As part of ‘The Social Empowerment of Women and Girls in Tripoli’ program, the Safadi Foundation and UNESCO-Lebanon celebrated last week the conclusion of a series of training workshops at the Foundation’s Social Center and the ‘Women’s Academy’ at the Old Serail building. The training cycle was aimed at improving the social and economic conditions of a group of Lebanese and Syrian women from Tripoli and the North, at both the individual and collective levels. Some 43 beneficiaries, between 18 and 50 years of age, and with low educational background completed training in marketing, sewing, design and art direction, in Basic English and IT. Trainees also benefited from training in personal development and management skills in order to strengthen their economic potentials for starting up and properly managing new businesses, which included a two-day training that focused on leadership and economic and social empowerment. (L’Orient Le Jour, December 22, 2015)