News updates

The youth and sports parliamentary commission held yesterday a meeting to study the report prepared by Hicham Abu Jawdeh about the role of parliamentary commissions in creating job opportunities to Lebanese youth. The meeting was concluded by the adoption of a work methodology pursuant to the report.
The commission announced that the next meeting will be held on Thursday 24th of October, and will tackle the role of the National Employment Office (NEO), challenges which the office face, and ways develop and reinforce its work, particularly since his office, according to regulations, is responsible for developing public policies concerning the labor market and for creating new job opportunities in Lebanon.
It should be noted that the youth and sports parliamentary commission started working on preparing the above mentioned report, last June, in collaboration with UNDP, and had since organized a number of workshops in collaboration with the Parliament, and with the participation of heads and members of youth organisations. The final report was released last September.
Source: Al-Nahar 11 October 2013

The National Commission for Lebanese Women (NCLW) opened, within the framework of its collaboration with the Al Walid Bin Talal humanitarian foundation, two new women training centers located within the municipalities of Shayya7h and Sheba2a.  The launch of the two centers was announced during an event marking the exchange of a memorandum of understanding between the three parties which was organised at the NCLW main training center in Baabda.  This opening constitute in fact the third stage in the process which has involved the setting up of the NCLW main training center in Baabda followed by the set up of training centers in Kaytah – Akkar, Ras Baalbak and Jezzine. The former centers will soon be followed by the opening of a new centre in B3aqleen
The setting up of these centers aims to increase the opportunities for women's training and empowerment, strengthen their capacities especially in rural areas and so as to support the development of local communities.
The vice president of the Al Walid bin Tala Humanitarian Foundation, former Minister Leila Al Solh, highlighted during her opening speech the plight of rural areas particularly given the increasing influx of displaced population from Syria and its negative impact on Lebanese communities in general and on rural communities in particular. She emphasized the lack of serious response from government to this issue and its failure in dealing with its responsibilities whilst throwing it on local municipalities.  Al Solh asked whether it is fair to leave the municipalities with the entire responsibility of taking care of the displaced and addressing their need instead of pooling efforts to follow up on the needs of citizens in these areas.  She noted the contradictions in the government's statements calling for empowerment and building women's capacity at a time when women in these rural areas are being replaced in agricultural and industrial work by foreigners (!?).
The vice president of the NCLW, Ms Randa Berri, noted, for her part, that the purpose of women’s economic, social, political and legal empowerment is not to take rights away from men but to invest in untapped human resources which communities need to improve and to strengthen social and national security and in order to achieve full citizenship.
Source: Al-Mustaqbal, Al-Nahar 10 October 2013

USEK University hosted earlier this week 30 different institutions involved in the various sectors of industry, engineering, media, agriculture, and ICT, and within the framework of an orientation workshop entitled "working together".  The workshop was organised by the Office of Quality Assurance and institutional efficiency, in collaboration with the Faculties of Social Sciences, Engineering, Food and Agriculture as well as the USEK employment office and sought to review the programmes offered by the University and to provide the necessary guidance to senior students as well as training to assist them in integrating the local, regional and international job markets.
The workshop started with the showing of a documentary film about the university following which the Deans of the Faculties of Food and Agricultural Sciences, Sciences and Engineering explained the various programmes offered by their respective faculties.  The event also included work group discussions to evaluate the engineering and ICT programmes offered by the University.
Source: Al-Mustaqbal 8 October 2013

The Union of Municipalities of Bint Jbeil Caza launched last monday a new project in collaboration with Jihad al Bina2 and Kafalat.  The project which was launched during an event held at the Bint Jbeil municipality seeks to provide loans to set up small projects in villages in the region with the aim of improving the economic and livelihood conditions of residents of the region particularly young people and those seeking to find jobs in order to support their livelihoods and help them steadfast in their villages.
Source: Al-Safir 8 October 2013

Endeavor hosted a media round table at its Beirut offices, on October 2nd, that tackled the situation of women’s entrepreneurship and the impact of their work on the Lebanese economy, considering that women’s participation in the workforce is a mere 22%. Endeavor pointed out that this low percentage is largely due to the preoccupation of women with household chores and raising children, noting that many women leave their jobs after marriage, and that stating that single working women represents 68% of their total whereas the corresponding figure for single working men is only 51%.
The round table also emphasised the importance of coaching, particularly for women working in technology or business, although the concept of coaching is some what new for Lebanese society.
Nibal Edelbi, chief of Information and Communications Technology Applications Division at ESCWA and head of the Digital Arabic Content Initiative, said that studies have shown that women are almost “nonexistent” in the ICT sector, hence the need to encourage and train women to compete more, pointing out to the advantage of working from home as one possible encouraging factor to attract women into this field. Edelbi added that coaching in such fields is a very essential tool for integrating women, as well as to build their capacities and knowledge through practical experience from seniors and experts in the field. For her part, Delphine Eddeh, publishing director of Diwanee websites emphasised that passion alone is not enough, and that a lot of efforts are needed to compete in the business.
Source: The Daily Star, L’Orient Le Jour 3 October 2013

According to ESCWA’s new report entitled “the survey of economic and social developments in the Arab region, 2012-2013”, women unemployment in the Arab region has reached 40% of the total unemployed population and 25% of the labour force despite their low economic participation rate.
The report launched last Tuesday, indicated that more than 20 million Arab citizens are unemployed according to the statistics of the ILO.  The report further reveals that the growth in GDP is not matched by a growth in employment in the Arab world and that the two indicators are totally dissociated, thus going against the basic principles of economics.  Another particular trend to the Arab region is the fact that 40% of manual labor force is active in the informal sector.  Those sectors which contributes most to the GDP, namely gas and oil production, only generate a small percentage of total employment, while the other sectors which contribute least to GDP, such as tourism, construction and other services, are the ones that absorb a large proportion of the employed population.  The report states that in Lebanon, the gap between formal and informal employment is very significant and reaches 30%
The ESCWA report also underlines that work productivity in Arab countries is low and is inversely proportional to the growth rate.  According to the report, this may be explained by the rapid increase in demand for employment at a time when the economy’s ability to generate employment is decreasing.  During the next decade, Arab countries will need to generate 1.5 million additional work opportunities every year in order to absorb the new comers into the job market as well as to control unemployment rates. The report finally underscores a too well know reality that the youth population in the Arab region is the primary victim of unemployment.
Source: Al-Akhbar 3 October 2013

The project entitled "Promote Women's Participation in Governance and Development" implemented by the Ministry of Social Affairs and with funding from the development aid office at the Italian Embassy seeks to provide equal opportunities for women so as they are able to participate more actively in decision making processes at the local level as well as increase women’s participation in national political life.
At the local level,. The project will implement 18 small initiatives run by women members of local councils in different governorates of the country.  Work on this project has started in September 2013 and will continue for six months.  The focus of these small projects will be determined according to local needs.  In the area of Ryak for instance, an awareness raising campaign on discrimination against women will be initiated.  In Baalbak and Bebnayel, the emphasis will be placed on health nutrition.
On the national level, the project will aim at encouraging political parties to nominate women for the next legislative elections as well as to seek popular support for these women candidates.  The related campaign will extend over 12 months during which the project will organize an awareness raising seminar for media representatives focusing on the importance of women’s role especially in decision making.  The project also includes a component for building the capacity of MOSA staff in gender mainstreaming with a view towards transforming the Ministry into a real ministry for social development.
Source: L’Orient Le Jour 2 October 2013

Al Mustaqbal newspaper published a report last week, on a group of displaced Syrian women who took the initiative of starting a small initiative to address their difficult social and economic conditions. The report identifies Hala Kanj who gathered twelve women to start a hand knitting project.  These women now produce woolen clothes including hats, gloves, toys, cushion covers and other hand woven products which they are trying to sell.
Kanj told Al Mustaqbal that the idea arose as a result of the dire conditions of Syrian displaced families and in view of the fact that most women used to hand-weave at home in Syria and sell some of their products.  She noted that their first experience of producing at home in Lebanon and selling their products succeeded in providing them with some income.  Two months later, they realized that they needed some help and contacted the Noor Islamic Association – The Martyre Sheikh Ahmed Abdulwahed School, who welcomed the idea and provided women with the space for work in addition to some tools and a supply of wool as a first step.  The women intend to develop and upgrade their new initiate once they return home to Syria.
To be noted that the Noor Islamic Association organised last week a exhibition of hand-woven wool which showcased the work of the women group and so as to help them market and increase their outreach.
Source: Al-Mustaqbal 28 September, Al-Mustaqbal 30 September 2013