News

Smart Centre for media and advocacy celebrated the fifth anniversary of its launch during a dinner organised earlier this week in Beirut and attended by the Centre’s founding members, staff, trainers, friends and supporters.
The director of the Centre, Randa Yassir, noted in her speech that the Centre was created in order to build bridges between civil society and the media in both Lebanon and the Middle East.  As such, Smart Centre is working on strengthening development and democracy as well as peace building through encouraging media professionals to develop their coverage of social and humanitarian stories and issues.  Yassir also emphasized the achievements of the Centre during the past two years namely targeting 2000 beneficiaries through its activities, developing manuals targeting campaigns directors, training media students, organizing media campaigns and adverts on gender equality, in addition to launching two studies the first on electoral behavior of women candidates and the second on the role of the media in highlighting women pioneers.
Source: Al-Mustaqbal 22 August 2013

The National Commission for Lebanese Women (NCLW) organised, in collaboration with the Ministry of Social Affairs (MOSA), a training workshop targeting organisations working on women’s issues and focusing on how to use Social Media to gain public support for advocacy on women equality.  The event was organised at the NCLW training premises in Baabda and extended over August 13 and 14 with the participation of some 40 NGO representatives.  Participants were introduced to social media tools such as Twitter and Facebook and how to use these to raise support around issues related to the rights of women.
The training workshop was implemented within the framework of the project aiming to strengthen women’s participation in local governance and funded by the Italian Embassy, and as per the Memorandum of Understanding concluded between NCLW and MOSA, and as part of the national campaign to support women in decision and peace making which was launched by first lady Wafa Suleiman on International Women’s Day in 2012.
Source: Al-Mustaqbal, Al-Nahar 22 August 2013
 

As Safir newspaper published a report about the current overall negative economic indicators in Lebanon which include the production and service sectors.  The report noted that the decline of these sectors is attributed to the current sluggish situation of the Lebanese economy amidst local and regional political tensions.  This is particularly affecting new investments given the impact of poor electrical, water, energy and communication services, various administrative and legal hurdles, as indicated in the report issued by Kafalat and the Research Unit at the Credit Libanais bank.
Statistics of Kafalat indicate an annual drop if 21.5% in the number of loans bestowed which have reached 481 units by the end of 2013 compared with 601 units during the same period of 2012.  The total size of loans recorded LBP 102.07 billion, thus revealing an increase in the size of the average individual loan which now stands at LBP 212.20 million.  The highest percentage of loans during the first four months of 2013 was in agriculture (40.9%), while Mount Lebanon appears to attract the highest number of loans (38.46%) followed by the Beqaa (23.91%) and the South (11.85%).
A comparison of figures for the distribution of projects per sectors, for the first 7 months of 2013 with those of 2012, reveals the following:

• Agriculture: 229 projects in July 2012 versus 197 projects in July 2013; i.e. a drop of 32 projects (13.9 %)
• Industry: 228 projects in July 2012 versus 160 projects in July 2013; i.e. a drop of 68 projects (29.82 %)
• Tourism: 120 projects in July 2012 versus 86 projects in July 2013; i.e. a drop of 68 projects (28.33 %)
• Other sectors: 33 projects in July 2012 versus 38 projects in July 2013; i.e. an increase of 5 projects (15.15 %)

Source: Al-Safir 21 August 2013

The development centre of Rashayya and Western Beqaa organized, in collaboration with Afaq Association and the National Office of Employment, a ceremony to distribute certificates to 20 young men and women who took part in the vocational training courses in Microsoft office (Word, Excel and Access) on a period of 6 months, overseen by experts Ali Ismael and Maya Khodor Harb. The graduation event was held at the venue of the Development, Rehabilitation and Welfare Centre of Ro2ya Association under the auspices of the Minister of Social Affairs, Mr. Wael Abou Faoor represented by Mr. Rabah Al-Qadi the deputy of the internal affairs at the Progressive Socialist Party.
The president of Afaq Association Ahmad Thabet, stressed the importance of the workshop and role in building the vocational and technical skills of trainees.  He also added that the certificates received will allow trainees to seek employment on the local and external markets.
For his part, the Vice President of the Lebanese Development Forum Mr. Wehbi Abou Faour highlighted again the importance of this workshop which will contribute to facilitating the integration of the trainees in their local communities and in using what they have learnt to promote local development and increase productivity.  He also commended the efforts of the National Office of Employment in supporting rural areas.
Source: Al-Mustaqbal 21 August 2013

As Safir newspaper published a coverage of the seminar organised by the Faculty of Agriculture and Food Sciences at the American University of Beirut (Environment and Sustainable Development Unit) under the auspices of the Danish ambassador to Lebanon Jan Top Christensen.  The seminar was entitled: “Organic Agriculture: The Danish Perspective and a Lebanese Update”.  Participants discussed the role of Lebanese institutions in strengthening the organic agricultural sector of Lebanon, the challenges it faces and the ways to increase effectiveness of inputs.  Participants also indicated their interest in taking part in a second seminar to pursue these discussions.
The seminar reviewed the history of organic agriculture in Lebanon, the role that the American University of Beirut has played in taking the initiative in encouraging this through creating the “healthy basket” project which thought to improve the livelihoods of farmers in rural areas, as well as various other initiatives the latest of which was the creation of the Environment and Sustainable Development Unit in 2001 which aims at achieving  food security, empowering local communities and strengthening sustainable agriculture.
The article also noted that the Ministry of Agriculture recently enacted a number of decrees to regulate organic agriculture and has set up a national technical committee of agronomists whose mandate is to develop laws, follow up the registration of organic farming bodies, and provide technical support and extension services to producers and suppliers
The technical committee is expected to integrate some of the recommendations of this seminar into the report which it will soon submit to the Council of Minister in order to promote organic agriculture in Lebanon.
Source: Al-Safir 8 August 2013

Al Safadi Foundation kicked off the training of 11 women university student volunteers in active learning methods.  The trainees will use the acquired tools thereafter to work on the implementation of a scholastic support program targeting 90 elementary students living within the confines of the old quarters of Tripoli.  The training is being conducted at the Al Safadi women academy and within the framework of the “Life is ahead of us” programme.  This programme is funded by the Ministry of Social Affairs, via the national programme for local social and economic development, which in turn is implemented within the framework of Italian cooperation assistance, and seeks to alleviate poverty and support social development in old Tripoli.
The director of the project, Khaled Hannouf, noted in an interview with Al Mustaqbal newspaper that the content of the workshop was developed in collaboration with a number of experts in education and facilitation and will spread over several days during which trainees will be equipped with sufficient information about contemporary education and tools to enable them to motivate students to further engage with their academic learning.  The project will also collaborate with neighborhood schools so as to create a favorable learning environment for children.
For her part, Samira Baghdai, the director of the social development sector at Safadi Foundation noted that the project is compatible with the five national social development goals namely: providing better health care, supporting social protection mechanisms, improving the quality of education, providing safe and equal work opportunities, developing local communities and social capital.  The objectives of the project are also in line with those of the development strategies of the ities of Fayhaa’ (Tripoli, Baddaoui, and Mina)
Source: Al-Mustaqbal 20 August 2013

Al Akhbar and Al Nahar newspapers published two articles about the migration of young Lebanese women and men on the occasion of the International Youth Day (August 12th of every year) in an attempt to raise awareness about this chronic but escalating trend.
Al Akhbar notes that 52% of the Lebanese men aged between 35 and 39 are migrating compared to 45% for women.  Former Minister Charbel Na7has notes in an interview with Al Akhbar that the Lebanese society is slowly moving to resemble the Gulf model where there is high dependence on temporary foreign labor, coupled with the growth of those economic sectors that rely on low skilled and low paid labor but not requiring high technical or human investments.
Na7has also noted the low level of participation of women in the world of work despite the fact that the proportion of women enrolled in university education is higher than men.  Thus, he saw is no point in investing in girls and women’s higher education if they end up as “housewives” after that.  In an attempt to explain this phenomenon, he added that this may be due to the fact that women still believe that the investment in their education is only to be used to benefit their children as well as have better marriage opportunities.
Na7has also pointed out to the lack of a population census in Lebanon since 1932 as well as the absence of credible and reliable national statistics except for three key surveys namely the study carried out by the Central Administration for Statistics on Labor Force (1970), the second on the labor force and household budgets in 1996, 1997, and the last one of 2007.  Finally, Na7has emphasised the importance of using these three studies in all discussion matters related to demographics, work, social conditions, household expenditures and consumption and income in Lebanon.
Within the same vein, Riad Tabbarah of MADMA (Center for Development Studies and Projects) noted in his interview with An Nahar that the main reason for the immigration of youth is, according to field studies, the search for decent work as defined by the ILO, namely work that secures fair income, sustainability and protection from exploitation.  Tabbarah further added that a study carried out by the Saint Joseph University on youth migration, and covering the period extending between 1992 and 2007, indicated that a high percentage of young immigrants (43% aged between 18 to 35 years) are university graduates of whom 37% are trained in engineering, IT and sciences, 30% in administration and services and 13% in medicine.  The same study also showed that the percentage of young immigrants with high degrees is higher than that of young residents and is continuously increasing thus indicating that the migration of brains and skills is higher amongst trained and educated young people and is increasing with time.  Tabbarah also focused on the negative correlation between immigration and employment, thus explaining that once the growth of economy surpassed a certain rate (approximately 3%), unemployment in Lebanon start decreasing as well as migration to seek job opportunities outside.  He also pointed out to the importance of remittances from Lebanese working abroad and which reaches circa 7.5 billion yearly, according to MADMA’s studies, and which makes up around 17% of the total GDP, thus concluding that remittances are a main contributor to the growth of the Lebanese economy and plays an crucial role in stabilizing the balance of payment and the national currency.
In conclusion, Tabbarah pointed out to five key issues which need to be taken into consideration when discussing youth migration, namely:
The remittances of Lebanese migrants which constitute a form of safety net for the local economy;
Youth suffer most from high unemployment and tend to migrate in search for decent work that meet their aspirations. This acts to restrain local unemployment by providing local opportunities to less qualified workers (!?)
The Lebanese emigrants play an important role in supporting Lebanon economically, culturally and politically;
Migration mostly affects those who are most skilled and educated and constitutes a major waste of economic resources;
Extensive migration has negative social implications.  According to Tabbara, the migration of males in the past has increased celibacy rates amongst women and has also resulted in an increase in the migration of non-married women.  This migration has resulted in leaving behind a cohort of elderly people who do not have any family care and thus increasing the demand for nursing home for the elderly and who are no longer able to meet this increasing demand.
Source: Al-Akhbar, Al-Nahar 12 August 20