News

The General Secretary of the Federation of Lebanese Chambers and Treasurer of the Chamber of Trade and Industry in Tripoli, Tufic Dabbussi, met in his office in Tripoli yesterday a delegation included the Gathering of Lebanese Business Women, headed by its president Layla Salhab Karameh and accompanied by a group of Yemeni business women headed by Najlaa Chemaissani.
Dabbussi praised Salhab’s role in developing the business sector and empowering women as well as in reaching out to various business women groups in the Arab world.  He also stressed on the complementarity between Lebanese and Yemeni business women and their efforts to strengthen bilateral relations between the two countries.  For her part, Salhab clarified that the purpose of the visit was to strengthen links between the business sector in Tripoli and the North and its counterpart in Yemen and so as to make Tripoli a hub for joint Arab economic and investment initiatives.
Source: Al-Mustaqbal, Al-Diyar 19 August 2014

Mothers of Lebanon association launched a solidarity campaign with the army and with the armed forces.  The event kicked off at Martyrs Square yesterday with the participation of a number of women many of whom wore army fatigues.  The founder and president of the association, Khulud Kassem, spoke of the importance of supporting the army and the security forces in order to protect the country in present difficult times.  
Source: Al-Mustaqbal, Al-Safir 19 August 2014

The Minister of Labor, Sejaan Azzi, issued a new memorandum which requires all migrant workers to take a TB test as well as a chest x-ray especially in view of the increasing number of TB amongst migrant domestic workers and Syrian refugees.  The memorandum which will enter into force 15 days after its registration, calls on all migrant workers wishing to work in Lebanon to carry out a TB test during the first week following their arrival to Lebanon.  The memo also notes that renewal of work permits and first time permits will not be processed unless applicants possess the test results issued exclusively by public hospitals.
Source: Al-Diyar, Al-Akhbar 19 August 2014

The Minister of Tourism, Michel Pharaon, inaugurated the Meyrouba tourism and artistic festival on Sunday August 17th with the participation of the Municipal head, Michel Khalil, the organizer of the festival and the agricultural exhibition, Charbel Saadeh, and a large number of participants and visitors, while the Minister of Agriculture, Akram Chehayeb, had previously inaugurated the villages’ agricultural, handicraft and industrial exhibition a day earlier. In his opening address, Minister Pharaon noted that these festivals are keys to local tourism as they attract citizens and tourists from various parts of the countries.  He reiterated the importance of communal living, dignity, sovereignty and democracy highlighting that these festival are an important message which indicate a refusal to give in to extremism, a commitment to democracy, and support to the Lebanese state.
Source: Al-Diyar 19 August 2014

The Rural Development Cooperative Association in Kfarshuba organized last week a beekeeping training which extended over two days.  Beekeepers and farmers from the village took part in this event which was implemented in collaboration with the LIVCD programme in Lebanon which is financed by the USAID.  Training focused on beekeeping techniques and ways to develop it and included practicum training on existing beehives in the area during which beekeepers were provided with the special protective attire offered by the programmes. The president of the cooperative association, Nazih Yehya, noted that the association will continue to offer such training in order to meet the needs of farmers and beekeepers in Kfarshuba and in surrounding areas and in order to disseminate knowledge on ways of developing the local productive sectors which constitute important sources of livelihood to many families in the region.

Source: Al-Mustaqbal 18 August 2014

Women Social and Welfare Association organized a literacy training course in Ayn Attah and which bore the slogan “adult learning for a better life”.  The training which extended over four months was implemented under the auspices of the Municipality and in direct coordination with MOSA. Special literacy educator were in charge of the training which comprised 100 hours of teaching spread over three days per week at a rate of two hours a day. The activity sought to teach women how to read and write and will also include follow-up courses.
The association’s president, Samar al Hage Al Kadi, noted that the training was based on a study conducted in a village and which showed that there are 53 women aged between 55 and 70 who were illiterate.  Al Kadi also noted the importance of the impact of the training on women’s lives. She added that the life opportunities of women should not be jeopardized because of their inability to read and write at a time when knowledge has become a key asset for individuals.

Source: Al-Safir 18 August 2014

The Daily Star newspaper published an article about “Ashghaluna”, a self-sustaining social enterprise that builds on the traditional roles of women, and transforms them into vehicles for empowerment.  The institution which seeks to help widows, many of whom had never worked before, to gain the necessary skills to provide for their children, is a part of Social Welfare Institutions in Lebanon. It had a modest start with only five women working in a small apartment in 1986, but recently expanded into a full-fledged center which includes a workshop staffed with 39 women and a kitchen/restaurant which employs 11 women. Women working in the center have child-friendly working hours extending from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., 5 days per week. The center is located just off Spears Street in Beirut. It provides a variety of products that range between fabrics and food products along with other handcrafted items. The center is open to customers daily from 9 am to 4 pm, while the restaurant hosts an open buffet lunch for USD 25 person with platters of traditional Lebanese food every Friday. It is to be noted that working women are provided with health insurance and a salary, and are paid school fees for their children.

Source: The Daily Star 18 August 2014

The Lebanese Women Council organized yesterday at the UNESCO Palace a solidarity event with the Lebanese army.  Key speakers included former Minister Mona Ofeiche, poet Randa Kage, former Council President Lawyer, Iqbal Doughan, and the current Council President, Jamal Hermez Ghabril who insisted in her speech on the total solidarity of the Council with the Army.  Ghabril saluted the army and deplored the inefficiency of politicians in resolving the problems face with Islamist extremists whilst the army is now the only protection for women and girls.
Former Council President, Linda Matar, insisted on the need to support the Lebanese army which has given martyrs to Lebanon. She suggested the setting up of small support committees composed of representatives of women and youth organizations who would go around schools and talk about the army to the young generations.  Matar added that the Army is a red line and the Council is in fact the popular parliament who should take on this suggestion and implement it.

Source: Al-Nahar 14 August 2014

The Auberge Beyti association inaugurated yesterday under the auspices of Care organization a project entitled women and health.  The project is located in Kfarzebian – Kesrwan, is funded by the network for social accountability in the Arab region and aims at raising the quality of health services in the region especially in terms of emergency care.  The president and director of Auberge Beyti, Josephine Zoughaib, noted in her opening address that the project will start off by on using the “social assessment cards” for sharing views, opinions and issues raised by health service providers and users.  This will be followed by putting together a joint plan for improving health care performance.  For his part, the general director of the social accountability in the Arab world network, Dr. Said Issa, spoke about the role of the network in disseminating concepts and mechanisms of social accountability.

Source: Al-Mustaqbal 13 August 2014

The Minister of Labor (MoL), Sejaan Azzi, held a meeting yesterday with a delegation of the ILO during which he discussed the project entitled Promoting the Rights of Women Domestic Workers in Lebanon; especially the setting up of a hotline at the Ministry which would be accessible to all citizens and migrant workers (01540114). In another vein, the Minister presided yesterday over a meeting with the national committee to combat child labor.  The meeting was attended by representatives of relevant ministries, the national trade union, the ILO, the national employment office and various associations.  The meeting discussed ways to strengthen the capacities of ministries to address the realities of child labor.
Source: Al-Diyar 13 August 2014