News

Al Mustaqbal newspaper published a report last week, on a group of displaced Syrian women who took the initiative of starting a small initiative to address their difficult social and economic conditions. The report identifies Hala Kanj who gathered twelve women to start a hand knitting project.  These women now produce woolen clothes including hats, gloves, toys, cushion covers and other hand woven products which they are trying to sell.
Kanj told Al Mustaqbal that the idea arose as a result of the dire conditions of Syrian displaced families and in view of the fact that most women used to hand-weave at home in Syria and sell some of their products.  She noted that their first experience of producing at home in Lebanon and selling their products succeeded in providing them with some income.  Two months later, they realized that they needed some help and contacted the Noor Islamic Association – The Martyre Sheikh Ahmed Abdulwahed School, who welcomed the idea and provided women with the space for work in addition to some tools and a supply of wool as a first step.  The women intend to develop and upgrade their new initiate once they return home to Syria.
To be noted that the Noor Islamic Association organised last week a exhibition of hand-woven wool which showcased the work of the women group and so as to help them market and increase their outreach.
Source: Al-Mustaqbal 28 September, Al-Mustaqbal 30 September 2013

The national campaign to raise children’s custody issued a statement in which it shared details of its meeting last week with the Judge Abdulhalim Sharara who had allegedly noted that the work of the Campaign seeking an increase in children’s custody age within the Shiite confession, is simply a waste of time, since the letter of the Sharia law is very clear and explicit and cannot be changed except through a theological debate which may take generations to happen.  The statement clarified that although the some current court practices actually condones the stipulation of some of the Sharia laws which indicate that the child custody age for both girls and boys is 7 years of age this is by far being a very common practice and totally depend on the individual interpretation of the judge .
The Campaign concluded its statement by a call for a peaceful sit this upcoming Saturday, the 5th of October, at 12 noon in front of the Higher Islamic Shiite Council.
Source: Al-Akhbar, Al-Nahar 30 September 2013

An Nahar newspaper published a report on a group formed of 12 young women and men who launched the Lylot youth programme to support the rights of women and that is after they participated in a series of workshops within the framework of the “Tomorrow’s Young Leaders in Lebanon” which was initiated by the An Nahar youth page in collaboration with the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung.  The report noted that the youth group chose to go ahead with this initiative given the importance of the subject matter and given what women go through in terms of violations that are condoned by society.  One member of the group, Jad Sham, told An Nahar that women’s issues are quite complex especially in the absence of laws that protect women and safeguard their rights.  He added that starting from this fact; they have tried to come up with an initiative that is entirely different from what is currently implemented by other organisations or individual initiatives.  Sham noted that his project has two components.  The first is related to parliamentary elections but is postponed for the moment as the elections were postponed.  The second part deals with the issue of violence against women and how to use technology to protect women from violence.  For this, they devised an application for smart phones that victims can use to locate their position and inform of a situation of abuse in a confidential manner.  He added that coordination is on-going with civil society organisations as well as with law enforcement to complete this project which will cost USD 16,000 and for which the group is trying to raise funds.
Source: Al-Nahar 26 September 2013

The 4th Arab MDGs report for 2013 entitled “Facing challenges and Post 2015 Development Agenda”, notes that the gains made at the level of reducing poverty in some Arab countries have been reversed as a result of political transformations in the region as well as continued conflicts which have exacerbated the vicious circle of poverty, unemployment and hunger.  The report notes that the Arab region lags behind in achieving the MDGs by 9.6% whilst clarifying that advances in the achievement of the MDGs was not even amongst countries of the region or even within individual countries.
The report emphasizes the rise in unemployment rate with the region scoring the lowest participation in labor force worldwide essentially as a result of the poor participation of women (26% in the Arab world against a world average of 51% for 2010).  Poverty, slow advances in rural development, the exacerbation of armed conflicts, discrimination in the law as well as the widespread conservative traditions such as early marriage are all factors that have blocked women's participation in the public sphere and namely in the job market.  The region has nevertheless been able to make headways in bridging the gender gap in education although women's representation in parliaments remains way below the rest of the world.
To be noted that this report includes an evaluation of achievements made across the Arab region and also addresses progress in implementation made since the adoption of the MDGs in 1990 and until the year where the most recent statistics are available, it also includes a vision for drafting post-2015 development plans that are to be adopted by Arab governments.
Source: Al-Mustaqbal 24 September 2013

Afaaq organised last week in collaboration with the Cultural and Social Association in Bekaa and the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung a workshop in Daher el Ahmar/Rashayya on the revival of the middle class in Lebanon.  The workshop began by a review of the major milestones of economic policy in Lebanon whilst underscoring the important role of civil society in creating incentives for the production sectors in Lebanon and in transforming the overall economic vision in the country from consumption to productiveness and effectiveness.  The workshop called for strengthening the middle class through identifying and addressing weaknesses and gaps.
The Resident Director of the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, Achim Vogt,, noted in his keynote address that Lebanon is facing many challenges especially with the disappearing middle class through the migration of the educated youth.  He called on the state and its institutions to assume a leading role in eliminating corruption, strengthening the economy and encouraging the reemergence of the role of the middle class.  The president of Afaaq, Mr, Ahmed Thabet, noted that the middle class is shrinking and its members are joining the ranks of the poor in the absence of social safety nets, absence of the state in setting control and accountability mechanisms, and in tackling several areas of weaknesses in the foundations of the Lebanese economy.
For his part, the editorial director of the economy section at the As Safir newspaper Adnan Alhajj highlighted the absence of comprehensive social, fiscal and economic macro policies which has exacerbated social and livelihoods problems.  He also highlighted the lack of any true policy orientation in the drawing of national budgets which resulted in policies based on disarticulated projects and in exacerbating social cleavages.  He also dwelt on the absent role of the Ministry of Labor in creating work opportunities for the youth and in decreasing unemployment, adding that Lebanon needs 30 to 35 thousand new jobs every year whereas the private sector only generated 4000 jobs.  He concluded that the state can only bring down the cost of debt through privatization, the rescheduling of debts, and increasing the revenues of the national treasury.  According to Alhajj, the most important issue for workers remains the availability of social benefits, and the differences in the pensions system between the private and public sector and even within the public sector.
Source: Al-Mustaqbal, Al-Safir 23 September 2013

The Development and Welfare Forum Association organised in collaboration with the Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture in Tripoli and the North and the Municipality of Halba, the first employment fair in Akkar.  The event was held last week end with the participation of numerous businesses and companies of the North and Akkar and a high turnover of visitors amongst job seeking youth.  The event was organised despite the general feeling of insecurity in that area, and amidst worsening economic conditions which have resulted in a high unemployment rate in Akkar of 35% and in some 65% of the local population living in poverty.

Some 16 exhibiting companies participated in the fair in addition to local committees and associations involved in development projects in Akkar.  The event scored some 600 visitors, most of whom were young people who completed application forms and submitted their CVs. According to the president of the Development and Welfare Forum Association Mr.Zeid Hamzeh, the event constitute a bridge between employers and prospective job seeking university graduates as proven by the fact that 250 job applications were accepted He also noted that requests were made for 30 employment posts for Gulf countries, a similar number for Africa and another 40 for the local job market in Akkar.  The general secretary of the Federation of CCIA in Lebanon, and the head of the Tripoli Chamber of Commerce Toufic Dabbousi praised the efforts extended by the organisers, adding that the fair can provide opportunities for hundreds of university graduates from private and public universities, encourage investments in agriculture, food processing as well as in other economic sectors that are important for Akkar and the North, and noting that the 2 regions enjoy a large supply of labor and of well educated workers.  He, furthermore, called for the elaboration of plans that will aim at improving local economies, studying local markets and developing training programmes that will upgrade local skills and knowledge.  He concluded by adding that the Chamber will always remain at the service of the people of Akkar and the North.
Source: Al-Safir, Al-Mustaqbal 23 September 2013

The National Association for Vocational Training and Social Services (NAVTSS) launched last week its newest project entitled ”The Voice of Youth” located in Ain el Helweh  which aims to empower Palestinian youth through vocational training, psychological counseling  and achieving economic independence.  According to the project coordinator, Haytham Abdo, the Voice of Youth will seek to raise community awareness on the conditions and realities of the youth population in Ain el Helweh in order to help them secure employment while targeting young people who dropped out of schools.  The project will provide vocational training to some 75 young people (50 girls and 25 boys) over a one year period as well as counseling and guidance services to equip young people with those skills that will enable them to become competitive in the job market, improve their employability chances and enable them to start up their own businesses while providing psychological support to more than 200 young women and men and their families.
The project will also select 20 young women and men who will prove to be distinguished in their vocational training, who will receive some tools to start their business. They will also benefit from a start your own business training that will be delivered by a specialised organisation.  Others will also have access to training workshops enabling them to find jobs, and that will be implemented in collaboration with organisations such as the ILO, UNRWA and others.
Source: Al-Safir 23 September 2013