times in the Playbook; Plan B dates in each programme
Content upsets someone on a sensitive subject	Medium	Expression & Content Policy; editorial independence with clear limits; Faculty Advisor and Advisory Board
Money is lost or questioned	Low	Two-person cash rule; receipts in 48 h; semester Audit; charity money kept separate
Membership stays within one college or language	Medium	Outreach through partner clubs; Arabic and English in everything; Bad Poetry Night as a low-barrier door

Keeping the plan alive

A plan that is read once is a brochure. This one is reviewed on a fixed rhythm.

When	What	Who
Every Council meeting	Programme updates against the Term Card	Directors, chairs
End of each semester	Semester report (F-25) with the measures; one page to Student Life	President, General Secretary
April, at the AGM	Annual Report; next year’s targets proposed	President
First week of fall term	Planning retreat: budget, calendar, work plans, targets adopted	New Council
Spring 2029	A new three-year plan, written by members who were not founders	Council

Decisions for the founding team before Charter Day: the motto; the Arabic name; the founding date to record in the Constitution; the three founding officers; the Faculty Advisor; and whether the Stage & Arts and Partnerships seats stay combined for Year 1.

Download the PDF

​Where we are

​Who we are

​Four pillars

​Learning from the old societies

​The programme portfolio

​A year in the Society

​Three years

Year 1 · 2026–27 · Foundation

Year 2 · 2027–28 · Growth

Year 3 · 2028–29 · Institution

​Measures

​Resources

​Risks

​Keeping the plan alive

Where we are

Who we are

Four pillars

Learning from the old societies

The programme portfolio

A year in the Society

Three years

Measures

Resources

Risks

Keeping the plan alive