Hand in Hand to Combat Domestic Violence

The Crowne Plaza Hotel in Hamra was abuzz today with more than 200 people attending KAFA’s launch of “Women and Men Hand in Hand to End Violence: Strategies and approaches of working with men and boys to end violence against women” training manual. The attendees were a diverse crowd of mostly women – young, old, Muslim, Christian, Lebanese, immigrant – but there were many men as well.

Minster of Social Affairs Salim Al-Sayegh was the keynote speaker at the event, and he was cheered as he announced his support for laws against domestic violence in Lebanon. Ms. Ghida Anani, Programme Coordinator for KAFA, made welcoming remarks before Ms. Zoya Rouhana, KAFA’s Director, spoke about KAFA’s work. Ms. Magda El Sanousi from Oxfam, a sponsor of the project, and Ms. Rania Tarazi from UNIFEM’s Amman office, spoke about their organizations and partnerships before Minister Al-Sayegh spoke. Attendees were then given a presentation on the manual.

The event marked the start of a new approach towards combating domestic violence in Lebanon, as it recognizes the need for men to be involved equally with women in the fight to overcome these crimes against women. In the Middle East, many still believe it is ok for a man to beat his wife. KAFA is one organization that is working hard to erase this mentality of acceptance. Dinosaurs are extinct; it’s time for domestic violence to become extinct, too.

KAFA will be online soon at http://www.kafa.org.lb/.

Event announcement:

Social Media Cafe is pleased to invite you to attend the Young Leaders Social Media Café in its Vol. 01- Beirut, atMarch 6, Zico House (Hamra) at 4.00.

Students, techies, geeks, social media enthusiasts, activists, journalists, entrepreneurs, investors, civic and business leaders, policy-makers and change-makers will be attending the event hosting more than 22 speakers from 22 Arab Countries and Sweden from the Key Social Media Projects, internationally, Regionally and locally.

The agenda is on the YLSMC blog here.

iLebanon

It was like some exclusive place in Soho back when Soho was cool, but there was an ocean between it and New York, a tumultuous ocean full of the wrath of winter. Concrete ceilings, water spots, black walls that probably receive a regular dose of paint, and art, much art, a red-faced Warhol and Superman Obama and marvel comics on canvas, an explosion of popart was right there on the walls of a warehouse bar in Beirut on a winter's Friday night.

The future of Lebanon socialized inside those walls, a mix of programmers, bloggers, photographers, musicians, social entrepreneurs, Twitterers, and civil society activists, all of them recognizing that in natural resourceless Lebanon, human resources are the way to progress, building a knowledge society through technology and ideas.

They called it Geekfest.

They had come out from behind computer screens to prove they are real, that they aren't just avatars but living human beings whose ideas are as real as they are. Lebanon could be a leader in tech, but its telecommunications infrastructure prevents it from being so. Instead, tech investment goes to Amman, and young Lebanese are left in the dark. Will the new government make good on his promise to bring Lebanon into the twenty-first century, or will corruption and ineptitude keep these "geeks" mired in the past, their ideas fading with each advance made by the world around them?

There are so many great initiatives in Lebanon, so many skilled developers and talented individuals, and most of them attended Geekfest at Art Lounge on Friday night. I wish them luck in their endeavors and hope we develop long lasting partnerships for the betterment of Lebanon's civil society.

SMEX post on Geekfest.

Fake Plastic Souks post.

fadynammour photos

Friday night in Cybeirut

Big tech event tonight in Cybeirut, Lebanon - Geekfest Beirut, starting at 8:30pm at Art Lounge.

Join the techies of Lebanon in what has been billed as "a social networking event UNORGANIZED for geeks, aspiring geeks and people who think that they might have a little geek in them!"

The mission? "To bring geeks together to exchange ideas, skills, stories and generally have some geeky fun."

In addition to the website, Geekfest Beirut is on Facebook and Twitter.

Lots of things going on, from presentations on all things tech to photography exhibits and some good old fashioned socializing and networking.

The agenda:

The Quality of Disintermediation
A millennium of disintermediation, how technology is challenging the world to change
Alexander McNabb

Creative Commons
Naeema Zarif, Maya Zankoul

CEDRO Sustainability projects in Lebanon
Elie Abou Jaoudeh, CEDRO, UNDP

Our Relationship with Information

How information has evolved and its effect on personal self-expression and business communication.
Ayman Itani, Telephone.com, LAU

The Potential of Mobile Applications

Elie Haddad, Ayna Corporation

What the F’UX?
User experience presentation. Using an everyday object to reflect the online UX and a simple guide to build a good ux.
George El Khabbaz, Cleartag

For more information, visit the Geekfest Beirut website.

Everything's gonna change our world across the Twitterverse

Last night, I had the good fortune of attending an open house for Social Media Exchange here in Beirut. There, I met real life people with whom I've previously had only online contact, whether it was through Twitter or email.

It's funny how you can instantly connect with people who live an ocean away.

I think Lebanon really has something here. Through technology, young people are coming together and shaping their own view of what the future of Lebanon should be (too bad they can't do it with a decent internet connection...) In Beirut, Twitter has brought together tech types in a way that could never have happened ten years ago. Through "Tweetups," young Lebanese get together to talk about tech, complain about Lebanon's slow internet, and just socialize and enjoy each other's company. True, Tweetups happen in other parts of the world, but not with the same frequency and intensity as they happen here. Friendships are forged, new projects develop, and activities have expanded beyond the Twitterverse. This weekend in Faraya, there is a snow Tweetup at a ski resort.

Imagine if individuals can get together like this what organizations can do with such a simple tool as Twitter. Instead of working individually, organizations can learn about each other's activities and work together to tackle a common problem, whether it be computer illiteracy, poverty, or the corruption in the telecoms sector that is to blame for the poor internet infrastructure in Lebanon.

If you are a civil society organization, sign up for an account at Twitter.com! Make sure you use your organization's name, and if you have one, use your logo as your avatar. Find a third party application like Echofon or Tweetdeck to facilitate the use of Twitter, and start tweeting about your projects!

You can follow us on Twitter at @SafadiUSA.

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

Event Announcement: The Role of Faith Based Organizations in Influencing and Shaping Social Policies in Lebanon

Center for Research and Training for Development Association has the pleasure to invite you to an interactive discussion seminar on “The Role of Faith Based Organizations (FBOs) in Influencing and Shaping Social Policies in Lebanon.” The seminar will take place on Friday 26 June from 10:00 am to 14:00 pm at the YWCA premises in Ain el Mreisseh.

The purpose of this seminar is to share with guests and participants the initial results of the field research which was undertaken by CRTD.A with the support of IDRC (Middle East Good Governance Fund). Through this action research, CRTD.A undertook an exploration of the role played by FBOs (especially those involved in health and education) in an attempt to gain an understanding and develop an in-depth analysis of the role and influence of FBOs on processes of social policies making especially in relation to their understanding and practice of citizenship, gender equality and good governance.

This action research used a qualitative research methodology and evolved around 12 case studies drawn from the most prominent FBOs representing the major religious confession of Lebanon.

During the proposed interactive seminar, CRTD.A will share the methodology and findings of the study and its implications, the topography of the mapping studies of FBOs in Lebanon as well as the legal framework of FBOs and their operation in Lebanon.

As indicated above, the findings relate to the 12 case studies of FBOs who have graciously and wholeheartedly agreed to take part in this research.

Further information can be found here.