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Inspiring girls to choose a science major

18-4-2019

The Agence pour l’enseignement francais a l’etranger (AEFE) and the Faculty of Sciences at the Holy Spirit University- Kaslik, in collaboration with Femmes et Mathematiques and Animath associations, organized on March 17 a one day workshop entitled, ‘Girls and Math: An Illuminating Equation’. More than 300 female students from 15 schools across Lebanon participated in the event, with the aim to encourage them to choose a scientific major in higher education, noting that their number is less than their male peers in the field. On the event, the Math Educational Advisor at the French Agency recalled that the idea came to mind a year ago during the award ceremony for winners in scientific competitions held at French speaking schools in the country, when a gap was discovered in the educational course between males and females. The latter were reportedly less engaged in sciences, which prompted the need to inspire them to enter the field first at the university and later in career life, since the discipline is not exclusive for males. For his part, the dean of the faculty of sciences, Walid Hleihel, explained that many believe science is a male activity, a fact which discouraged girls in general to pursue it. Society, Hleihel said, played its role in orienting girls to non-scientific majors, noting that they get higher grades than boys in scientific subjects. The shortage of female students in sciences has affected the quality of research and innovation, Hleihel concluded. (L’Orient Le Jour, April 18, 2019)

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Empowering women, lifting social and legal injustice

17-4-2019

The representative of the Danish Institute for Human Rights in the Middle East, Hanna Ziadeh, told An Nahar newspaper that since the mid-nineties of the past century, which saw the launch of the Beijing Platform for Action, participating countries have sought to improve the status of women and lift injustices to this end. Ziadeh, who was partaking in the advisory meeting in Beirut between ESCWA and representatives of civil society and human rights groups in the Arab world, pointed to the progress made in the implementation of the Beijing Declaration. He said that not achieving the desired goals after 25 years of work, is due not only to the patriarchal mindset or in the interpretation of misleading religious, social and cultural beliefs, but also to the defensive approaches taken by those who speak for gender justice. “We always handle the issue of women’s rights as a problem that needs relevant resources in order to reach the anticipated noble principles,” Ziadeh maintained. In conclusion, he stressed that women empowerment and lifting the social and legal injustices is not only for the interest of women, but also contributes to finding solutions to persistent challenges, like fighting poverty and corruption and facing the marginalization of many groups. (An Nahar, April 17, 2019)

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Women in parliament & cabinet caught in traditional politics

17-4-2019

In its issue of today, Al Diyar newspaper highlighted the female presence within the Legislature and the Cabinet, pointing to the 6 women lawmakers and 4 ministers. Some of them, Al Diyar wrote, managed to sustain their distinction and to carry on with the same perseverance paving the way for scores of women to engage in the country’s political life. On the other hand, Al Diyar went on to say, female members in political parties have not taken any remarkable political stand, not even during strategic occasions leaving the say to their party leadership. Women MPs, the newspaper said, should be in the lead to express their opinions through media, regardless if their views were consistent with their political party. The Lebanese society, the newspaper noted, needs to adapt more to the idea that women are capable of taking part in political debate, rather than contemplating the mindset which depicts them as copycats of existing views. Al Diyar explained that the work of the 5 partisan MPs (Inaya Ezzedeen, Strida Geagea, Bahia Hariri, Rula Tabsh and Dima Jamali) has remained within the political framework of their respective parties, focusing on the development work in their areas. In parallel, MP Paula Yacoubian, successfully forged a new trend and reality inside the Legislature, noting that since her election, she has submitted some 31 proposals, almost half the number of draft bills presented since the start of the newly elected parliament in 2018. The newspaper also spotlighted the success of the ministers of interior and energy, Raya Hassan and Nada Bustani respectively, who took over key portfolios in the government. (Al Diyar, April 17, 2019)

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French academic order to Dina Mawla, president of Islamic University

17-4-2019

In a ceremony held at the French Embassy in Beirut, the French Embassy Advisor for cultural cooperation, head of the Lebanese French Institute, Veronique Olanyon, yesterday handed the president of the Islamic University in Lebanon, Dina Mawla, the Order of Academic Palms in the rank of knight. Addressing the honoree, Olanyon said there are several reasons France recognized your distinction, notably the solid francophone background and commitment to gender equality, combined with a determination and excellence to reach them. “You are certainly an inspiration to the young generation of students,” Olanyon said. Mawla for her part, said her viewpoint of human values has contributed to the noble values represented in supporting hard working classes to learn and have access to education, because man is at the hierarchy of this mission, as she said. “I realize my current job as head of the Islamic University, Francophone universities and the Association of Arab Universities means a lot,” she said, stressing that these tasks increase my motivation to move forward to my goal and encourage me to take more risks to this end. (Al Diyar, April 17, 2019)

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Boosting youth entrepreneurship in Tripoli, Ghobeiri

17-4-2019

On April 1st, the Municipality of Ghobeiry launched from the Lebanese University of Arts and Sciences its entrepreneurship program to support university students’ innovative projects within the municipality’s scope of activities. This involves provision of resources, and advisory and training services, with the aim to translate these into feasible products, according to head of the program, Rami Tawil. For his part, Ghobeiri mayor, Maan Khalil, stressed the importance of the above program in offering expertise to students to use later on in their career journey. On the other hand, the president of the Nouhud Association for Studies and Empowerment, former minister Rashid Derbas, opened on April 15 a training course in Tripoli on ‘Methods of training and applied training in entrepreneurship and SMEs’. Around 40 participants including free professionals, university professors, fresh graduates and higher education students, took part in the 10-day workshop organized in collaboration with the Arab Planning Institute in Kuwait and the Chamber of Tripoli and the North. (Al Diyar, Al Akhbar, April 16, 2019)

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Verdict against human traffickers in Beirut, Ethiopian woman falls dead in Tyre

16-4-2019

The Criminal Court of Beirut, headed by Judge Samy Sidqi, issued a verdict yesterday against suspects of human trafficking and prostitution, Ahmad Kh, Ahmad H, Fawaz S and Ibrahim Y (Syrian nationals, sentencing them to two years in prison and fining each with LBP 200,000. The ruling also indicted Attaa H (Syrian) according to Article 523 of the Penal Code, but mitigated the penalty to the period of detention for insufficient evidence of involvement in sex work with one of the defendants. She was also punished for illegal residence status. According to the ruling, the defendants facilitated prostitution for girls by driving them to hotels and homes in the areas of Beirut, Bsalim and Jdeideh to meet their clients. They also lured girls and smuggled them from Syria for sex work in Lebanon. On the other hand, this morning, Civil Defense units transferred a migrant domestic worker to the Jabal Amel Hospital who was injured after falling from the third floor of a residential building in the Tyre town of Hosh. Security Forces arrived at the scene and started investigation. Since the start of the year, our site recorded the death of two Ethiopian migrant workers in Tripoli and Antelias, and the attempted sale of another MWDW by her employer. (Al Mustaqbal, Al-Diyar, April 16, 2019)

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VAW: Foreigner harassed, exploitation of beggars

16-4-2019

In the latest incidents of violence against women and children, the Criminal Court of Beirut, headed by Judge Sami Sidqi, ruled yesterday against Ghassan T. (Syrian) on charges of harassing and attempting to rape Fabian M (French citizen) in Ashrafieh. The suspect was sentenced to one year in prison and ordered to be deported from Lebanese territory for not settling his residence papers. The defendant was also required to pay all due fees and expenses to this effect. Noting, that the defendant chased his target who was accompanying her two boys into the elevator of the building where she lives and tried to harass her and rape her in front of her children but failed under her resistance. On the following day, the ISF General Directorate- Public Relations Department, announced in a statement, that as part of its efforts to curb the phenomenon of begging within the capital Beirut, and upon surveillance and follow-up, a Judiciary Police patrol managed on 12/4/2019 to arrest the suspect, W.T (Lebanese, born in 1997) when he was assigning beggars to different intersections in the city. (Al Mustaqbal, April 16, 2019)

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Tourism ministry promoting Lebanon

16-4-2019

The minister of tourism Avedis Guidanian revealed his first ever ministry’s plan for the professional promotion of tourism in the country and for transforming the sector into a combined private and public industry to this end. Guidanian elucidated the pillars of the strategy as follows: 1) attracting tourists from Arab and GCC countries and Europe and opening new outlets, like China, Russia and India, 2) strengthening internal tourism that is based on promoting Lebanese villages via the ministry’s social media platforms, in addition to organizing media tours to new towns and integrating them into its programs, 3) setting up so-called ‘tourism promotion authority’ to boost cooperation between the private and public sector in this regard. The authority will reportedly include the minister of tourism, Middle East Airlines (MEA), Casino du Liban and tourism involved syndicates, and 4) upgrading and enhancing tourism related legislations to facilitate the transactions and work of investors. On the other hand, the head of the Parliamentary Committee on Woman and Child, MP Inaya Ezzedeen, and the ministry of tourism, in coordination with the municipality of Tyre, held yesterday a training session on food safety in the tourism establishments in the southern city. On the occasion, Ezzedeen stressed that food safety is closely related to environmental conditions on the ground, pointing out that it constitutes a prop to active tourism and therefore, is a joint concern for a number of public department, like the ministries of health, agriculture, economy, industry and tourism. (Al Diyar, April 16, 2019)

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MP Dima Jamali returns to the Legislature

15-4-2019

The Future Bloc member, MP Dima Jamali, won yesterday in the Tripoli bi-elections with a total of 1,387 votes, in a voter turnout of 12.55%, according to a statement by interior minister, Raya Hassan. Recalling, that 6 nominees ran for the Tripoli elections, including Jamali, and these are: Yahya Mawloud (3313 votes), Misbah Ahdab (2520 votes), Omar Sayyid (2161 votes), Nizar Zakka (514 vptes) and Talal Mhamad Kabara (305 votes). It is worth mentioning, that the Constitutional Council annulled on February 21 the election of Jamali and announced the seat, reserved for a Sunni, vacant according to the majority voting system after the appeal by rival candidate of the Mashari’ Charity organization, Taha Naji (c.f: https://bit.ly/2GnDoG3). On the other hand, An Nahar newspaper attributed the modest participation in the voting yesterday for many reasons, notably, that the result is almost decided in favor of Dima Jamali. The latter has received the support of a broad coalition, including the Future Movement, former PM Najib Miqati and former ministers Mohammed Safadi and Ashraf Rifi, combined with the anger of Tripoli residents over the deteriorating living conditions. All this, An Nahar wrote, has decreased the participation in clear protest over the entire political class. An Nahar, Al Diyar, April 15, 2019)

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Syria gives Lebanese products first priority

15-4-2019

Following the Syrian decision to cut transit tariffs on Lebanese trucks, Al Diyar daily revealed that the Syrian prime minister, Imad Khamis, confirmed to the Lebanese agriculture minister Hassan Lakiss that his country will give priority to made-in-Lebanon goods. During the minister’s visit to Damascus, Al Diyar wrote, it was agreed to set a date for Lebanon to start exporting potatoes to neighboring Syria, noting that it is the first time Damascus will import the Lebanese produce for domestic consumption and not for transit to other countries. Citing a political source in the March 8 Bloc, the newspaper said the visit by Lakiss, who was accompanied by a delegation of 21 ministry officials, came at a prior knowledge of the Lebanese premier Saad Hariri. The factions opposing normal relations with Syria, the newspaper went on to say, have reached a conviction that persisting in the boycott brings more losses on Lebanon in the industrial, agricultural and commerce areas. In this respect, Lakiss visited on the 13th of this month the Melkite Greek Archbishop of Forzol, Zahleh and Beqaa, Issam John Darwish, and discussed with him the results of his visit to the Syrian capital to facilitate export of Lebanese goods to Syria and from there on via transit through the Nassib Crossing to Joran, Iraq and GCC states and to reduce tariffs. This, Lakiss explained, will help Lebanese farmers dispose of and market their produce. In a related development, former minister Nicolas Tweini, said on April 11 that the re-opened Tanaf Crossing between Syria and Iraq is an important outlet for Lebanese exports and the closest to the Lebanese borders via Damascus, Adra and Tadmor up to the Iraqi borders. The crossing, Lakiss maintained, is good news to the various Lebanese industries and agricultural products, as the Iraqi market is huge and represents a good opportunity to export at least USD 1 billion a year. (Al Diyar, April 13, 14, 2019)

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