News

BLC bank organised a series of new seminars and workshops in several villages and towns to inform artisans and creators of the different competitive and affordable financing programmes that the bank has made available.  These events have taken place so far in Baaklin (March 23rd), Mazraat Yashou’ (April 3rd), Baabda (April 4th), al-labweh and Baalbek (April 6th). The workshop in Baalbek was the first of its kind with regards to the technique used and known as the “beehives” technique.  BLC plans to organize a number of other rotating technical training events as part of its commitment to contribute to economic development through creating projects and employment opportunities within the small enterprises sector as well as facilitating access to adequate financial products to all social strata. The director of the BLC lending for small businesses department, Banawa Eid, gave presentations on the bank’s financial products which are appropriate to the real needs of the development projects in various economic fields such as agriculture, industry, handicrafts, tourism, etc. so that the loan applicant can choose the best suited product for her/his needs.  Source: Al-Mustaqbal 17 April 2013

For news related on BLC bank activities, please review:

• BLC supports small and medium enterprises as part of its 2013 plan April 02, 2013
• A workshop in Zgortha on small and medium credits March 13, 2013
• The Agence Universitaire de la Francophonie (AUF) new round of funding targeting francophone business women March 11, 2013
• Banque du Liban et du Commerce (BLC) allows Lebanese women to open accounts for their under age children October 03, 2012
• BLC supports women economic empowerment June 30, 2012

Eleven women candidate to the nest elections took part in sessions of the European parliament in Brussels between 10 and 12 April for the purpose of strengthening their capacity to participate in political decision making.  The visit of the eleven candidates, all members of the Women in Front organization, coincided with the holding of the annual general assembly of the Union for the Mediterranean.  As such, the Lebanese visitors had the opportunity of meeting with other women active in gender equality in both Southern and Northern countries.  The Lebanese delegation called for strengthening the representation of women in the Lebanese parliament and for adopting a quota system especially as Lebanon ranks 128th amongst 134 countries in terms of women political participation (women’s current participation in parliament does not exceed 3.12%).
Source: Al-Nahar 17 April 2013

The National Gathering to Eliminate all Forms of Discrimination Against Women released a press communiqué pointing out to progress made in bringing in some revisions on laws that are discriminatory against women.  The press release points out to issue number 14 of the official gazette which recorded the reform of decree 3950 thus bringing in equality between men and women employees in terms of access to family benefit.  The Gathering noted that it had actually suggested a reform of that decree to the Parliament back in 1999 and subsequently to the cabinet in 2001 and organised a number of public demonstrations to support this issue in cooperation with other civil society organisations, and had submitted various other petitions to decision makers.  The Gathering also called in its communiqué for a speedy formation of the new government and vowed to continue the struggled for eliminating all forms of discrimination against women especially in the nationality law and penal code.

Source: Al-Nahar 16 April 2013

The Minister of Industry, Mr, Freij Sabiunjian, inaugurated yesterday the permanent exhibition for Lebanese handicrafts at the Ministry’s premises in Badaro.  The event was attended by the ministry’s General Director Dany Gadeon, UNIDO representative Ali Momen, and the president of the syndicates of crafts workers Mohammad al-Moallem and his assistant Badr Hassoun with the participation of several artists and producers.  The Ministry had previously equipped the exhibition centre which was rented from the Central Bank of Lebanon so that artists can exhibit their work.  The repair and rehabilitation work were partially funded by UNIDO and the Central Bank.
The permanent exhibition centre will be open for visitors and tourists and available for all artists and crafts workers to exhibit their work.  Exhibitors will also organize open air markets to sell their work every week-end.
Source: Al-Diyar 16 April 2013

The Lebanese Women’s Council organised a press conference last Friday demanding that the new PM observes a minimum of 30% quota for women in forming the new cabinet and so as to avoid the reproduction of an all-male cabinet.
The president of the Lebanese Women’s Council, Jamal Hermes Ghebril, noted that the participation of women in the upcoming cabinet is a matter of national interests.  She also called on all the heads of parliamentary alliances to nominate women for the next parliamentary elections and asked that the next stage of political life be approached with a new mindset that will pave the way for a true practice of citizenship and for an improved image of Lebanon.  Finally, Ghebril also called for the participation of women in all current consultations and the dialogue processes in order to guarantee the end of civil violence.

Source: Al-Mustaqbal 13 April, Al-Nahar 15 April 2013

The Unit for Communication and Community Work at the Faculty of Health Sciences (American University of Beirut) organised a seminar last week on a “holistic approach to health education in Lebanon”.  The event was organised in collaboration with the reproductive and sexual health project for youth and discussed the concept of awareness raising in this subject and how this has evolved from providing a package of biology related information to a more holistic approach which includes an emotional and holistic approach which embodies values and behaviors.  This new educational development is largely due to the global transformation in the concept per se.  According to the president of Lebanese Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Dr. Faisal al-Quaq this transformation was largely due to the influence of the women’s movement worldwide and their struggle against violence and coercion on the vision of medical and public health schools.  According to al-Quaq, the new approach helps in limiting the spread of sexually transmitted diseases and unwanted pregnancies and subsequently abortion and in strengthening young people’s sense of responsibility and non-violent and non-coercive behavior as well as respecting other people’s privacy and strengthening awareness of pleasure and intimate relationships as well as adopting safe sexual practices.

The seminar concluded that the concept of reproductive and sexual health is not uniform in all countries but is rather linked to historical, cultural and social factors.  Participants described a number of obstacles to strengthening sexual and reproductive health namely the position and attitude of decision makers and politicians, the limited research in the subject, the interference of religious institutions, the attitude of teachers and young people’s access to erroneous information.  In addition, the seminar noted that many schools in Lebanon are not willing to provide holistic sexual education focusing only on family planning or changes during puberty without focusing on sexual behavior and choices such as masturbation and homosexuality.

In a related vein, it should be noted that the Ministry of Higher Education issued a decision in 2009 to adopt the reproductive health curriculum within the framework of the project to integrate living skills especially sexual health in the national curriculum.  This project was kicked off by the Center for Educational Research and Development CERD in collaboration with UNFPA in 2004.  This project pointed out to the critical need for strengthening reproductive and sexual education in Lebanon especially given the lack of such information amongst teachers.

Source: Al-Safir 13 April 2013

Safir newspaper published a report on Mona Haddad Yakan who seems to have left her mark in Tripoli through her numerous humanitarian, religious and educational interventions both in Tripoli and throughout Lebanon.  Yakan passed away on April 12th 2013 after a life filled with achievements.
Dr. Yakan founded numerous educational institutions starting with a kindergarten which was subsequently followed by an elementary school, a middle school and a secondary school.  Yakan soon moved to founding the Al Jinan University for which it created a number of branches in all parts of Lebanon.  Yakan also was a very active member socially of the Women Islamic League as she founded a number of social and charitable institutions notably, the Orphanage for the disabled, Dar Al-Jinan for teaching the Koran, along with a center to teach Arabic language, the Center for Human Rights, in addition to the Dar Al Muna for printing and publishing, and the Jinan Technical Institute, as well as the Association of Reviving the Intellectual Heritage of Tripoli, all the way to her election as the President of the World Council of Muslim Women Scientists in 2010.
Source: Al-Safir 13 April 2013

The Ma3akom association concluded last week its vocational training program which targeted 90 young women and men from the poor area of Bab el Tebbaneh.  The graduation event of the program was organised at the Tripoli Chamber of Trade and Commerce knowing that the program was implemented in partnership with the private sector, the Middle-East-Scandinavian cooperation office and with funding from MEPI.  The training programme falls with the organisation’s plan to empower young women and men, provide them with new work opportunities and improve their livelihoods, and included training in several skills such as plumbing, electrical works, and jewelry repairs.

MEPI’s coordinator Randall Kaailau noted during the event that his bureau is particularly interested in women’s empowerment, civic education, environment awareness and upholding human rights.  The project manager, Toufic Allouch, told Al Mustaqbal newspaper that the importance of the project lies in providing certificates for young people who have no academic degrees and train them on skills that are needed by the local job market.  He added that 52 young women and men were able to find work in Tripoli and Beirut while a few sought opportunities abroad.  
Source: Al-Mustaqbal 13 April 2013