Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Spotlight Organization: Baldati

www.baldati.com : Join UR village … Find UR roots

Baldati is a civil society organization that aims for community development through unlocking technological initiatives to develop simple and practical methods by which to revive Lebanese villages, reunite communities and support institutions.

Our organization acts as a regional media tool, relying on our main network www.baldati.com which has 4190 members and 20,000 visitors from around the world.

www.baldati.com is a new simple and practical way to revive the Lebanese communities.

Our website www.baldati.com is a web portal that unlocks:

- 1468 Lebanese villages
- 5 historical governorates and 25 (casa) districts
- More than 192 Diaspora countries
- Different sub-communities: projects, clubs, professions, education, etc.
- Lebanese Addresses
- Lebanese Events
- Photos, videos, and more

You are all invited to visit the new portal of www.baldati.com, to join your village or country and post all your news, photos and articles.

Our aim is to build a reliable network on www.baldati.com that covers all the Lebanese in Lebanon and abroad

How to join my village?

Go to the top of www.baldati.com
Click on “Lebanon”
Click on the district e-community you wish (mount Lebanon, Beirut, Beqaa..)
Click on the caza of your village : Chouf, Jbeil, Saida, etc.
Click on the desired village
Join that village by clicking on the item “join that community” on the top
Once joined, you can check your MY e-communities listed in My Account box .
You can join as many villages as you want: place of birth, residence, work ...
You can find diaspora group on the same level of Mouhafazat
You can add your country of birth, emigration, etc.

The Impact of Iran's Protest Movement on Arab Civil Society

The Impact of Iran’s Protest Movement on Arab Civil Society

Tuesday July 21, 2009

The Middle East Institute

On Tuesday July 21. Syrian civil society activist Ammar Abdulhamid gave a presentation entitled “The Impact of Iran’s Protest Movement on Arab Civil Society” to assembled guests at The Middle East Institute in Washington. Abdulhamid is the founder and director of the Tharwa Foundation, and is also a prominent advocate for democracy in the Middle East.

Abdulhamid sought to throw some cold water on those who see progress in recent events throughout the Middle East. First, he noted that one of the few positive things about Bush’s Middle East strategy was the former administration’s insistence on referring to certain Middle Eastern regimes as authoritarian or tyrannical. Obama’s recent overtures to regimes spurned by the former president, in Abdulhamid’s view, are seen as more strategic than genuine by Arab civil society. In other words, the new American government is aware that it must change its tone, but has no real commitment to supporting reform throughout the region. To back up this point, Abdulhamid noted that funding for political opposition in Syria has been cut by the new administration.

Abdulhamid also dispelled the notion that any successful outcome for the opposition in Iran should be seen as the start of a regional sea change. Abdulhamid illuminated that while Iran has a strong tradition of domestic civil society, in many Arab states, civil society is isolated and linked to foreigners or educated elites. Furthermore, any new Iranian government is still likely to have strong ties to elements seen as bad actors in other countries, such as Hezbollah and Hamas. This may make it difficult for civil society to champion Iran as a model for reform.

Unlike in Iran, Abdulhamid argued that in the Arab world, the powerful Islamist character of political movements, and the secular nature of educated elites and civil society activists make for a poor partnership. Abdulhamid noted several cases in which Islamist movements have gained popular support, only to be met with chagrin by many supposed democracy advocates. Abdulhamid argued that populations will necessarily make errors in their choices while building a democratic process, and civil society needs to take a more long-term view. Abdulhamid stated that the current status quo is a “slow death” and he would rather see an “explosion” than an “implosion.”

Friday, July 17, 2009

Friday Roundup

Friday Roundup is a weekly blog post in which Safadi Foundation USA publishes a roundup of civil society's activities for the week. The goal is to spread the word about these activities and help civil society organizations learn from each other's experiences.

Rights of Addicted Persons seminar in Tripoli Friday, July 17th, 9-4.

Inauguration of rehabilitated Safad Hospital in Beddawi Camp held Wednesday.

Women still facing unequal rights in Lebanon.

RT: @hibz: IndyACT Achievements

RT: @CafeThawra: The Lebanon YWCA - Oldest NGO in Lebanon for women and girls, great great work, please visit them!

CRTDA's Gender and Care Work in Lebanon event in Ain el Mraisseh.

National Land Transport Strategy Options for Lebanon.

IndyAct explains relationship between forest fires and climate change.

We're now on Baldati.com! If you aren't a member of Baldati, you should be!

Gallup poll on Arab youth (hopes, desires, human capital, work, etc.).

Lebanon CSO KAFA calling for partnership with women's organizations in Syria, Egypt, Jordan, Yemen, Iraq.

IndyAct invites you to read about its campaign against illegal trade in endangered species in Lebanon.

Interested in learning more about observation in Lebanon elections? LADE talked to us about monitoring.

RT: @patrickgaley: NGOs meet in Lebanon to draw up Arms Trade Treaty recommendations for the UN.

RT: @habibh: Check out team Lebanon on Kiva.

RT: @Hussein_Dajani: Part 1: Children of Conflict looks at the generations of Lebanese children.

RT: @heyziz: Largest blood donation campaign in Lebanon. Facebook group here.

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Evan's Corner: Vanguard: Women in the Iranian Election Campaign and Protest

The Woodrow Wilson Center

Vanguard: Women in the Iranian Election Campaign and Protest

July 13th, 2009

On Monday July 13th, the Woodrow Wilson Center brought together a distinguished panel of female scholars to discuss the role of Iranian women in recent political turmoil. The panelists included founder and president of Eclectic Woman, Pari Esfandiari; former member of Iranian parliament and visiting scholar at Umass Boston, Fatemeh Haghighatjoo; vice president of innerChange associates, Jaleh Lackner-Gohari; University of Chicago professor Norma Moruzzi; and CSU Northridge professor Nayereh Tohidi. The discussion was moderated by the Wilson Center’s own Dr. Haleh Esfandiari.

Nayereh Tohidi began by arguing that women’s space in Iranian society has been growing for sometime. A decline in fertility rates, a growing female press, and incredibly strong female participation in higher education all reveal that women in Iran are extremely active in all realms of society. Tohidi asserted that women have always played an important role in Iranian history, but particularly in the past ten years, women have been reasserting their strength and influence. Tohidi also noted that many of the strict social restrictions imposed by the Ahmadinejad regime targeted women specifically, and this is part of why the reform movement has enjoyed such widespread female support. Tohidi further illustrated that reform candidates have been extremely cognizant of the female voting block, and as a result, many candidates involved their own wives more actively in their campaigns. This inclusion of Iranian “first wives” began in the 2005 elections, but was used by all four candidates in the most recent election to woo female voters. Even before the protests, the campaign itself represented progress by specifically highlighting women’s issues, a subject that had been marginalized in the past.

Jaleh Lackner-Gohari had a slightly different take. Gohari did not dispute the important role of women in Iranian history, but she did refer to their current political activism as, “unprecedented.” Gohari asserted that many women felt let down by the Khatami administration’s inability to implement positive changes for women. As a result, women began to believe they could not rely on politicians to institute social change, and they took on this responsibility themselves. This may have been the driving force behind large amounts of female-oriented press and much broader participation in the campaigns and protests. Gohari also pointed out that social and legal restrictions on Iranian women effect every class. Because of this, the women who are participating in the protests are from all different economic backgrounds. They are united by a collective dissatisfaction with their status as women.

Fatemeh Haghighatjoo discussed her time in the Iranian parliament and how she sees the role of Iranian women. Haghighatjoo referred to women as the, “agent of change in Iran.” Social restrictions on women relaxed slightly during the reform movement of the nineties. However, since Ahmadinejad became president these social restrictions have returned, and united women against the regime. In Haghighatjoo’s view, this is why the pictures of Iranian campaign rallies, and also the protests are dominated by images of women of all ages and classes. Haghighatjoo also explained that women have an incredibly powerful role in Iranian family life, and many women have been responsible for spurring their husbands, brothers, or sons to become politically active.

Norma Moruzzi has been traveling back and forth between the US and Iran since 1997. In her travels she has met activists from all walks of life, and believes that the current opposition movement in Iran has the broadest base of any movement since the revolution. In Moruzzi’s opinion, the current clashes in Iran are not reflective of battling elements of society, but rather a very “narrow” portion of the government vs. “everyone else.” Moruzzi agreed with the other panelists about the role of women, but wanted to stress the “universality” of the protesters. Moruzzi also felt it was important to note that the West’s image of Iran has completely transformed as a result of the election fallout. Images of women in full burkas and crowds chanting, “death to America” have been replaced with images of peaceful crowds asking that their votes be counted. Regardless of how the political situation within Iran shakes out, the Iranian people have been humanized in the eyes of the world.

Pari Esfandiari echoed Moruzzi’s point about the images coming out of Iran. Recently, a movie entitled, “The Stoning of Soraya M” depicted an Iran that was backwards and fundamentalist through the story of a young woman being stoned to death for adultery. Esfandiari pointed out the “irony” that this film should come out at the same time as pictures of young, modern women in Tehran leading protests, and throwing stones at militia troops. Esfandiari also noted that women were crucial in the nature of the recent political campaigns. Because so many young Iranian women are in college, they are at the forefront of technological and international fluency. As a result, women were central in developing a tech-savvy campaign, and contributing some of the art and creativity that gave the green movement such a potent and resonant identity.

The panelists were all asked how the Obama administration should handle relations with Iran going forward. The speakers all seemed in agreement that the Obama administration must not recognize the new regime. Right now, the Iranian population may be one of the most pro-American in the Middle East. However, the panelists all felt that if the Obama administration sat down with Ahmadinejad and gave his election more legitimacy, it would represent a massive betrayal in the eyes of the Iranian people. The United States has gained back some esteem only by staying out of Iranian political affairs, and must remain on this course.

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Lebanon org KAFA calling for partnership with women's orgs

The following is a call for partnership from Lebanese organization KAFA, an organization dedicated to ending violence against women:
A call for partnership with women’s organizations from:

Syria, Egypt, Jordan, Yemen, Iraq and OPT

“Strategies and approaches of working with men and boys for ending violence against women” project


A. General brief of the project:

Oxfam GB and KAFA (enough) Violence & Exploitation have entered into a partnership to demonstrate a model in Lebanon of working with men and boys for ending violence against women. The project aims to help women’s organizations and institutions, working on the issue of Ending Violence against Women (EVAW), to explore ways of working with men and boys to influence attitudes, practices and policy change.

The main outcomes of the project are:

Outcome 1:
Women’s organizations in Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, Yemen, and Syria[1] , are equipped with knowledge and skills on working with men for ending DV, have conveyed these skills to other women’s organizations, and applied skills that influenced positive change

Outcome 2:
For members of parliament in Lebanon to endorse the” Protection of Women from Family Violence” bill (for which KAFA has an advocacy campaign) by 2011

Outcome 3:
Enhanced regional and global linkages, learning and community of practice among organizations promoting working with men and boys by 2011

Project strategic components and activities are:

Capacity Building:
• Development, printing, and dissemination of a training of trainers (TOT) manual on strategies and approaches of working with men and boys for ending VAW.
• TOT targeting 4 organizations in Lebanon and 12 from the region.
• Technical assistance to 4 identified NGOs in the region.
• Participant woman’s organizations/trainees develop an action plan for providing training to at least three NGOs in their countries.

Research:
• Base line data on VAW – using data available from NGOs working on EVAW (national report) in Lebanon. The aim of the study is to further understand the state and prevalence of reported domestic violence in Lebanon.

• Pioneer research on gender and masculinity in Baalbeck (Better understanding of men’s gender roles and more efficient planning of strategies and approaches for engaging them in ending VAW).

Campaigns:

• Integrate working with men and boys in the DV bill campaign’s strategy.
• Men forums: KAFA and Oxfam GB will consolidate its relationship with different men as community leaders, doctors, and lawyers to form the local men’s forum who will support their projects on the ground. Men at national and local levels will have a series of seminars (at least 15) to reflect on the negative impact of DV on women and society in large
• Celebrating the 16 days of activism through a White Ribbon campaign, a globally recognized campaign where men wear a white ribbon showing their commitment to EVAW. The campaign will be launched with young men in 4 private and public universities in Lebanon to demand the endorsement of “Protection of Women from Family Violence Bill”.

Learning and knowledge sharing:
• Website: KAFA will develop a website of “Community of Practice of Working with Men and Boys in the Arab World”. The website will include various sections and pages such as the training manual, the research prepared, the experiences of working with men, stories from men in the men’s forums, the white ribbon campaign etc..
• Oxfam GB will arrange for a study tour for a group of five to benefit and learn from South Asia Regional Campaign on EVAW.
• Learning from White Ribbon campaigns

B. Eligibility for the partnership:

Oxfam GB and KAFA are seeking now partners from the identified countries who are interested to benefit from the project and to benefit other organizations in their respective countries. At this stage, selected partners will benefit from:

- Participation in the Training of Trainers that will be held in Lebanon in 2009.
- Technical backstopping: two visits to each of the identified women’s organizations to provide technical assistance and support on mainstreaming work with men and boys.
- Organizations will also be able to share their experiences and knowledge on working with men, and can place their publications on project’s website.

Eligibility of organizations:

All NGOs, CBOs, networks and government women’s machineries, research institutions entities that promote ending violence against women are eligible to apply for the partnership. The specific criteria include:

- Organizations be registered in their respective country of work,
- Have a long history and commitment to gender equality and ending violence against women in specific,
- Have competent staff that are willing to commit and follow up the TOT on the manual, and have the capacity to deliver to others,
- Willing to sign a Memorandum of understanding with Oxfam GB and KAFA to deliver training on: working with men and boys to end VAW in their respective countries ( 3 training workshop), and to send periodic reports of the training, documenting lessons learnt and good practices to be shared with others.
- To ensure sending trainees on the manual based on specific criteria to be shared with Oxfam GB and KAFA.

C. Application procedure:

Interested organizations should send maximum two pages that include the following:

- Name of the organization,
- Location,
- Name of the contact person (s)
- Mandate of the organization
- Brief history of the organization and its membership
- Project and programme on ending VAW (types of support)
- Scope of interventions on ending VAW (national, local, regional)
- Reasons the organization are interested in this partnership (motivation),
- Previous learning experiences from working with men (if any – brief),
- What can the organization bring to this work?
- Capacity to deliver the training by the trained staff, without project resources.
- References for the work and leadership of the organization.

Please send the 2 – 3 pages of the application for partnership to:

Magda El Sanousi – Regional Partnership Programme Manager – Middle East, Oxfam GB at: melsanousi@oxfam.org.uk
And
Ghida Anani, Project Co-ordinator, KAFA, at: ghida.anani@kafa.org.lb


Application Deadline: August 31, 2009

D. Dissemination of the partnership call:

Oxfam GB and KAFA will disseminate the call for partnership widely through the members of the Steering Committee of the project and through recognized women’s networks in the region (i.e CAWTAR/ANGAD; KARAMA), in addition to using UNIFEM list of partners to send this call.

E. Selection process:

Oxfam GB and KAFA will select the potential candidates. Oxfam GB and KAFA will invite members from the project Steering Committee for the final selection from the long potential lists.

Oxfam GB and KAFA, acknowledges the capacity at this stage to reach more than 12 organizations in the region due to limited resources. If opportunity arises, more organizations will be included to benefit from this partnership.

F. Note:

Despite the project covers four countries apart from Lebanon, Iraq and OPT will be covered from other sources of funding.
________________________________________

Monday, July 13, 2009

Spotlight: Lebanese Association for Democratic Elections

This interview of our spotlight series is with Ziad Abdelsamad of Lebanese Association for Democratic Elections (LADE), an organization tasked with observing the June 7, 2009 parliamentary elections for Lebanon.

About election operations for 2009

LADE monitored the elections according to the article 20 of the elections law 25/2008 which says that “Civil Society has the right to monitor and to observe the elections.” This was the first time since its establishment in 1996 that LADE was officially accredited by the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

LADE launched the operation on April 2, 2009 during a press conference announcing the readiness to start monitoring the campaigns, including public administration organizing the elections, the candidates and their obedience to the law and the norms, media according to chapter three of the law, and voters’ behaviors.

During this period, LADE issued three reports describing the process and giving a general analysis and overview on the whole operation including severe violations. It is worth noting that LADE documented and registered more than 240 violations - 45 were analyzed, verified and published.

LADE also opened 24 district offices and recruited 45 district coordinators and assistants. The aim of this national network was to establish direct contacts with the local communities, candidates and local authorities. In addition, LADE aimed to reach out to volunteers and to train them through these offices. Its initial target was to recruit 3000 independent volunteers and to train them on the law, methodologies, and techniques of observations.

LADE managed to recruit and to train 3200 volunteers by organizing more than 380 training workshops and to assign among them 2200 volunteer observers.

It is worth noting that LADE used the SMS technique for the first time in the region.

DL: What did your elections observers do? How were they
distributed across the country?

LADE: All volunteer observers were monitoring the election process to ensure the rule of law, and documenting all violations observed. As mentioned above, the targets were the administration, the candidates and their supporters, the media and the voters. Two types of observers were employed on E-day: mobile monitors (1700) whose job was to observe the elections in the polling stations and in their surrounding areas. They had to document all violations and immediately report by SMS the incidents to the central database operational room. The database analysts then analyzed the information and followed up on the critical incidents. As necessary, LADE did report to the Ministry of Interior through its volunteer present inside this public bureau.

The other type of observers were the fixed observers. 400 fixed observer who constituted a representative statistical sample, were present persistently throughout the electoral process duration in the polling stations. Their job was to provide a certain set of data at intervals during the day, from one particular polling station, where they were stationed from opening at 7 am to the end of counting. This representative statistical sample permitted LADE to form projections about the electoral process as a whole. (Why do we go back to critical incidents after talking about fixed observers?)

To assure the right of every citizen to vote, observers were distributed across the Lebanese regions mainly according to their electoral districts. Observers were organized into groups three and rotated then around predetermined three to five polling stations each, depending on factors such as the geographical size of the electoral district and the intensity of the electoral battle.

On the other hand, fixed observers were deployed in encoded and determined polling stations were carefully selected according to preset criteria.

DL: Did observers have previous experience in observing elections? What was the training like prior to Election Day?

LADE: Since elections took place on one day according to the new law, monitoring was made on a much larger scale while comparing it to previous years. LADE was able to recruit around 2500 volunteers, although the initial target was 3000 volunteers. Many of the volunteers monitored in previous elections. Thus, many new volunteers had no previous experience in election observation.

All volunteers, however, had to attend three workshops. The first workshop introduced participants to the new electoral law, highlighted the reforms that made it into this draft and re-enforced observers’ knowledge of the law generally, and those articles that directly affect the monitoring process.

The second workshop trained participants on the monitoring methodology as a whole, and the tools to be used by observers for monitoring electoral campaigns pre-election day (campaign spending and finance, campaign ads and media, etc.) as well as on E-day.

The third workshop explained the deployment strategy, and observers were thoroughly trained on the tools to be used in documenting violations on E-Day, most especially the new SMS technology, which was being employed for the first time in election observation in the Middle East.

DL: An article in The Daily Star stated that LADE had over 2500 volunteers to observe the elections and half of them were university students. How did these students come to volunteer? Did you recruit them from university campuses? Did they volunteer themselves? Did volunteers come from one particular university over another?

LADE: In order to be able to mobilize 3000 volunteer observers, LADE designated a recruitment officer. The recruitment strategy adopted and implemented was namely based on four pillars: 1) recruitment events or seminars held in universities; at the end of which application forms were available for interested participants; 2) recruitment through partner NGOs, who are members of the Lebanese Coalition for the Observation of Elections (CLOE); 3) recruitment through the 24 district offices covering all the electoral districts; 4) through the website, by filling an online application form.

Through this strategy, LADE was able to mobilize more than a thousand university students to volunteer to monitor the elections.

Moreover, CLOE, which includes 55 NGOs and 8 universities played an important role in recruiting and training, as they all hosted recruitment events for LADE or volunteered their premises for training workshops.

DL: Did volunteers tend to have experience living or visiting the US or Europe that may have contributed to their interest in election observation?

LADE: LADE started working since 1996. It observed 4 parliamentary elections (1996, 2000, 2005, and 2009) in addition to two partial elections 2002 (in north Metn) and 2007 (in north Metn and Beirut) and two municipal elections (1998 and 2004) in addition to one partial election in 2002, (that took place after the withdrawal of the Israeli occupation form the Lebanese occupied territories).

In all these periods, LADE used to mobilize number of Lebanese volunteering, including a few of the non-residents, but the large majority of the volunteers are resident Lebanese most of them had little to no experience traveling or living abroad.

However, LADE used the exchange programs with many of its partners in order to compile experiences and to improve the performance, many of LADEs members participated in observation teams abroad thanks to these programs. This helped in elaborating and developing new methodologies and efficient strategies.

DL: Could you talk a little about youth involvement in politics in general? Is there a lot of youth activism? Do you see a change in involvement in this generation compared to the last? Do youth volunteer for particular party campaigns, or is activism more along the lines of reform in general?

LADE: Youth play a major role among civil society organizations, including campaigns that Lebanon witnessed recently. This reflects a clear evolution in the work of CSOs in different cases and shows the readiness of the youth.

It is worth noting that young peoples’ concerns were not in a single campaign but one should mention that attention was with greater response to the campaign for electoral reforms. This emerged clearly in the “Civil Campaign for Electoral Reforms” (CCER), which is a campaign launched by LADE and many other CSOs to meet the reform efforts of the Lebanese government in 2006. Lowering the voting age was one of the main principles adopted by CCER. Although this reform did not pass in the current law, the process that needs a constitutional amendment has started and will be most probably implemented during the next municipal elections in 2010.

Young people are involved in other campaigns such the campaign for a new citizenship law, the campaign for a new civil code in Lebanon, beside many others.

DL: What lessons did you learn from the 2009 election observation experience? Is there anything that LADE will do differently next time around?

LADE: Many lessons LADE learned from this experience, since a new methodology was implemented for the first time according to the new reforms included in the law:

  • It was the first time that LADE monitored the elections in one day in all the country; this means that the deployment strategy should take into consideration the ability to cover all the district in one day.
  • Then it was the first time that LADE monitored the elections with an explicit recognition of its role in the law (according to the article 20). This led to the elaboration of a different strategy for coordination with the governmental and public organizers, the voters and candidates.
  • It was the first time the law includes ceiling for campaign spending and norms for media and advertising; consequently LADE monitored the campaigns led by the candidates starting two months prior to the E-day.

According to all the above mentioned, LADE learned a lot from this experience and will take into consideration a lot of the lessons learned and success stories. A comprehensive evaluation process is undergoing and a lot of recommendations should be adopted in order to improve the performance of the association.

Safadi Foundation USA thanks Mr. Abdelsamad for answering our questions and congratulates LADE for a job well done.

Friday, July 10, 2009

Friday Roundup

Friday Roundup is a weekly blog post in which Safadi Foundation USA publishes a roundup of civil society's activities for the week. The goal is to spread the word about these activities and help civil society organizations learn from each other's experiences.

Youth Association for Social Awareness urges government to curb bribery in driving examinations. Check out Developing Lebanon's profile of YASA here.

"Tomorrow when we return" Palestinian children art exhibit at Ghassan Kanafani Cultural Foundation.

Environmental issues rarely covered by Arab press.

Lebanon has 100,000 child victims of labor and trafficking, highest proportion of children ages 10-17 in the world.

The Citizen - the newsletter of the citizen Lebanon community.

Les ONG : quels acteurs sont-ils, quel est leur rôle?

Discussion Seminar: Gender and Care Work in Lebanon.

UNDP Lebanon National Human Development Report: Towards A Citizen's State.

Lebanese Transparency Association (LTA) says there were many violations during Lebanon election.

Major reforms needed to reduce Lebanon's unemployment.

IndyAct has a new blog.

NY Times covers Beirut Art Center.

Does media ignore NGOs or is it the other way around?

UN office in Beirut begins training seminar on human rights.

RT: @SawtAshabab: OpenSesame Events! Drupal, Linux... Another good meeting for the OpenSesame.

International Labor Organization's 2009 Report on gender equality.

The Future of Democracy Support: NDI speech.

Statement of NDI election observer delegation to Lebanon election and listen to NPR's story on the election.

Lebanon: Women want greater political representation.

Equality Without Reservation
campaign.

Call for Papers from Institute for Women's Studies in the Arab World at LAU.

The Afkar Program: Perseverance & Results to be held Friday, July 10.

International Bureau of Children's Rights June newsletter.

Human Rights and the Role of NGOs Today conference w Boutros Boutros Ghali.

Development study shows 10% higher literacy rate in Beirut than Bekaa.

Become a Facebook fan of Developing Lebanon!

NGOs ask why media ignores their work. SafadiUSA does not ignore their work and wants to help publicize it!

Do you love your grandparents? Then you should love Kibarouna!

Thursday, July 9, 2009

Event Announcement: Discussion Seminar on Gender and Care Work in Lebanon

CRTD.A in partnership with UNIFEM – Arab States Sub Regional Office

Discussion Seminar on Gender and Care Work in Lebanon
YWCA || Thursday, July 16, 2009

Dear friends and colleagues,

CRTD.A is pleased to invite you to its first interactive discussion seminar entitled: “Gender and Care Work: A contribution to the Lebanese economy”. This seminar is organized in partnership with UNIFEM-Arab States Sub-Regional Office and within the framework of the Women’s Political Leadership and Economic Empowerment for Peace Building Programme.

The seminar will be held on Wednesday, 16th of July from 9:30 am to 13 pm at the YWCA premises in Ain el Mraisseh.

The seminar aims at creating space for interactive discussion on the concept and practice of women’s care work, the ways in which care work is determined by prevailing relations of gender within the household and the community and the contribution of care work towards the economy in Lebanon and towards women’s economic empowerment.

The seminar will be in the form of an interactive discussion and will use specific illustrations from a number of communities. We will be sharing with participants insights and contributions collected from women in these communities on various aspects on care and household work. Participants will be invited to comment and share ideas about these issues.

CRTD.A will share with you potential follow-up to this event.

Kindly confirm your attendance by sending an email to dnaserdeen@crtda.org.lb no later than Tuesday 14th of July. For more information, contact Ms. Daad Nasreddine on 01-397813

We look forward to your participation in this exciting event.

Sincerely,

CRTDA

Monday, July 6, 2009

Does the media ignore civil society or is it the other way around?

The Daily Star posted an article yesterday about how NGOs are asking journalists why the media ignores their work. The French-based Medecins du monde held a roundtable discussion on this exact topic. Many reasons were given, including:

  • Western NGOs are seen as complicit in their governments' pro-Israel stance
  • Challenges resulting from having to protect humanitarian workers' safety
  • Information overload

There are additional reasons for the lack of NGO coverage in the media that have nothing to do with the West. The fact is, much of Lebanese civil society sprung up in the nineties in the post-Taif environment when Lebanon was trying to get back on its feet. Two decades have not yet passed for many NGOs, and two decades is not enough time to institutionalize anything, especially when another conflict breaks out in the meantime. With so many new organizations in the country, many of them simply haven't built the capacity for public relations.

NGOs might be ignoring media, rather than the other way around. Because they have not been around that long, many don't understand how to develop media relations or the importance of publicizing their work through the press. Often, the NGOs themselves are politicized, which can hurt their ability to get mainstream media coverage and narrows the range of their coverage to those news sources that are inline with their own view, even if the NGO is doing work that helps more than just one confessional group.

Good media relations are imperative to the success of an NGO's mission. Not only does it serve to raise awareness about an organization's activities, but it can help connect donors with fundraisers and connect experts to the organizations that need them.

NGOs can look beyond traditional media, too. Blogs and social networking sites are effective ways to spread awareness about an organization and its activities. However, they do not replace traditional media. Newspapers, whether in physical or virtual form, are the most widely read news sources, and television news enters far more homes than any blog or Facebook site do.

So what do you think? Does the media ignore civil society, or is it the other way around?

I suspect it's a little bit of both.

Sunday, July 5, 2009

Spotlight Organization: Kibarouna

Welcome to the our weekly Spotlight series in which we profile Lebanese civil society organizations and spread awareness about their activities and events. This week's profile goes to Kibarouna, an organization dedicated to improving the quality of social life of elderly people in Lebanon. Kibarouna addresses all Lebanese men and women from 65 years old and above who are still relatively physically independent and live with their families or alone.

"Kibarouna believes that elderly people are our senior citizens who represent our national treasure of heritage, values, and expertise. We need them as much as they need us."


DL: How long has Kibarouna been in existence? In what parts of Lebanon do you operate?

K: Kibarouna was founded in September 2005. We are a Lebanese NGO for all Lebanon. Currently it operates in Mount Lebanon: North Metn in Bikfaya Elderly Club.

DL: What types of activities and projects does Kibarouna undertake?

K: a) A Social Club: in Bekfaya once a week opened to elderly women and men who take part in different social activities such as:
  • Attending awareness sessions presented by specialists such as doctors and nutritionists to heighten awareness regarding healthy eating.
  • Exercising with a physiotherapist in groups to maintain flexible joints.
  • Engaging in handicraft activities to work fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination.
  • Playing cards to work short term memory.
  • Elderly are transported free of charge and are offered breakfast. These have been beautiful times cherished by the elderly participants. A lot of fun goes on, and some elderly
  • express their joy by singing and dancing the Dabke.


b) Trips: monthly trips to different parts of Lebanon where elderly spend a day and lunch together. The lunch is prepared by Kibarouna volunteers and about sixty elderly join this activity.

c) Social Outings: Trips to art exhibitions, theatre, etc. For example, this year a group of about forty seniors accompanied by Kibarouna attended a George Khabbaz musical and visited the Garden Show at the Hippodrome in Beirut.

d) A Summer Camp: In cooperation with other social organizations, a group of 40 elderly from disadvantaged backgrounds are selected to take part in a summer camp. Besides Kibarouna members, other volunteers such as nurses, a physiotherapist, occupational therapist, and a social animator who help support this group are recruited from Saint Joseph University.

e) Grandparents Day: This is an occasion which builds a nationwide awareness about the valuable role of grandparents and promotes a sense of recognition of their achievement. It intends to promote a positive relationship between the youth and their grandparents.

Kibarouna invites elderly centers, institutions, and organizations who care for elderly people to celebrate the occasion. The invitees, about eight hundred, attend a show presented by famous singers and artists. All elderly people receive a “packed brunch” and a symbolic gift.

DL: There doesn’t seem to be many organizations in Lebanon who deal strictly with caring for the elderly. Is your organization’s mission unique to the country?

K: We believe that Kibarouna mission is unique in Lebanon in the way that it stresses empowering the elderly, both by maximizing their social interaction with others and connecting them to youth.

First we are working on changing how the elderly are perceived in Lebanon. People in general look at the elderly as being dependent, weak, unable to produce, and perhaps perceive them with some pity.

Kibarouna believes that the elderly have a wealth of experience and skills that need to be tapped.

DL: I see you are promoting June 28th as Grandparents Day. How many years have you celebrated Grandparents Day? What activities will you undertake to celebrate this day?

K: In 1999, the National Committee for Elderly Care And Protection announced that the last Sunday of June is “Grandparents Day.” Grandparents Day was celebrated by Kibarouna two times in the past:

2006 Forum de Beirut attended by one thousand five hundred Grandparents.
2007 Cancelled because of the situation in Lebanon.
2008 in Kanat Bakish – a small celebration was held because of the situation (three hundred attended a Brunch).
2009 - This year on June 26 about seven hundred fifty elderly people attended.

DL: What do you hope to accomplish in the near future and the long-term?

K: We hope to achieve the following:

  • Empowering the elderly to overcome their weaknesses, social isolation, and feelings of being abused.
  • Acknowledging elderly achievements, value their roles, and support them to attain their rights.
  • Mentoring families of the elderly to acquire the necessary skills for caring and answering the elderly needs.
  • Creating opportunities for encounters and connection between the elderly and youth in Lebanon.

For more reading and a photo albums please click here. Photos are from Grandparents Day 2009, courtesy of Kibarouna.

Safadi Foundation USA thanks Kibarouna for taking the time to answer our questions. Please visit Kibarouna's website to learn more about the organization and discover ways you can help empower the elderly and create awareness about the value of Lebanon's senior citizens.

Friday, July 3, 2009

Friday Roundup

@SamerKaram: Lebanon & MENA Economic Reports just released for Week 26 of 2009.

RT @habibh NPR's story on Yamli, listen to it live on All Things Considered "Search Engine Helps Users Connect In Arabic."

Why Civil Society Is Important to Democracy, Reason #68,000.

RT: @SamerKaram: RT @StarSceneLB: New project promotes Jeita Grotto as World Wonder.

Maya Zankoul releases book. Get it now and LOL.

Photo contest 2009 - Promoting Gender Equality in Education.

RT: @sugarpoppy: Cancer awareness theme of contest by San Ignacio de Loyola University. Check work of Lebanese students.

MENA Businesswomen's Network elects first group of officers. Lebanon's is Lebanese League for Women in Business

Progress and setback in graft fight, says World Bank. Lebanon is getting worse.

Palestinian Refugee Protection Project in Lebanon calling for concept papers.

Study on disaster risk reduction in Lebanon - view report here.

If you missed our interview with Youth Association for Social Awareness, here it is.

RT: @demvidchallenge: Question: In 1 word (maybe 2), what is the most important thing needed for a democracy to thrive?

MCC, MEPI, OTI, NED, & UN Democracy Fund all cut in 2010 Appropriations Bill.

Check out Developing Lebanon's profile on Youth Association for Social Awareness. They're doing great work on road safety in Lebanon.

Beeatoona, Green Line, DPNA, IndyACT mentioned in latest post about environment in Lebanon.

GRAVITY! Just brilliant!

Sawt Ashabab's closing party pics. The future is near.

RT: @dmnabti: Sushi TweetUp - the first Twitter meetup in Lebanon.

Friday Roundup is a weekly blog post in which Safadi Foundation USA publishes a roundup of civil society's activities for the week. The goal is to spread the word about these activities and help civil society organizations learn from each other's experiences.

Thursday, July 2, 2009

Plastic Bags and Entrepreneurship



This video is about a business being run in Kenya. So how does this relate to Lebanon?
The Lebanese use over 6 billion plastic bags annually, according to Waste Lb. "If tied together these bags would form a chain that is long enough to go around the world 37 times."
Last week, a company called Waste Lb started to sell reusable bags at Souk El Tayeb, a farmer's market in Beirut.

But what about all of those plastic bags that will continue to be used? Perhaps there is an aspiring entrepreneur somewhere in Lebanon who can replicate Evans Githinji's success in Kenya in turning plastic bags into field posts and support beams.

Hat tip to We Play Green.

Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Evan's Corner: The Iranian Presidential Elections: What Do They Tell Us?

The Woodrow Wilson Center

The Iranian Presidential Elections: What Do They Tell Us?

6.30.09

On Tuesday June 30th, the Woodrow Wilson Center hosted a discussion entitled “The Iranian Presidential Elections: What Do They Tell Us?” The speakers included renowned journalist and WWC policy scholar, Robin Wright; independent scholar, Farideh Farhi; senior advisor at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Fariborz Ghadar; and political editor for The National in Abu Dhabi, Emile El-Hokayem. WWC’s own Sam Wells moderated the discussion.

Mr. Wells prompted the speakers with a series of important questions regarding the accuracy of the media's presentation of recent events in Iran. Robin Wright spoke first about what is clear and what is still unknown.

Wright started by pointing out that the election itself and the peaceful protests following it were a “political showdown.” However, the following violence represented a “physical showdown” that elevated the stakes of the conflict from a disputed election to the legitimacy of the Supreme Leader. Wright noted the use of Twitter and Facebook by opposition members. Wright also pointed out that even before the elections, the internet had connected Iranians to the rest of the world and filled them with growing desire to be more economically prosperous and socially free. Wright argued that today’s opposition movement is “very distinct” from the student movements of the late 90’s. Wright asserted that the opposition has a broad base that cuts across class and age. Maybe most significantly, the opposition also has the support of many powerful clergy members. Despite this, Wright warned that the regime has an equally potent coalition and controls the para-military forces that are at their most powerful since the revolution. Wright went on to explain the vulnerability of both sides. The opposition is vulnerable because of its lack of leadership. Mousavi has always been an accidental leader and may lack the charisma to lead such the opposition. If Mousavi proves ineffective at capturing momentum, the opposition may have to look elsewhere for leadership. The regime's vulnerability is a lack of unity. Wright illustrated that there are fissures within the highest levels of clergy, and the revolutionary guard may also be split on which side to support. Wright summed up her assessment by noting that however long the regime can succeed in suppressing the opposition, “the genie is out of the bottle.”

Farideh Farhi began her analysis by saying that the events following the election have been “the most significant” in Iran since the revolution, surpassing the rise of reformist policies and even the Iran-Iraq war. Farhi stated very clearly her belief that the election was not merely manipulated, but “completely cooked.” In her view, the regime predicted a typical turnout of 60% of the Iranian electorate, with better turnout among conservatives. In this scenario, a 2/3 majority for Ahmadinejad might make sense. However, Farhi explained that when a much greater number of Iranians showed up to vote, mobilized by opposition rallies, the regime failed to adjust their numbers to account for such broad participation. Farhi noted key miscalculations on the part of both the regime and the opposition. The opposition miscalculated by believing that although there would be vote manipulation of a few million votes, a more massive manipulation would not occur. The regime miscalculated by believing that a cynical electorate would not show up and vote for a reform candidate. Farhi also stated that Khamenei’s Friday prayer speech was not consistent with his supposed tendency to stay out of politics. Khamenei’s endorsement of both Ahmadinejad and the use of violence against protesters has shaken the legitimacy of his leadership. Farhi argued that Khamenei’s legacy will no longer be about standing up to the United States, but instead about suppressing his own people.

In addition to his post at CSIS, Foriborz Ghadar is the founding director of the University of Pennsylvania’s Center for Global Business Studies. Ghadar shed some light on the role of the economy fomenting discontent in Iran. Ghadar illustrated that crude oil production has increased in recent years, but not as quickly as domestic consumption has grown. As a result, much of the oil is not exported, and GDP growth has been “erratic.” Ghadar also argued that some widely reported statistics about Iran’s economy seem implausible. For example, unemployment has been reported somewhere in the teens, but Ghadar believes it really lies in the twenties. Coupled with 20% inflation this gives Iran a misery index somewhere in the forties, higher than it ever was in the United States during the Great Depression. Ghadar also explained that although the government directly accounts for about 35% of Iran’s economy, the government indirectly controls another 30% through patronage. Ahmadinejad has garnered some popular support by dolling out oil money to the poor, and reformers would like to distribute government revenue in other ways. Ghadar seemed to be saying that one of the things reformers are fighting for is the ability to get control of the government purse, and invest the money with their own allies and patrons. Ghadar suggested that control of this money is a crucial element of the current conflict in Iran.

Emile El-Hokayem was able to offer the perspective of the Arab states on Iran. El-Hokayem claimed that many Arab states have always considered Iran a military dictatorship, and recent events have simply “lifted the veil of Iranian democracy.” Gulf leaders had been disappointed in the past by Iran’s reformers, such as former Iranian president Mohammad Khatami. El-Hokayem shared that many gulf leaders are wary of Mousavi, or any reform candidate that may improve relations with the United States. The American alignment with Sunni power structures and Israel has worked for many gulf-states, and a shift in this relationship may threaten their interests.

The speakers also addressed the nuclear issue and seemed to have some degree of consensus. Robin Wright argued that before the election, Khamenei had several “trump cards” to play against the United States in negotiations over the nuclear program. The speakers seemed to agree that Iran is already enriching uranium, and the United States would likely have to acquiesce to at least accepting nuclear energy in Iran. Wright also pointed out that Ahmadinejad might prompt negotiation with the Obama administration, putting the new American government in the excruciating position of choosing between progress on the nuclear issue and support of democratic reformers.