In the 15th issue of the newsletter, the UNDP “Peace Building in Lebanon” project sheds light on the work done with municipalities, schools, media outlets and NGOs in the fields of social stability and peace building. Read the newsletter in both English and Arabic versions.

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) appointed Mrs. Rabha Raichouni Eidi as a Goodwill Ambassador for the UNDP Live Lebanon initiative. Mrs. Eidi received an official welcome and designation letter from UNDP Resident Representative Mr. Philippe Lazzarini at his office in Beirut.

This committee was established with the support of UNDP as a result of the Mechanisms for Social Stability. The village conflict analysis identified several issues and challenges threatening stability in the region. Two of the crucial problems underlined were unemployment and negative perception of the village as a result of security incidents in the last decade. The committee, which includes representatives of the local authority and local actors, decided to work on a touristic plan which focuses on the natural and archeological beauty of Syr and its cultural diversity, with the aim of stimulating the local economy and changing the perception about the region.

G Foundation, the local municipality and the UNDP partnered to implement a drip irrigation system in Menjez that was funded primarily by The Coca-Cola Foundation. The system was a clear need for the village that couldn’t afford to waste water. Following the installation of a 60,000-sq.-meter irrigation network that distributes water using low-pressure and low-water volume, Menjez now saves approximately 400 million liters per year (around 390 million of those liters are saved by the drip irrigation system), around 90 percent of the total amount they previously used.

Particularly in Lebanon, where private political media was used as a weapon during war (from the article “News Bulletin Introductions and the Civil War” by Georges Sadaqa, the Peace Building in Lebanon news supplement, April 2017), this time the UNDP and Maharat Foundation’s media monitoring is tackling the role of Lebanese Religious Media, in sustaining peace. The UNDP “Peace Building in Lebanon” project has been observing, for the past three years, the implementation of the Journalists’ Pact for Strengthening Civil Peace by the participating media outlets in cooperation with Maharat Foundation.

The discussion took place on April 19th, 2017 to debate over the topics issues related to civil war memory and civil peace mentioned in the supplement. Writers, journalists, activists and NGO and INGOs representatives discussed together the content of the supplement published on April 13th, funded by KfW and distributed with the An-Nahar newspaper in its Arabic version, with The Daily Star in English, and with L'Orient-Le Jour newspaper in French.

On Wednesday April 12th, 2017 a workshop entitled “Toward the Development of the National Solid Waste Management Strategy and the Adoption of the Integrated Solid Waste Management Law” was held at the Lebanese Parliament Library Hall. The workshop was jointly organized by the General Secretariat of the Lebanese Parliament, the United Nations Development Programme project at Parliament and UN Environment program, in partnership with the Lebanese Ministry of Environment.

On 25 September 2015, world leaders adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, promising to work towards a more sustainable world where no one is left behind, and where our present way of life supports an equally good or even better life for future generations. 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are at the core of the 2030 Agenda, setting high expectations for all countries in addressing challenges such as poverty, health, education, women’s empowerment, growth, inequality, environment protection and governance. In addressing issues that are highly relevant to Lebanon and its residents, including goals on equality, economic growth, governance and the environment, the SDGs are an opportunity for the country to develop an ambitious and shared vision of Lebanon fifteen years from now, The Lebanon We Want. With such a shared vision, the SDGs will provide ways for the Lebanese to work together for a better and more equal future for themselves and the future Lebanese generation.

This supplement is produced by the UNDP «Peace Building in Lebanon» project, funded by the German Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development through KfW. The original Arabic version is distributed with An-Nahar and As-Safir newspapers while a translated English version is distributed with The Daily Star and a translated French version with L’Orient Le Jour. The supplement contains articles by writers, journalists, media professionals, researchers and artists from Lebanon and Syria and Palestine; they cover issues related to civil peace in addition to the repercussions of the Syrian crisis on Lebanon and the relations between Lebanese and Syrians, employing objective approaches that are free of hatred and misconceptions.