Youth Reclaim Village as Cultural and Tourist Center - October 2009
The youth-oriented Yammouneh Cultural Club is sponsoring a wide a range of projects that are reviving the Beqaa village's reputation as a hub of cultural and tourist activities, and OTI support provided the impetus for the Club to begin its work with youth interested in addressing community needs.
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Youth and Government Officials Debate Openly - August 2009
Young people from southern Lebanon had a rare opportunity to voice their opinions in a series of high-profile debates with politicians. The events were organized by local NGO Shu'on Janoubiya in the run-up to the country's parliamentary elections and focused on issues of concern to youth.
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Sewing the Seeds of Opportunity in Beqaa - June 2009
Fifty-six young people from the Beqaa improved their chances for employment through a unique vocational training program offered by the Baalbeck Association for Environment and Culture, with support from OTI. The program provided instruction in sewing techniques, and the participants are reviving and taking pride in the traditional handcraft.
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Youth in Tripoli Vote to Make Their Voices Heard - June 2009
Nearly 2,500 Lebanese youths "voted" for the first time in a mock election and, if an election law is enacted, will vote for real in the 2010 parliamentary elections. The youth organization Shabab al Balad, partnering with OTI, staged the election to engage young people in the democratic process and prepare them to take part in their country's future.
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Youth Clubs Foster Activism in Ouzai Neighborhood - May 2009
The Youth Committee in the Beirut neighborhood of Ouzai has formed seven clubs focusing on a variety of interests to give young people an opportunity to explore their talents. With support from OTI, and using an innovative curriculum produced by local NGO Jouzour, the committee is linking the concepts of citizenship, conflict resolution, teamwork, and nonviolence to club activities.
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National Bus Tour Links Youth to Promote Peace - May 2009
Lebanese youth activists commemorated the anniversary of the end of the country's Civil War by spreading messages of peace during a "peace bus" tour. The diverse group was brought together by Zico House, a local arts organization, and linked OTI partners working on dialogue and peace-building initiatives throughout the country.
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Citizenship Clubs Unite Students in Baalbeck - April 2009
The "citizenship academy"—designed by the OTI-supported Lebanese Organization for Studies and Training—seeks to empower youth with skills that open doors to civic activism. And when more than 2,000 students from Baalbeck took part in a recent academy, their lives began to change as they became more active in their communities.
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Youth Group Makes Headway in Resolving Conflicts - April 2009
In Lebanon's Beqaa Valley, youths from two remote villages have been sparked into community activism at their new youth center—supported by local NGO Sanabel al Ataa (Grains of Giving) and OTI. The youths started discussions on the roots of violence, such as revenge and violation of property, and devised an innovative campaign to beautify the village of Nabha.
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Theater and Dialogue Inspire Youth Activism - March 2009
A new and innovative Lebanese NGO, with support from OTI, is helping youths from different educational and sectarian backgrounds to develop creative, communication, and critical-thinking skills. The youths are exploring theater and engaging in journalism and dialogues, gaining valuable skills and building trust within the group and bonds between each other.
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Vocational Training Helps Youths Find Jobs in Akkar - March 2009
In the economically depressed Akkar region of northern Lebanon, the Women's Charity League—with a grant from OTI—is offering the next generation of Alawite, Christian, and Sunni children a chance to learn a practical profession.
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New Youth Clubs Connect Communities in the South - February 2009
Three new youth clubs in southern Lebanon are embarking on new and constructive efforts many thought were not possible. At the instigation of Blue Mission, a peace-education organization, and with assistance from OTI, the youths made improvements in their communities, including a public garden, a clock tower, and covered bus stops, and coordinated health-awareness events and a sports competition.
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Youth Campaigns Model Active Citizenship - January 2009
Beirut youths are mobilizing others for positive action through unconventional advocacy campaigns, street performances, and by working in schools, thanks to the League of Independent Activists (IndyAct), a youth-led organization partnered with OTI. NGOs in Jordan and Egypt are now interested in replicating this success.
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Hip-Hoppers Become Advocates for Peace - January 2009
Using art as an advocacy technique, Lebanese youths from the Permanent Peace Movement, supported by OTI, capitalized on the country's growing hip-hop scene to spread messages of peace and nonviolence to their peers who are typically uninterested in conventional peace-building dialogues.
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Youth Remake Park as Multiuse Civic Space - December 2008
Youth in Hermel, Lebanon, have taken the initiative-supported by Development Culture and Giving and OTI-to take back, renovate, and manage their community's only shared, nonpolitical space, or Minshiyeh, for recreation and cultural activities.
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Accessibility Study Contributes to Electoral Reform - November 2008
Using the accessibility issue as a doorway to electoral reform dialogue, the Lebanese Physical Handicapped Union (LPHU) is helping to ensure maximum community participation in upcoming elections. With support from OTI and in partnership with the Youth Association for the Blind, LPHU surveyed and mapped the accessibility of designated polling stations in Beirut.
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Mixed Community Celebrates New Park - November 2008
The mixed Lebanese-Palestinian community of Burghliyeh in southern Lebanon has been celebrating its new community park, the culmination of several small-scale infrastructure improvements. Part of a larger OTI-funded project, the park provides a common meeting point for Lebanese and Palestinians, as well as a social outlet for youth in an area where youth-friendly spaces are limited.
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New Web Site Brings Diverse Community Together - November 2008
A diverse group of youths from the city of Tyre in southern Lebanon have developed an online platform, supported by the Tyre Cultural Foundation and OTI, to offer the public a nonaligned space for dialogue while also publicizing nonpartisan activities and events.
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Youth Develop Independent Voice in Nabatyeh - November 2008
Members of the nonpartisan Youth Network in Nabatyeh, a stronghold of extremist political parties, literally stopped traffic on Independence Day, grabbing the city's attention with street-side activities that included a "wall magazine" on which passersby were asked to write their personal definitions of true independence.
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Activists Use New Media for Advocacy and Education - October 2008
Social advocates across Lebanon have begun applying powerful "new media" methodologies to advance a spectrum of causes, thanks to resources being provided by the Social Media Exchange project at RootSpace, a local NGO, and support from OTI.
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Palestinian, Lebanese Youth Forge New Friendships - October 2008
A nascent, youth-led organization has helped break down barriers between Lebanese and Palestinian youth near the Beddawi refugee camp in northern Lebanon. With OTI support, the group is challenging stereotypes fueled by a history of tensions.
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Youth Join Forces to Improve Their Communities - October 2008
Youth in Al Villat, a mixed Lebanese-Palestinian community deeply affected by recurring violence in the nearby refugee camp, applied newly learned leadership skills by organizing a one-month children's program to promote nonviolence through recreational, educational, and artistic activities.
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High School Students Experience Democratic Process - September 2008
Led by local nongovernmental organization 05Amam, with support from OTI, students from three Lebanese high schools experienced the democratic process firsthand, electing an interscholastic student council to come up with ideas for a community development project.
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Community Theater Harnesses Youth Talents - August 2008
A bit of Broadway came to Lebanon recently, as youths staged their own contemporary theater productions through a project led, with OTI support, by Lebanese NGO Zico House and designed to encourage youth participation in creative activities instead of divisive politics.
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Conservation Project Unites Neighboring Villages - August 2008
Two villages are overcoming religious and political differences through a project designed to mitigate conflict by preserving an environmentally significant wetland in the Beqaa Valley. The Society for the Protection of Nature in Lebanon is heading the project that encourages residents from both villages to work together.
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Southern Lebanese Farmers Find Common Ground - June 2008
Lebanese farmers shared stories of their agricultural successes and challenges in a series of workshops led by local NGO Scientific Research Foundation and designed to improve cross-confessional cooperation in the segregated region.
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Youth Network Spreads Message of Tolerance - June 2008
USAID's Office of Transition Initiatives is supporting a network of 180 youths from all regions of Lebanon to engage in civic activities through community-based initiatives.
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South Lebanon Villages Exposed to New Ideas - May 2008
A series of workshops in southern Lebanon run by the Partnership Center for Development and Democracy, with support from OTI, is introducing villagers to democratic principles and challenging traditional ways of dealing with community-level conflicts.
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Music and Song Urge Lebanese To Take a Stand - April 2008
Music was the language of choice for Nehna Kelna's public appeal for peace and unity on the 33rd anniversary of the start of Lebanon's civil war. With OTI support, the activist youth group, whose name means All of Us in Arabic, recorded and broadcast a song, "Take a Stand," from a convoy of cars during a 14-hour musical advocacy tour of Beirut and Saida.
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Enough of Hiding in Bathrooms: 600 Toilets Make a Dramatic Point - April 2008
"Haven't 15 years of hiding in the toilets been enough?" This was the question posed by Lebanese artist Nada Sehnaoui at a two-week exhibit of 600 toilets. The exhibit, supported by OTI, served as a stark reminder of the dangers posed by political stalemate and polarized rhetoric.
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Improving Conditions in Underserved Communities - April 2008
American Near East Refugee Aid (ANERA), with OTI support, is helping to improve the quality of life in areas housing a mix of Palestinian refugees and low-income Lebanese citizens. ANERA is working with local partners in Tyre, where successive waves of Palestinian refugees have created pressures on cash-strapped municipalities and tense relationships with neighbors.
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NGOs Make Inroads Despite Political Crisis - March 2008
Despite a volatile situation and an uncertain future, Lebanese NGOs continue to act as service providers, voices of change, and consensus builders. Since September 2007, OTI has built ties with diverse partners through small grants and technical assistance to help diffuse the tensions exacerbated by polarized political rhetoric.
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Youth Advocacy on Environment Demonstrates Shared Vision - March 2008
Youths with differing political backgrounds from across Lebanon have joined forces to publicize air pollution studies, encourage government officials to adopt stricter measures to control air pollution, and demonstrate that Lebanese people can work together to address critical issues affecting the country.
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Teams Seek Consensus on Development Priorities - March 2008
With OTI support, Catholic Relief Services is working in Lebanese villages to build consensus among different community and religious groups to identify development priorities and draw up strategic plans for each locale.
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