Employment and Integration Network within Afkar project

Within Afkar II program for the enhancement of the Lebanese civil society, financed by EU and managed by OMSAR, Al-Zawrak Foundation organized a meeting on July,25 2008 at Rotana Hotel-Hazmieh, with the “Employment and Integration Network” within the project entitled “The Right of the Persons with Special Needs to Employment and Integration”.


                                               

The meeting was attended by the members of the network, who elaborated an action plan aiming at integrating the persons with special needs in the society and in the labor market, putting an end to their isolation and implementing law 220/2000. The representative of Al-Zawrak Foundation, Ms. Mariette Ziade underlined that the main objectives of the association consist of changing the general perspective regarding the employment of persons with special needs and of persons with special mental needs and helping them defend and claim their rights.

The debate between the participant employers, representatives of NGOs and parents of persons with special needs came out with the following recommendations:
1-To work and coordinate with the relevant ministries: Ministry of Social Affairs and Ministry of Labor.
2-To launch a campaign on the media, on the Labor Day, to raise the awareness of the public opinion.
3-To bring together employers to further the exchange of expertise.
4-To follow-up the work within the “Employment and Integration Network” through:

-The organization of periodic meetings between the members of the network
-The formation of specialized committees
-The encouragement of communication through e-mails and the formation of relevant e-working groups.