Afkar II holds its second round table
              Promoting Youth Dialogue after Periods of Violence and Conflicts


Under the title of “Promoting Youth Dialogue after Periods of Violence and Conflicts”, the Office of the Minister of State for Administrative Reform held on Friday in its headquarters in Starco Building the second round table organized by the European Émergences Foundation for technical assistance. The meeting comes within Afkar II program for the enhancement of the civil society, financed by the European Union and managed by OMSAR. Among the participants were experts and representatives of the civil society and youth NGOs.


                           
                            Mrs.Gorayeb,Dr.Safa,Ms.El Murr and Mr.Abi Yazbeck

In the beginning of the meeting, the coordinator of Afkar II program, Ms. Youmna Ghorayeb noted that the topic of the round table comes into line with the objectives of Afkar II, namely the promotion of the concepts of democracy, citizenship and culture of peace, based on the acceptance of and dialoguing with the other, and on the rejection of violence and discrimination. In this perspective, Afkar II program took it upon itself to sponsor nine projects that aim to promote dialogue between the constituents of the Lebanese society and revolve around youth Lebanese. Mrs. Ghorayeb stressed in this regard the importance of benefiting from the expertise of the NGOs working in this field, especially in the light of the difficulties arising from the present circumstances. 

                            
Ms. Denise El Murr, the expert in Émergences organisation, moderated the sessions. The speakers were Mr. Oussama Safa and Mr. Karam Abi Yazbeck.

In his speech, Safa set out the strategies of establishing dialogue between all the segments of the Lebanese society and the role of the youth in post-violence societies. He underscored the importance of creating an “embracing climate” for dialogue, which cannot be established unless “collective and cooperative efforts are made by the State, the civil society and the religious and spiritual institutions”. In this regard, he called upon the media to contribute as a partner to promoting dialogue, warning against the consequences of the lack of the culture of mutual gain, the prevalence of the idea of the fatal gain and of confusing the dialogue as a mean with the dialogue as an end. He reckoned necessary for the organizers and participants in any dialogue meeting to avoid unrealistic expectations, stressing nevertheless the importance to believe in the power of dialogue as well as of that of the timing and commitment. Furthermore, Safa expounded the methods of promoting youth dialogue; he shed light on the need of an alternative strategy based on raising awareness, building the skills and organizing training sessions to convey the relevant concepts, to smooth away the obstacles and to build bridges between the Lebanese. He noted that any dialogue, in order to be fruitful, should be coupled with defined, practical and lasting projects.

As for Mr. Abi Yazbeck, he set out the challenges and the lessons to be drawn from youth dialogue meetings through field experiences. He mentioned the impact of the developments that occurred from 2004 until today on the Christian Youth Association’s project in the rural and semi-rural regions such as Hassbaya, Akkar, Middle Bekaa and Kesrouan, which are characterized by their political and confessional diversity. He said in this context that the turn of events during the past three years called for changes in the execution of the association’s project. Therefore the efforts were focused on weaving networks of dialogue and on changing some behavioral features. He furthermore explained how the difficulties were tackled within the project, underlining the importance of broadening the scope of the dialogue, so as to extend it beyond the circle of youth as well as the need to enhance and activate partnerships, through the youth committee within the Parliament, with the Ministry of Youth and Sport and with the Parliament. Finally, the speaker highlighted the necessity of ensuring the continuity of the dialogue even after the execution of the projects.


                                 

The speeches and debates of the second session mirrored the situation on the ground as the experiences of the activists in youth dialogue projects were presented. The participants in the second session called upon the stakeholders to take after the successful models of dialogue and to draw out practical and applicable ideas, “for he who conceals his illness cannot be healed”, as stated by father Boulos Wehbé. As for Mr. Fadi Abi Alam, he attributed the importance of the dialogue to its power of revealing the needs of the other as well as the common concerns. The general secretary of “Bouyout Al-Chabab”, Mr. Anis Abdel Malek noted that the pillar of the dialogue is the good governance; he called for the establishment of a “natural dialogue” under the umbrella of the State, which should later on be translated on the ground through activities similar to those carried out by the Red Cross and the Scouts. Mr. Simon Bechouaty called upon the NGOs to pass on to the youth the concept of politics as being a public matter in which they can actively take part with a view of bringing a bigger and better influence on the youth activities. The speeches stressed the importance of education within the schools and at home as well as the role of the media in bolstering the initiatives of dialogue taken by active associations. As for Julian Krisson, he emphasized the importance of adopting a comprehensive approach for human development by joining efforts and rejecting the culture of resignation.

At the end of the meeting the new website of Afkar program was presented. The website was conceived to provide a platform for the stakeholders and the civil society to exchange views and to dialogue through the e-forum, the information it displays and the issues it raises.