9 October 2026

Dr. Hassan El-Bilawi/ Egypt, Chairperson of ANECD Advisory Board and Advisor to the President of the Arab Gulf Program for Development (AGFUND) and the Arab Council for Childhood and Development (ACCD)

My dear brother and friend, Dr. Ghassan Issa,

My deepest condolences to you, to myself, to all our friends, and to all those who walk the paths of development, enlightenment, and justice for all.

I mourn my friend Youssef Hajjar, and I bid him a heartfelt farewell that deeply saddens us.

You left keeping behind your legacy of defending children, humanity, and justice.

You will continue to inspire us and awaken within us a sense of interconnection, love, and strength.

We offer our condolences to ourselves and renew our commitment to all the principles, work, and solidarity you instilled in us.

This is fate, and our consolation lies in the future. Hope remains alive as long as life lasts, and as long as the thoughts of the generous previous generation flow in the veins of the new ones.

 

Dr. Mohammad Miqdadi/ Jordan, Secretary-General of the National Council for Family Affairs

It is with profound sadness and sorrow that I received the news of the passing of Mr. Youssef Hajjar, one of the leading Arab figures who dedicated his thought, work, and beliefs to early childhood issues and children’s rights.

Youssef Hajjar was more than just an expert in this field. He had a mission and a profound humanitarian vision. He believed that human development begins in early childhood and that children cannot be viewed in isolation from their family, community, and surrounding environment. Through his ideas, writings, and career, he left a significant mark on developing our Arab understanding of early childhood and on establishing a concept of work that goes beyond simply providing programs and services, seeking a genuine and lasting impact on the lives of children and their families.

The passing of thinkers and visionaries leaves a void, but our consolation lies in the fact that the ideas, values, and knowledge they instilled remain present in the generations, institutions, and individuals they influenced. Their impact continues through every sincere effort made for a better childhood.

May God bless Mr. Youssef Hajjar, reward him abundantly for his contributions to children and families in our Arab region, and grant his family, loved ones, and colleagues patience and solace.

 

Muna Abbas/ Jordan, Chief Executive Officer of the Asfari Foundation

During my visit to Damascus in the summer of 2025, I walked along the alleys of Old Damascus. In one of the narrow streets branching off Tal el-Hajarah street in Al-Amin neighborhood, a statue of Virgin Mary caught my eye. I took a picture of the alley and the statue and sent it to Youssef Hajjar. He replied that he had spent his early childhood in those alleys and that his family home was not far.

I imagined him as a child wandering those alleyways with his curious blue eyes. I remembered a story he told us when he crossed a priest from the monastery who asked Youssef a question to test his intelligence. His answer impressed the priest, so he suggested to Youssef’s mother enrolling him in the monastery to learn and start his path to priesthood. From there, Youssef embarked on a rich life, a journey of learning, adventure, and discovery. A journey including numerous principled positions and fateful decisions, moving across experiences and cities as a steadfast man who believed in human dignity and the values ​​of justice and love. A journey where Beirut became a city of companions and friends, a place that shaped awareness, positions, and principles. Damascus remained the city of the soul where, as he once told me, he walks along its ancient streets like nowhere else.

But Yousef was not simply a man with a rich life story. He possessed a rare ability to turn what he had lived through into vision. He had a brilliant mind, an eye for opportunities where others might not see them, and a strategic way of thinking that connected people, events and decisions, always looking for what a moment might make possible for the future.

I miss, and we will all miss, this ability to see beyond the work immediately in front of us. He saw our commitment to our larger cause, the cause of early childhood, as much more than work within a particular sector or programme. He understood its connection to broader questions of human dignity and rights, of justice, and of the society we aspire to build. In every endeavour he took on, he saw a part of a much larger picture, quietly weaving threads between relationships, ideas, decisions and events, always creating for us a space in which hope could emerge.

Perhaps this was one of the most beautiful things we learned from him: not to lose sight of the bigger picture while immersed in the details; to always remember why we do what we do; and to remain faithful to an idea even when the road towards it is long.

Yousef’s personal life, with all the experiences, knowledge and friendships it carried, was inseparable from his work in the public sphere. He never separated what he had lived from what he believed in, nor knowledge from conviction, nor personal experience from the causes he cared about. He carried all of it with him, transforming it into meaning, conviction and action, and through it opened spaces where others could meet him, learn from him and be changed by him.

After his passing, these spaces will not be the same. We will miss his brilliant mind, his questions, and his ability to see a little further than the rest of us; to remind us that what we do today can be part of something much greater tomorrow. We will also miss his humanity, the warmth of his friendship, and the way he could turn a discussion into an idea, an idea into a possibility, and a possibility into hope.

Farewell to the roses that bloomed in the gardens of your soul, Youssef… the roses that bloomed in the gardens of Egypt.

You loved that song by Sheikh Imam, and you would sing it at our gatherings. It became a little ritual whenever we met, a moment we came to expect, smile at, and sing along with you. I never imagined that one day I would long to hear you sing it again, or that it would become one of those small, precious memories through which your presence remains with us.

Roses of love and devotion to an idea, and of faith in its justice,  roses you scattered as light upon our path and our hearts.

Farewell, Yousef.

You will remain in the streets you once walked, in the cities you loved, in the questions you left us, and in the threads you wove between people, ideas and causes.

And above all, you will remain in that space of hope that you opened for us.

 

Souheir Zein/ Lebanon, Director of Research and Development at Al-Makassed Association

Do we say goodbye to you, Dr. Youssef Hajjar? Of course not. Those who plant knowledge and love in hearts never actually leave. They remain present in memories and consciences. You were our loyal friend, a master in childhood and knowledge, but also a shining educational and humanistic stature. It is true that you departed from us physically, but you remain alive within us, our hearts, minds, intellects, and souls, like a majestic tree whose roots run deep in the soil of values ​​and humanity. You were the comprehensive whole. You are a symbol of openness, renewal, and authenticity. We knew you as the compassionate teacher who combined emotion and knowledge, art and joy, hence leaving marks on us that time can never erase.

Yet, despite your absence, you remain in the hearts that loved you, the minds you enlightened, the souls you touched, and every beautiful trace you left behind.

 

Aziz Kaichouh/ Morocco, Vice President of the Moroccan Foundation for the Promotion of Pre-School Education and Founding Member of ANECD

Words fail to express the depth of pain we feel as we bid farewell to the late Youssef Hajjar, may God bless him. He was a dear brother, a virtuous educator, and an exceptional human being.

His passing is a great loss to all who knew him, to all who had the honor of working with him, and to all who believed in his noble mission of serving early childhood and humanity. What makes this loss even more painful is that we are not merely mourning a colleague or a founder, but rather a majestic figure of humanity and intellect who left an indelible mark on the journey of ANECD, contributing with sincerity and dedication to its establishment, development, and the strengthening of its presence and influence throughout the Arab region.

The late Youssef Hajjar was a model of genuine generosity, never withholding his knowledge or hesitating to offer advice and guidance to anyone who sought him out. He was a support for all his colleagues, opening his heart before his door, and instilling hope and confidence in those around him with his kind words, genuine smile, cheerful spirit, and humility, which only increased people’s love and respect for him.

He firmly believed that the true investment lies in human beings, and he was a genuine advocate for children’s rights and the causes of education, justice, and human dignity. Throughout his journey, he embodied the highest ideals of commitment and responsibility, serving as a role model of morality, a symbol of refinement and loyalty, and a wise voice that united rather than divided and built rather than destroyed. His absence will leave a void that will be difficult to fill, but we take solace in the fact that his scientific, professional, and humanitarian legacy will remain with us, inspiring and guiding our steps, and that the values ​​he lived for will remain a light that guides us in serving children and future generations.

May God bless our dear brother Youssef Hajjar, grant him a place in Paradise, reward him abundantly for all he offered, and grant his family, loved ones, and colleagues patience and solace.

 

Nabila Espanioly, Palestine, General Director of Al-Tufula Center (The Childhood Center), Nazareth Nurseries Institution

We received the news of the sudden passing of our dear Youssef Hajjar with profound sadness.Youssef, son of Syria and lover of Palestine, freedom, and humanity, was a thoughtful and inspiring human being, a loyal friend and companion, a man of enlightened thought and melodious voice, and a folk storyteller. He also was an artist who sculpted the most beautiful statues from stone, inspired by his humanity and representing his beautiful spirit and unique sensitivity. Youssef was multi-talented with a generous heart that carried the concerns of the entire Arab region, and the concerns of children in particular.

I knew him for over thirty years, and I never tired of his stories. We were enchanted by his voice as he sang Sheikh Imam’s song, with lyrics by our poet Tawfiq Ziad, “The roses blossomed and budded on my window”. With these words, he would begin our workshops, opening our minds and hearts and enriching our discussions. I was fortunate enough to attend these workshops and meetings alongside him and to work with him in training. Youssef, a founding member of the Arab Resource Collective (ARC), shared a dream with dear Ghanem Bibi and Dr. Ghassan Issa, may God grant them long life. A dream they shared with us, a dream that has expanded to encompass many persons over the years. A dream that laid the foundation for early childhood development in the Arab world, placing its causes on the agendas of Arab governments and societies, and establishing the Arab Network for Early Childhood (ANECD). He was a true champion of the cause. He will remain in our memory…

Youssef, the human being who genuinely advocated dignity and freedoms and sought justice.

Youssef, the militant who kept hope alive through his activism and work.

May his memory be eternal.

We offer our condolences to ourselves and to all who knew him.

We also keep on working to realize the dream.

 

Dr. Umaiyeh Khammash/ Palestine, Director of Juzoor for Health and Social Development.

It is with deep sorrow and sadness that I received the news of the passing of Youssef Hajjar.

I was honored to meet him on several occasions, and in every encounter, I was struck by his pure spirit, his sincere heart, and his profound belief in hope and aspiration for a better tomorrow for our Arab region founded on human dignity, justice, and children’s rights. He possessed a noble humanitarian vision and left a positive impact and genuine inspiration on everyone he met.

My sincere condolences to his family, his colleagues, his friends, and all who knew and worked with him. May God bless him, and may his humanitarian legacy remain a source of inspiration for future generations.

 

Dr. Hiam Lotfi/ Lebanon, Dean of Quality Assurance at the Modern University for Business and Science (MUBS)

This great person left us keeping an indelible mark on the field of early childhood. He contributed significantly to the development of its modern educational concepts and methods. His work embodied a profound humanitarian vision based on empowering children and providing them with equal opportunities for development and learning. His exceptional personality, filled with tolerance and understanding, made him a role model in humanitarian leadership and a source of inspiration for all those working in service of childhood and society.

 

Rita Karam/ Lebanon, Secretary General of the Higher Council for Childhood, Ministry of Social Affairs

Goodbye Dr. Youssef Hajjar… Hoping for a third reunion…

It is with profound sadness and sorrow that I bid farewell today to Dr. Youssef Hajjar, the human being, the professor, and the friend who left an indelible mark on me and on all who knew him. I first met Dr. Youssef when I was studying at the University of Victoria in Canada. He was the only person who spoke Arabic, and his presence brought a sense of home to me. He was a distinguished professor, presenting his material with passion and eagerness, captivating us with his knowledge, experience, and exceptional ability to convey information.

Years passed, and after some thirteen years, life brought us together again at ANECD. I could not believe I was meeting my mentor again that day, but this time, I had become the Secretary-General of the Higher Council for Childhood at the Ministry of Social Affairs in Lebanon. We met again around a cause we both believed in: Arab childhood.

Dr. Youssef remained as I had always known him: a kind, loving, and humble man spreading joy wherever he went. With his smile, his beautiful spirit, and even his songs, he eased the burdens of our lives in our homelands and created an atmosphere of warmth and love among everyone.

As for his knowledge and experience, they were a school in themselves. The knowledge and experience he offered deserve to be taught and remain a reference for future generations.

Today, not only ANECD loses a dear person, but Arab childhood also loses a great scientific and humanitarian figure.

Dr. Youssef, we will miss your presence among us, your smile, your knowledge, and your songs that filled the hall with joy. Life first brought us together at a distant university in Canada, and then again thirteen years later in the service of children in our Arab region.

Today I bid you farewell, hoping for a third meeting, but this time in heaven.

Goodbye, my teacher. Goodbye, Dr. Youssef. May God bless your kind soul. Your memory will remain forever in our hearts and minds.