The Tunisian Community Center (tunisiancommunity.org ) held its annual Ibn Khaldun Hafla in San Francisco on May 31, 2008. The event is the fourth in this increasingly successful gathering of Tunisian Americans from around the US. Every year, the Ibn Khaldun Award is awarded to a "high achiever who had promoted the understanding of Tunisian culture in the United States, promoted a greater sense of Tunisian identity, or constituted a service to the Tunisian American community." This year's awardee is James R. Phippard who had an exhaustive list of accomplishments that benefited Tunisians and Americans, among them the Technology Transfer Program that was initiated in 1981 and resulted in over 1000 Tunisian students ("Tech Kids") receiving advanced degrees from leading US universities. The event was attended by H.E. M. Nejib Hachana, Ambasador of Tunisia to the United States who gave an eloquent speech highlighting the awardee's acompishments and stressing that the Ambassador is not just an ambassador but a brother to all present.