Prof. Kassam has been awarded this honor in recognition of his contributions to the culturally grounded community-based research on climate adaptation in Central Asia, and sponsoring and supporting students at the American University of Central Asia (AUCA). 

Prof. Kassam had been invited to deliver the Commencement Address to the Graduates of 2023 in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. Through his address, entitled “Once You Know, You Become Responsible”, he specifically spoke to students from diverse ethnicities and nationalities from countries at war with each other. It was an audience of future leaders from Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Syria, the Russian Federation, Tajikistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan.

This also concluded a major research on climate change and coincided with the first graduates of the Zeenab Kassam Scholarship.