News

As part of ‘a project every week’ initiative, the Municipality of Ra7hbeh, Akkar, distributed last Saturday some 5 thousand seedlings of sour pomegranate used in the making of molasses and organized a seminar to promote this type of agriculture on which most  inhabitants of the northern town depend for their livelihoods, according to Mayor Jean Fayad pointed out. The head of the Hrar Agricultural Center, Taha Mostapha, for his part, drew attention to the high level of global demand for pomegranate and called for enhancing its quality and increasing its production. It should be noted that this was the first batch of seedlings to be distributed over a period of 5 years. In the same vein, Mada Association distributed another 5 thousand apple seedlings to some 100 farmers from Fnaydek, Old Akkar and Mishmish who themselves contributed nearly 28% of the price of one seedling. This activity came as part of an EU-funded rural development project aiming to improve the living standards of small farmers in Akkar highlands, in coordination with the government’s Hrar agricultural center.

Al Diyar, December 20, 2015

 

As part of its cooperation program with the UNFPA, the National Commission for Lebanese Women (NCLW) held yesterday a seminar entitled ‘Syrian refugee crisis in Lebanon: the legal framework and the social and economic circumstances of women refugees’ at the association’s training center located in Baabda. NCLW secretary, Lawyer Fadi Karam outlined in a study the legal side of the refugee crisis, and called for “changing the memo of understanding between the Lebanese General Security and UNHCR regulating the presence of Syrian nationals in order to maintain security and stability through the adoption of several new measures. These measures include: the setting up of refugee camps along the borders, acknowledging the basic rights of refugees, facilitating the transfer of refugees to a third country and providing Lebanon with the required international aid. Similarly, Faten Ghanem, the coordinator of the Gender-Based Violence in Emergencies Program at the Ministry of Social Affairs, spoke about the social and economic conditions of Syrian women refugees, pointing out to the fact that some “78% of the registered displaced Syrians are vulnerable women and children affected in varying degrees by gender or sexual based violence and that nearly 87% of all such cases, recorded in the first half of 2015 have taken place in Lebanon.” In conclusion, Ghanem recalled the main challenges confronting Syrian women refugees namely poverty, violence, harassment, sexual exploitation and low levels of education. (Al Mustaqbal, December 18, 2015)

 

The Ministry of Agriculture, the Association of Volunteers in International Service, AVSI and Biladi Association concluded yesterday their joint project funded by the European Union and entitled: ‘Peaceful and Comprehensive Education’ in seven regions of Lebanon. The closing event was held at the National Institute for Management, under the patronage of Agriculture Minister Akram Shehayeb, represented by his advisor, Anwar Daou. The project which was implemented in Akkar, Batroon, Metn, Shuf, Nabatiyeh, Marjeyoon and Baalbek, included extension sessions carried out in public agricultural schools that targeted 140 young Syrian and Lebanese students. Training  focused on the following topics: the setting up of cooperatives, agricultural enterprises, model farming, management of orchards and plant nurseries, maintenance of green areas, knowledge on how to develop a seasonal agricultural calendar for the main crop types, application of proper fertilization methods, eco-friendly agricultural skills, harvest and packaging techniques, treatment of diseases and pest control. Daou pointed out that the Ministry will soon be developing the curricula of agricultural schools in order that they incorporate modern technologies in line with recent global developments. Daou also called for improving the conditions of residents of remote rural areas to keep them steadfast on their land, through the stepping up of extension services aimed at achieving the following: developing agricultural production, rationalizing the use of pesticides, promoting organic farming and conservation agriculture, planting of new trees and seedlings that are resistant to climate change, water scarcity and drought.  (Al Mustaqbal, December 17, 2015)

 

The season for the production of carob molasses has just started in the Upper Matn town of Qosaybeh amidst very harsh conditions, Al Mustaqbal daily reported in its issue of today. This seasonal industry is facing strong local competition with prices unchanged despite the rise in the cost of the carob crop, which forced manufacturers to stop relying on labor in order to cut the cost of production. Furthermore, it is to be noted that work in the carob presses have moved to night work shifts as it allows local inhabitants to attend to their regular work. This shift has come about as a result of the transformation of carob production from a main to a secondary industry. Moreover, and according to Al Mustaqbal, Qosaybeh village deserved its name as the capital of the carob molasses in the South Mount Lebanon area because it still follows the traditional methods of production. Citing the early beginnings of this industry, the newspaper traced it back to Khalil Mitri No3aymeh from Qosaybeh in the forties of the last century to peak during the seventies with tens of presses flourishing in the area. Now, however, the paper added, there are only 6 remaining presses struggling to survive, with an annual rate of production standing between 5 to 30 tons. No3aymeh also pointed out that local production of carobs is now meeting local demands after the revival of the industry thus pointing an end to imports from Cyprus. No3aymeh concluded by saying that the carob tree does not need much care, fertilizers, irrigation or pruning, remains green throughout the year and hence can be considered as a true friend of the environment in addition to being economically viable. (Al Mustaqbal, December 17, 2015)

 

The Lebanese University School of Arts and Humanities-First Branch organized yesterday a conference entitled ‘The Labor Market and Education Curricula’ which aimed at discussing the quality of education and employment prospects available for students in diverse specialties. A number of participants focused on the new European LMD system, describing this educational system applied recently by the national university as a mere copy of the Western teaching system. Others, while maintaining that the curricula need to be regularly updated, also stressed the importance of adaptation to the national conditions and they remain in line with modern global teaching strategies as well as the demands of the labor market. To this effect, Dean Nabil Khatib, pointed out that the college is no longer just a place for students to indulge in theoretical courses. It also aims at equipping them to directly enter the labor market. In this framework he singled out some of the specialties in demand namely: proofreading, translation and simultaneous interpretation, the development of learning software for maps, etc. The conference devoted two sessions to discuss the linkages between the labor market and the disciplines of Arts and Humanities. In his lecture, "Mainstreaming the labor market with the humanities curriculum,” Dr. Ghassan Mrad stressed the importance of adapting the Arabic language as a vehicle for promoting knowledge, as well as of embracing modern scientific methods aided with sophisticated application techniques. For his part, Dr Khaled Mer3eb highlighted the wide gap in learning between the knowledge acquired by university graduates and the broader cultural inheritance. In the second session, Dr. Lina Beydun gave a lecture entitled: ‘Forging academic and vocational paths between academic disciplines’. (As Safir, December 17, 2015)

 

As part of its ‘change the image of women in mass media and advertising’ program, Fe-Male association in collaboration with Action Aid announced yesterday the results of a study prepared by Lebanese University- School of Information professor and researcher, Dr Nahwand Kadri Issa and entitled: ‘towards a balanced image of the Lebanese women in the media’. Kadri revealed that ratios of women working in prominent newspapers, magazines, TV and Radio stations were respectively as follows: 23%, 34.2% 29.36% and 47.2%. As for the rate of contribution of women to radio ownership, Kadri noted that it stood at 3.4% of total stakeholders, adding that in many cases women figures were used by male owners to counter the law, pointing out to the fact that only two women own a political publication out of a total of circa 111. Kadri also indicated that the Press Syndicate currently has no single women representation having lost during the last elections the only woman member out of 18 members (representing 5.5%). On the other hand, the number of women members at the Editors Syndicate was one out of 12 (representing 8.33%), a figure that increased to three women during the recent 2015 elections.

The meeting also hosted Leo Burnett director Rana Khury who presented the company’s new media campaign entitled: “A girl and I can” and introduced the new video entitled: “Behind the scenes”. Both the campaign and the video focus on women’s aspirations and on ways to realize these aspirations amidst a male dominated society that acts to suppress women’s talents and potentials 

(An Nahar, Al Mustaqbal, December 16, 2015)

 

The restaurant classification and quality evaluation program implemented by the Ministry of Public Health announced yesterday their assessment results for restaurant and food establishments with 25% of those located in Beirut receiving the gold certificate and 10% the silver. The event which took place at the Grand Serail under the patronage of PM Tammam Salam aims according to Minister Wa2el Abu Faoor at motivating these establishments to uphold food safety requirements and reduce the incidents of food poisoning. 

It should be noted, that the first phase of the program which included the classification of some 341 food establishments in Greater Beirut area came in the framework of the food safety campaign launched a year ago. Abu Faoor pointed out that releasing the results of the assessment program ahead of the end of year festivities will provide a boost to the tourist season and will reassure the ordinary consumer. For more information on the adopted standards and resultst, kindly visit the following link: http://bit.ly/1NoJRwz