News

The Minister of Industry, Hussein Haj Hassan, as chair of the Committee Supervising the Lebanese Industrial Research Achievements Program, LIRA, revealed last Tuesday the new mechanism for funding joint academy-industry research projects. Partaking in the event were the Committee’s two members and chief of the Industrialists’ Association Fadi Gemayeh, as well as the general director of the National Council for Scientific Research Muin Hamzeh. Theses projects will be jointly completed and submitted by the ten universities that are member of the programs and students of the schools of engineering and sciences, and should be of relevance to the Lebanese industry. Haj Hassan added that the agreed mechanisms will enable successful research projects to receive annual financial contributions. The projects shall have the edge in benefiting from the innovation funds launched recently with the support of the Central Bank of Lebanon and which target industries that support the knowledge-based economy.

Furthermore, Hajj Hassan clarified that the LIRA program is ready to fund graduation projects (bachelor degree) or higher education degrees, designed jointly between the university and one industrialist member of the Industrialists Association, with an amount to be determined each year in light of the budget, and with a minimum of three projects for each university member of LIRA program. The request for support should be submitted by both the university and the designated industrialist, provided that the implementation of the project includes an explicit agreement between the industrialist and the university that will include: 1) commitment by the industrialist to finance the balance of the project’s  cost, and extending the required supervision and technical expertise. 2) commitment by the university and the subject professor to carry out the project until its completion, and finally, 3) the project should be feasible and of additional value to the Lebanese industry. (An Nahar, December 23, 2015)

 

The Legal Agenda and the ‘My Nationality is A Right For Me and My Family’ campaign, addressed an appeal memorandum to the Constitutional Council this week challenging the new law 41/2015 which governs the restoration of nationality to Lebanese emigrants and following the notice of appeal submitted by the ‘Democratic Gathering’ bloc against the same law. The two organizations demanded its repeal for being based on gender discrimination and for being unsubstantiated in its claims regarding the origin of emigrants. The Campaign and the Agenda explained during a symbolic sit-in in front of the Constitutional Council in the Beirut suburb of Hadath that the act of repeal will shift the debate, for the first time, from the level of sectarian-controlled politics to that of constitutional jurisdiction.

While both organizations were aware that present legislation does not allow citizens to appeal constitutionally, the action of the ‘Democratic Gathering’ motivated the Legal Agenda and the Nationality Campaign to make an unprecedented move towards the Constitutional Council in support of non-gender discrimination, and in favor of women’s right for the first time. 

During the meeting with Legal Agenda chief lawyer Nizar Saghieh and Campaign representative Lina Abu Habib, the president of the Constitutional Council formally refused to receive the memorandum but recommended they publicly address it to the Council through the media. The appeal of both civil organisations was made by virtue of the comprehensive powers of the Council to consider the law number 41 dated 24/11/2015 including provisos that are not covered by the appeal. In its essence the appeal is based on the irrevocability for non-constitutional reasons of both provisions a) and b) of the law because they violate the constitutional principles of equality and non-gender discrimination and because the entire law violates the principle of equality between citizens in rights and duties. (Al Mustaqbal, An Nahar, As Safir and Al Akbar, December 23, 2015

 

 

General Director of the state-run Regie company Nassif Siqlawi has revealed that 2015 business figures have reached nearly USD650 million while royalties stood at some USD495 million for the same year. Siqlawi, speaking during the annual gala dinner for the Regie Administration last Monday, announced the opening of what would be the most prominent tobacco factory in the Middle East as well as the launch of new cigarette brands to combat smuggling, pledging to open a new industrial production line in 2016. Siqlawi also declared that the company has implemented tens of vital local development projects as part of its strategy in support of local communities in the south, north and Beqaa areas, and in collaboration with relevant municipalities. “Total procurements of tobacco from the south and north regions are expected to reach this season some LBP95 billion,” he said, while forecasting that 2016 will be full with accomplishments despite the general difficult overall context. (Al Mustaqbal, An Nahar, December 23, 2015)

 

The pioneering Middle East and Marketing Company MEMAC Ogilvy announced the appointment of the Lebanese woman Saada Hammad as the PR MENA regional director. Hammad headed MEMAC Ogilvy public relations department in February 2010 and contributed to building the infrastructure of an automotive PR discipline known as the best in the industry in the region. During her tenure, the size of businesses increased by threefold and the agency has been a regular winner of international awards for its distinctive performance. Before joining Memac Ogilvy, Hammad held the position of PR and Communications Manager for General Motors in the Middle East, where she trained and managed the PR team within the company- unprecedented in the region. On Hammad’s appointment, Memac Chair and CEO in the Middle East and North Africa , Edmond Moutran, pointed out that the decision taken by the global Council “represents a great opportunity for the agency and the sector in general and shall reshape the role of Public Relations in our part of the world,” as he put it. Saada Hammad, born and raised in Lebanon, completed her higher education in Italy before relocating to the Emirates where she spent most of her career life in Dubai. (Al Mustaqbal, December 22, 2015)

 

The chief of the Beqaa Farmers Gathering, Ibrahim Tarshishi, denounced the decision of Syrian authorities to ban the entry of some 35 banana trucks describing the decision as a violation of the trade agreement by the neighboring state to import nearly 35 thousand tons of the Lebanese bananas. Tarshishi said he was surprised by the Syrian action at a time, “when Syrian goods, including vegetables and fruits flow into our markets contributing to the fall of prices of corresponding local goods”, as he claimed. He appealed to parties in both countries to intervene to resolve the problem, warning to escalate action and block roads in protest. For his part, Antoine Howayek, president of the Lebanese Farmers Association, outlined two reasons for the current slump in the marketing of citrus and banana, namely the closure of borders in Syria which resulted in the increase of cost of shipping. The second reason according to Howayek was the decision to prevent the setting up of independent agriculture chambers that will work to set up factories for processing the extra quantities of agricultural products. 

In respect to the current divergences over state’s support for the existing maritime exports, (see full news, http://bit.ly/1QHMDR6), IDAL head, Nabil Itani, dismissed criticisms  to the current export scheme saying that some interests within the trade sector are aiming to modify the existing arrangements. Itani went on to say that theses interests are spreading false information concerning the country origin of products exported by ferries, in order to shift back the maritime service to container ships that are owned by major trade-farmers. (Al Akhbar, December 19 and 22, 2015)

 

As part of ‘The Social Empowerment of Women and Girls in Tripoli’ program, the Safadi Foundation and UNESCO-Lebanon celebrated last week the conclusion of a series of training workshops at the Foundation’s Social Center and the ‘Women’s Academy’ at the Old Serail building. The training cycle was aimed at improving the social and economic conditions of a group of Lebanese and Syrian women from Tripoli and the North, at both the individual and collective levels. Some 43 beneficiaries, between 18 and 50 years of age, and with low educational background completed training in marketing, sewing, design and art direction, in Basic English and IT. Trainees also benefited from training in personal development and management skills in order to strengthen their economic potentials for starting up and properly managing new businesses, which included a two-day training that focused on leadership and economic and social empowerment. (L’Orient Le Jour, December 22, 2015)

 

A study on the ‘Early marriage of girls: a violation of childhood and a reproduction of poverty’ has shown that over 90% of early marriages have taken place ‘effortlessly’ at Lebanon’s religious courts by completing very ‘simple procedures’. The study which was published last week pointed out to the negative role of religious institutions in promoting the marriage of minors, particularly girls. It also raised serious questions on existing challenges to change the current practices which reinforce violence against women and girls. The review which was prepared by university professor and researcher, Dr. Zuheir Hatab, in cooperation with the Lebanese Democratic Women Gathering (LDWG) also revealed that 70% of rural women were wed between 14-23 years of age, and were usually of “low educational and cultural levels”. It also indicated a strong correlation with the financial situation, noting that 80% of the respondents belong to extremely poor and disadvantaged households. Some 250 women from all over Lebanon who married under the age of 17 in the period between 2005 and 2015, were targeted by the survey. The research seeks to step up efforts to formulate a draft law that will unify the age of marriage at 18 years for all religious sects, and that will be applicable as well to refugees and foreign girls living on the Lebanese territory. The endeavor also calls for stricter government application of the mandatory requirement of official registration of marriages, and for penalizing the minor’s guardian or any party that facilitates the drawing of marriage contracts for girls under 18 years old. (Al Akhbar, December 19, 2015)

 

In collaboration with the Federation of Municipalities of Tripoli and the National Employment Office, Save the Children Sweden and Lebanon jointly organized yesterday a workshop on the social and economic empowerment of Lebanese women. The event which was held at the Conference Hall of Rashid Karami Cultural Center in the capital of the north sought to identify the provisions and methods of implementation of initiatives aimed at empowering women both socially and economically in order to meet the needs of the disadvantaged communities of Tripoli. During the workshop, participants divided into three working groups in order to develop an approach that will aim at identifying loopholes in skills in the North as well as gender-based social and cultural obstacles in order to define viable initiatives that can be carried out by civil society organisations as well as awareness campaigns for promoting women’s integration in the local economy. The workshop came up with several recommendations namely: the implementation of pilot projects, undertake a market research with will focus on needed skills and challenges facing employment, the development of preventive and reflexive strategies that eliminate obstacles preventing women from realizing their economic potentials. (Al Mustaqbal, December 21, 2015)

 

The Lebanese Council to Resist Violence Against Women (LECORVAW) organized last week a discussion in Minyyeh that focused on the topic of dowry and alimony, The event which took place at the campus of Minyeh Islamic School was called for by Minyyeh Information Center, in collaboration with the Lebanese Development Network. Lawyers Silvie Mansur and Ranim Uthman introduced the subject while focusing on the advanced and delayed payments as per the marriage contract (the first is settled after the signing of the contract and the second upon divorce) dowry, alimony and the terms of “3udda”.

Al Mustaqbal, December 21, 2015