News updates

As Safir published a report on the Palestinian Heritage Workshop located in Ain el Helweh and which is concerned with the preservation of popular Palestinian heritage. According to the responsible of the workshop, Ms.Jamila Al-Ashkar, the workshop benefits some 25 local women all of whom suffering from dire social and economic conditions.
ِAnother official from the workshop, Alia, noted in her interview with As Safir that concern with Palestinian heritage and with the workshop was high before the Israeli invasion of Lebanon which resulted in the destruction of the centre. The center was rebuild with local community support, and following that an important exhibition was organised and which turned out to be quite successful and provided significant income. Encouraged by this success, the group undertook the development of the embroidery workshop.  Alia noted that the most important thing in this initiative aside from the preservation of Palestinian heritage especially amongst the youth, is generating income for women workers who are mostly widowed, divorcee of heads of households and, as such, rely on embroidery work to support their families. It is to be noted that embroidery is considered to be one of the finest traditional Palestinian crafts as every stitch tells the story of a Palestinian town.
Source: Al-Safir 17 September 2013

A delegation from the Syndicate of Lebanese Food Industrialists presided by George Nasraoui visited the Beirut and Mount Lebanon Chamber of Commerce, Industry, and Agriculture, last week to discuss a number of issues of concern to the food processing industry in Lebanon namely agricultural production, the rise in transportation costs via the Lebanon ports and cost of lab tests, in addition to the various difficulties faced in exporting to the USA and in participating in international trade fairs notably in Australia and other countries that are potential markets to Lebanon.
The Beirut and Mount Lebanon CCIA president and the president of the Federation of CCIA in Lebanon, Mr. Mohammad Shucair agreed on the importance of increasing Lebanese exports and noted a plan currently under preparation by the CCIA and seeking to support the participation of Lebanon in key international trade events and conferences.  This, they noted, will allow the Lebanese economy to expand and will increase the presence of Lebanon in world economy and foreign markets.
Nasraoui for his part stressed the importance of the Gulf Food exhibition, which is an annual exhibition that takes place in Dubai in February, maybe replace by fair trade where the Lebanon exhibition area occupies 400 square meters.  Yet, the Syndicate has asked for a larger space in view of the increasing demand for participation from Lebanese producers.
At the end of the visit, the Syndicate presented Shucair with a trophy in recognition of the efforts that he extended in support of the participation of Lebanese industries in international trade fairs.
Source: Al-Safir, Al-Nahar, Al-Diyar 16 September 2013

Al Mustaqbal newspaper published an article on the crisis facing young university graduates in attempting to deal with the job market, and whereas the supply of graduates is higher than demand both quantitatively and qualitatively.  This concerns traditional specialties such as medicine, law practice and engineering as well as new specialties such as ICT,
The report noted the absence of strategies by decision makers in the educational sector in order to match market demand with supply as well as an absence of a vision to guide educational orientation and so as to boost the economy and the job market amidst a deterioration of the overall economic situation as a result of the current insecurity and poor attention given to productive sectors.
The above is reiterated by the president of the League of Lebanese University Professors, Dr. Charbel Kfoury who noted that students often choose certain specialties such as business administration, pharmacy and engineering without any proper orientation despite the fact that the acceptance levels in these specialties are very limited.  Furthermore, the majority of students are channeled into specialties that do not require entrance exams without due consideration of the needs of the job market.
Within the same vein, the Dean of the faculty of Pharmacy at Lebanese university, Dr. Pascale Salameh added that despite the fact that work opportunities vary greatly according to specialties, emphasis in the her university remains on quality and on building skills that will facilitate job access.  The Dean of the Doctoral School of Sciences and Technology, Dr. Zeinab Saad noted that all the specialties offered by the Lebanese university meet the demands of the local and regional job markets and, as a result, many students are able to secure jobs in international companies.  She also added that a number of faculties in the Lebanese university organize several training seminars to introduce students to the job market and the university is continuously liaising with various economic sectors as well as with industrial companies in order to identify their needs and familiarize students with existing job opportunities.
Finally, Dr. mohammad shayya the previous Dean of Social Sciences, Tourism and hotel Management faculty stressed that each university must have, by default, an orientation service and should also monitor economic, scientific and cultural trends and changes both locally and regionally and accordingly undertake academic planning every 4 to 5 years.
Source: Al-Mustaqbal 14 September 2013

Afaaq organised yesterday in collaboration with Nejmet Sobe7h women cooperative a workshop on the agriculture and environmental sectors.  The event was held at the local municipal hall with the participation of the president of the federation of municipalities of Independence Castle, Mr. Ahmad Thebian,  the president of the federation of municipalities of Jabal Al-Sheikh, Mr. Marwan Zaki, Afaaq President, Mr. Ahmad Thabet, the President of  Nejmet Sobe7h women cooperative, Mr, Marwan Charroof, the President of the Agricultural Center in Rachaya, Mr, Fayez Araji, in addition to the presidents of municipalities and representatives of agricultural cooperatives.
Charroof noted in his intervention that Nejmet Sobe7h is mindful of environmental consideration in its production and is committed to quality control and to international standards that allow it to export and to enter local markets and to participate in exhibitions.  He added that the workshop seeks to analyze the problems facing the agricultural and environmental sectors and plan for a positive transformation in the local governorate which will foster local development if all conditions of support and availability of expertise are met.
Thabet from Afaaq noted in turn that his association is concerned with local development given its pivotal role in networking between all those concerned for the purpose of developing local production, identifying problems, carrying out discussions with all those concerned in civil society, municipal federations and donors, so as to provide solutions capable of addressing and reducing the identified problems.
Wafaa Jamal, member of Nejmet Sobe7h, noted that the success of the women cooperative is largely due to the fact that there is a perfect link between the farmer, the consumer and the cooperative, which maintains strong relations with the local community of the village and seeks to develop its production base through the processing and marketing of local resources and acquiring more knowledge on development issues.
Source: Al-Diyar 12 September 2013

As Safir newspaper published a report on “the Mount Moussa Biosphere Reserve which is located in Keserouan and was chosen in 2009 as the third natural reserve for biosphere in Lebanon as part of the biosphere reserves affiliated to UNESCO within the framework of the "Man and the Biosphere (MAB)” programme.  It is to be noted that a presidential decree was issued in February 2012, classifying Mount Moussa as a natural reserve benefiting from the protection of the Ministry of Environment.  This particular natural reserve is known for its untapped wilderness, rich forests and cultural heritage.  As part of its endeavor to preserve biodiversity and cultural heritage, the Association for the Protection of Jabal Moussa set the necessary infrastructure for eco tourism in the area and engaged the local community in contributing to its sustainable development.
Within this vain, the media and ecotourism responsible in the organization, Cristelle Abou Shabke, said in her interview with As Safir, that since Jabal Moussa was declared a natural reserve, the association has implemented a number of developmental and environmental projects in the area including a project to support local development which started in 2011.  As part of that project, the group undertook the training of 40 local women in Mouneh production with experts who guided them on standard production techniques.  The organization is also facilitating production and marketing as it buys all the production of the trainees and takes full responsibility for its commercialisation.  Abou Shabke also pointed out to a separate seedling project through which interested individuals from the area are replanting seeds from the mountains and selling seedlings to various associations.
Source: Al-Safir 10 September 2013

The Baladi Plus programme, in collaboration with the Reforestation Project in Lebanon, organised last week a training workshop entitled “project cycle management and writing project proposals”.  The workshop was co-organised by the Lebanese transparency Association with participants including representatives from Municipalities and Unions of Municipalities from different parts of Lebanon.  The aim of the workshop was to enable local municipalities to manage projects in a sound and professional way through identifying priorities and increasing their chances to draw funding for vital development projects.  The Baladi Plus project which is implemented by USFSwith funding from USAID, seeks to help municipalities in implementing local development projects and to enable them to increase their own local resources.  For its part, the Lebanon Reforestation Project seeks to provide technical and institutional support to the reforestation of a number of local trees and the sustainable prevention of forest fires through building the capacities of local communities and organisations.
Source: Al-Diyar 6 September 2013

The Beirut Creative Cluster decided to transform the commemoration of its first anniversary which is to be held on September 13th into a forum joining young job seekers and potential employers.  40 companies will take part in this event and will share 100 job offers and allow young job seekers to engage with employers in a setting that is conducive for discussion and dialogue.  The decision to organise the job fair was taken in order to give hope to the young generation particularly given the increasing difficulties and hardships that the country is witnessing over the past two months.
It is to be noted that the Lebanon Creative Group is a forum for creativity, launched by Berytech with the support of the European Union.  It presently includes 40 companies and agencies involved in design and production and seeking to network between institutions and companies with the purpose of encouraging collaboration and knowledge sharing.
Source: Al-Diyar 6 September 2013

The National Observatory for Women in Agriculture and Rural Areas-NOWARA launched, last Wednseday, the third edition of its award for best economic initiative carried out by rural women in Lebanon.  This year’s award is addressed to women engaged in cooperative work (presidents, members of directors of cooperatives).  The programme invited all women benefiting from programmes implemented by cooperatives or involved in the development of rural women in collaboration with public institutions and NGOs or international organization and who meet the eligibility criteria to come forward for the award.
A special committee will assess the different files and will score them according to the criteria listed below.  The committee will also verify the information provided through undertaking their own field visits of the shortlisted candidates.  The 2013 NOWARA award will be a non-cash prize of a value of USD 3000 which will be given to those nominated for the first prize in each of the selected categories and who were able to improve their economic projects.  The prizes will be offered along with a certificate during a special event which NOWARA will organize in October and November 2013.

The two theme categories for this year’s award are:

• Agro-processing
• Preparation of rural meals

Source: Al-Mustaqbal 5 September 2013
For the eligibility criteria (available in Arabic only) please check the following link.
 

The UNDP concluded yesterday the implementation of its project entitled “Recovery of NBC surrounding communities affected by the 2006 and 2007 conflicts” with the setting up of 102 greenhouses in six localities of Akkar and Minieh.  The event was celebrated at the Halba municipality with the attendance of the UNDP Country Director Luca Renda who highlighted the importance of collaboration between the project administration and the six beneficiary municipalities, while congratulating the farmers for their patience and hard work an daily contribution to the development of greenhouses and of local agriculture in the North.
The project seeks to support the agricultural sector in those bordering villages that were affected the Naher el Bared armed conflict in 2007 through the introduction of modern greenhouses in order to increase the production of vegetables by 15% thus increasing productivity and family income.
Within the same vein, the Daily Star published a report on the farmers benefiting from this project quoting Rima Obeid who started farming after her husband retired from the army and so as to be able to secure the needs of her family which includes four children.  Obeid notes that the harsh living conditions in the area forced her to go into agriculture.  She now owns three greenhouses where she plants cucumber and tomatoes that she sells at the market in Halba.  She works throughout the year except for two months in summer.  The UNDP project offered Rima Obeid her fourth greenhouse given her need for it.  The report also points out to the experience of Fatima and her husband Mohammad who indicated that the greenhouses they received helped them repay their debts, adding that their material conditions have improved since they took part in this project.
Source: Al-Safir, The Daily Star 5 September 2013

The Safadi Foundation launched earlier this week a number of vocational training for 65 women from the old Tripoli neighborhoods.  The workshop are organised at the foundation’s 2 social centers, “Our Youth” in Sowaika and “Woman’s Academy” in Dahr al Mgharr, within the framework of the “Life is ahead of us” project which is implemented by the Foundation with financial support from the Ministry of Social Affairs, via the national programme for local social and economic development, and in collaboration with the Cooperation Office at the Italian Ministry.  The training programme includes 5 training in drapery making with 13 women participants, designs for hijabs (18 women), chocolate making (12 women) and selling skills (12 women).  In addition, one new workshops will kick off next week notably embroidery for 11 women followed by various other training for young men planned for September, namely in phone repairs, warehousing, welding, and fitting rooftops.
To be noted that the “Life is Ahead of Us” project seeks to contribute to limiting poverty in the old Tripoli quarters and to support local social development through social, economic, educational and personal empowerment for women, youth and children.
Source: Al-Mustaqbal 4 September 2013