News updates

The president of the Jabal Moussa reserve, Pierre Doumit, indicated, during the second annual dinner of the association which was held yesterday at the Casino du Liban, that the number of visitors to the reserve has increased from 4000 in 2013 to 5000 visitors in 2014.  He added that the association is now working to diversify the hiking trails and to add new ones soon.  Doumit added that the increase in the number of visitors requires an increase in the number of eco-lodges in order to meet the demand for meals and accommodations.  He also announced the launch of Jabal Moussa Friends Group which will include the local youth from the area.  
Source: Al-Nahar 26 September 2014

The International Finance Corporation IFC (member of the World Bank Group WBG) launched a private sector partnership initiative which seeks to create 300000 new employment opportunities for women over the next two years, and thus work with companies in bridging the gender gap in formal work.
A press conference was convened last Tuesday for that occasion during which the head of the WBG, Jim Yong Kim, indicated that the new “She Works” initiative will involve ten pioneering business enterprises which committed themselves to implement steps that would strengthen women’s employment opportunities such as providing career counseling and leadership training likely to uphold women’s leadership role.  Kim also added that investing in women’s employment is not only the right thing to do but is also important to improve businesses.  He reiterated that companies that will learn how to hone women’s skills and keep their women employees will acquire a competitive edge.  Furthermore, Kim highlighted the importance of women’s work for advancing the economy and as essential for development.  He also added that women face major challenges in the formal job market which push them towards the informal sector.

Source: L’Orient Le Jour 25 September 2014

The fourth edition of the Horsh Beirut festival kicks off tomorrow.  The event is co-organised by the As Sabil association, the Beirut municipality and the Ile de France municipality and takes place at the Horsh Beirut Park which has been closed to the public for years.  The responsible of the three-day-long festival’s activity, Ali Sabbagh, told al Akhbar newspaper that this event has nurtured its own audience since it kicked off in 2011.  Sabbagh noted that the Horsh Beirut festival is characterized by a rich cultural programme which included various musical and theatre productions in addition to poetry readings for all ages.  The programme is mostly oriental and includes street performances by Kahraba Collective and la Compagnie Oposito from France.  A special space will be reserved for bicycles throughout the duration of the festival which may be extended for an additional fourth day. Sabbagh noted that the duration of the festival was cut this year because of shortage of funding.
For more information, please review the festival’s page on Facebook: Horsh Beirut festival

Source: Al-Akhbar 25 September 2014

The Daily Star newspaper published today an article about a new project implemented by the Safadi Foundation to empower women in the North of Lebanon, namely in Akkar. The project will assist women of the region through providing them with the necessary tools and skills to grow Zaatar (thyme) on land they own and that is not in use, thus allowing them to contribute to their household income. The project is funded by the European Union and is managed by the Office of the Minister of State for Administrative Reform (OMSAR) as part of Afkaar-3 programme.
Elie Wehbeh, the project coordinator at the Safadi Foundation noted that the project, which started 4 months ago, is now working with 85 women who own in total some 60,000 square meters of land. He added that the project’s eventual goal is to enable these women to sell their production of Zaatar on their own, with the help of the Spanish partner organization, AIDA, which will also assist in matters of packaging and marketing.
Source: The Daily Star 25 September 2014

The current Minister of Labor, Sejaan Azzi, called on Lebanese employers not to recruit foreign workers.  Azzi also told the Lebanese that they should not consider manual work as too small for them.  The Minister expressed his regrets that the Lebanese market is only able to absorb 3400 out of the 19000 young women and men who graduate every year.  Azzi emphasized the importance of vocational training for which there is an increasing demand.  Azzi was speaking at the round table organized by the French Agency for Development (AFD), which was held yesterday at the premises of the Economic and Social Council.  The event was entitled “Youth employment in Lebanon: role of vocational education and entrepreneurship” and was organized in partnership with the European Training Foundation (ETF), Marseille Center for Mediterranean Integration (CMI) and the EU delegation.
The President of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), Roger Nasnas, highlighted the importance of developing the capacities and responding to the ambitions of young people as well as providing them with the necessary orientation, creating more work opportunities for women, and finally focusing on family income rather than individual income. For his part, French Ambassador, Patrice Paoli, emphasized the importance of developing training programmes which create jobs with high potentials.  This, according to the French Ambassador, will require the development of specific training programmes that match market needs, enhancing private-public partnership, and further focusing on developing the informal sector.

Source: Al-Nahar, Al-Akhbar, Al-Diyar, Al-Safir 24 September 2014

According to a study done by Bayt.com on consumers’ indicators in the MENA region, participants from Lebanon expected a decline in the economy and in employment opportunities in the near future.  The results showed that 60% of participants believed that the Lebanese economy has regressed significantly during the past six months, 42% of which expected a greater deterioration of the situation during the same period.  As for the business environment, 21% of participants considered that it is good to very good, and 39% expected the situation to improve a year from now, on the opposite side 74% noted that jobs in Lebanon have become hard to get, and 37% expected a decrease in the number of employment opportunities during the next six months.
The results also showed that 69% of the participants expected a rise in the cost of living during the next six months and 60% noted that their savings have decreased compared to last years. The sales marketing at Bayt.com, Suheil al Masri, commented on these results and noted that there is an increase in the number of new projects in the Middle East region, a trend which contributes to creating jobs thus improving the general livelihoods situation.  However, he added, that this trend is accompanied by an increase in the cost of living thus explaining the decrease in household savings.

Source: Al-Diyar 23 September 2014

The Minister of Tourism, Michel Pharaon, issued last week a memorandum announcing the setting up of the Council to Develop Rural Tourism.  The Council will be presided by the Minister and the vice president will be the Director General of tourism affairs.  The Council shall include representatives of the Ministries of Interior and Municipalities, Culture, Agriculture, Environment and Information, trade unions of the tourism sector and civil society organizations, in addition to several advisors from various disciplines.  This memorandum was issued within the framework of preparations for the launching of the national five-year plan for rural tourism which will be divulged by the Minister soon. The Council is entrusted with a number of tasks notably providing general recommendations related to rural tourism such as monitoring, studying the internal and external factors influencing the sector, providing suggestions to strengthen rural tourism, developing a legal framework including tax wavering and other incentives as well as coordinating with other related private and public sector entities involved in this sector.
Within a related vein, the Minister of Tourism signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Minister of Environment, Mohammad Mashnouk, aiming at strengthening eco-tourism through promoting natural reserves as well as preserving the environment through collaboration with tourism companies and also raising environmental awareness.  The MoU notes that each of the two Ministers will designate a representative who will be assigned with the implementation of the MoU.  A bilateral meeting is stipulated once a year or whenever the need arises in order to discuss any matter related to the agreement.

Source: Al-Safir, Al-Akhbar, Al-Mustaqbal 22 September, Al-Diyar 23 September 2014

The Palestinian Ambassador to Lebanon, Ashraf Dabbour, met yesterday with a delegation including the Palestinian Prime Minister Consultant on Arab and Islamic funds, Jawad Naji, the General Director of the Indonesian Organisation, WAFAA, Ezzedine Swanto, and the Advisor to the Islamic Banks for Development and Economic Empowerment, Nawwaf Atawneh.  The meeting was attended by Amneh Gebril, member of the General Secretariat of the General Union of Palestinian Women and discussed ways of expanding the economic empowerment project specifically at the level of cooperating with Palestinian Embassy and in partnership with Arab funds financed and managed by the Islamic Bank for Development and the WAFAA organization for development and lending.
To be noted that the programme in question targets poor Palestinian families and women and seeks to empower them economically through the provision of small loans to start up income generating projects.  By the end of the meeting, Ambassador Dabbour expressed the dispositions of his Embassy to extend all efforts and facilities needed for the programme to succeed and to meet its objectives of helping Palestinians in Lebanon.
Source: Al-Diyar 23 September 2014

L’Orient le Jour interviewed the president of the Lebanese Franchise organization, Charles Arbid, who noted that the current internal crisis and the decline in tourism witnessed recently by Lebanon, has had a positive impact on exporting Lebanese ideas through the franchise concept.  He added that between 2013 and 2014, the franchise sector grew by 15% whilst Gulf countries were the main importers of Lebanese franchises.  To be noted that the franchise sector is now a significant and essential component of the Lebanese economy contributing some 4% to the GDP, that is the equivalent of USD 1.5 billion.  The sector employs some 99,000 workers, includes 1100 franchise concepts and 5500 different points of sale in Lebanon.

Source: L’Orient Le Jour 22 September 2014
 

As Safir newspaper published a report on the dietary system in Lebanon especially in terms of consumption of olive oil and fish.  The report is based on the findings of a study carried out by AUB nutritionist Dr. Omar Obeid and Masters Student Carla Mallah7. The report pointed out to a decrease in the consumption of olive oil in Lebanon.  A Lebanese now consumes an average of 7.1 grams of olive oil daily compared to 43 grams of other vegetable oils (corn and sunflower oil).  According to Mallah7, this decrease is largely due to the rising prices of olive oil compared to those of other vegetable oils.  In addition, most Lebanese consumers prefer to cook in vegetable oil rather than olive oil which tend to generate a smell when cooked.  The study also showed that Lebanon is amongst the countries with the least level of consumption of fish compared to other Mediterranean countries. The yearly intake of fish in Lebanon averages 9.3 kilos per individual compared to 33.7 kilos in France and 42.9 kilos in Spain. According to the study, the reason is also attributed to the high prices of fish and the fact that fish is smelly when cooked at home. In addition, the study added, non coastal areas tend not to have fish shops. Finally, the study was concluded with recommendations by the researchers to increase the intake of olive oil and fish and to diversify nutrition sources especially since Lebanon's food intake indicators show a decrease in the consumption of grains and vegetables compared to a higher consumption of rice and potato.

Source: Al-Safir 19 September 2014