![UNDP Newsletter - Issue 18](/web/20170901171346im_/http://www.lb.undp.org/content/dam/lebanon/img/NewsLetters/undp%20newsletter%2018.JPG/jcr:content/renditions/cq5dam.web.699.470.jpeg)
UNDP Lebanon issues it newsletter every 3 months. The newsletter includes the latest activities carried out by UNDP in addition to the latest Social Media campaigns, YouTube videos and publications.
![Fighting Prejudice and Racism with Facts and Figures Discussion Session Tackles Repercussions of the Syrian Crisis on Lebanon](/web/20170901171346im_/http://www.lb.undp.org/content/dam/lebanon/img/EnergyandEnvironment/New%20Stories/Fighting%20Prejudice%20and%20Racism%20with%20Facts%20and%20Figures.jpg/jcr:content/renditions/cq5dam.web.699.470.jpeg)
The session was an opportunity to listen to the readers’ feedback and engage in an open and constructive discussion in the presence of the supplements’ contributors. Discussion evolved around the articles of the issue which tackled Lebanese labor policies, racism and its social repercussions on Lebanon, the impact of the rent policies on Lebanon, stories of refuge and many other issues.
![KFARNABRAKH: Enhancing Emir Bashir’s Canal](/web/20170901171346im_/http://www.lb.undp.org/content/dam/lebanon/img/EnergyandEnvironment/New%20Stories/Capturejihan.JPG/jcr:content/renditions/cq5dam.web.699.470.jpeg)
Kfarnabrakh is a village in Chouf, Mount Lebanon that lies between two large springs, Al Barouk and Al Safa. This agricultural town hosts 8,000 permanent residents and 800 Syrian refugees. Kfarnabrakh is located between 600 and 1100 meters in altitude; providing the village with various types of lands and a microclimate. Since nearly half of the town’s area is dedicated to agriculture, the town is highly dependent on farming with approximately 1,800 farmers and their families benefiting from it.
![Stimulating the Commitment of National News Agency Reporters to Strengthen Civil Peace](/web/20170901171346im_/http://www.lb.undp.org/content/dam/lebanon/img/CrisisPreventionRecovery/New%20Stories/Stimulating%20the%20Commitment%20of%20National%20News%20Agency%20Reporters%20to%20Strengthen%20Civil%20Peace.jpg/jcr:content/renditions/cq5dam.web.699.470.jpeg)
Hala Wehbe, a National News Agency (NNA) reporter from Al Qaa in the Bekaa, arrived early to Beirut on the sunny hot Friday of July 14, 2017. She was eager to meet, for the first time, her colleagues from other National News Agency offices in Mount Lebanon, South, North, Akkar and Bekaa. Hala is one of 14 NNA reporters who participated in a four-day media training titled: “Professional Media Coverage Standards for Strengthening Civil Peace”. This training, which is funded by Germany, was organized by Maharat Foundation, in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and in partnership with the National News Agency at the Ministry of Information.
![Religious Media to Serve Civil Peace: Reflection and Action](/web/20170901171346im_/http://www.lb.undp.org/content/dam/lebanon/img/Governance/New%20Stories/Untitled%20design.png/jcr:content/renditions/cq5dam.web.699.470.png)
Religious media has taken an important space in the media landscape in Lebanon, but what is its role in strengthening civil peace? UNDP and Maharat Foundation invited religious media representatives to gather on July 18, 2017 to discuss the monitoring study titled "Religious Media Speech and its Conformity to Civil Peace". The study was prepared by Maharat Foundation in cooperation with the UNDP "Peace Building in Lebanon" project and funded by Germany. The UNDP “Peace Building in Lebanon” project has been working with Maharat Foundation on monitoring the local media outlets’ commitment to the “Journalists’ Pact for Strengthening Civil Peace in Lebanon”, which they signed in 2013.And since religious media were not enrolled in the Pact, two new studies were dedicated for better understanding religious media in Lebanon.
![Empowering Lebanese Women to Achieve Financial Independence](/web/20170901171346im_/http://www.lb.undp.org/content/dam/lebanon/img/Governance/New%20Stories/women%20empower.JPG/jcr:content/renditions/cq5dam.web.699.470.jpeg)
As part of the partnership since 2011, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Country Office in Lebanon and Senteurs d’Orient, have teamed up with the Startline Foundation for the 2017 edition of the women empowerment program. The program is in line with the Sustainable Development Goals, targeting a set of objectives including empowering women in eradicating poverty, and eliminating illiteracy.It leads awareness campaigns through educational trainings that offer thinking and planning competences, decision-making and negotiation skills, and most importantly, develop a sense of self-confidence that prepare women for their communal and occupational leadership role.
![Liban Cables: When Solar Energy Infiltrates the Cables](/web/20170901171346im_/http://www.lb.undp.org/content/dam/lebanon/img/EnergyandEnvironment/New%20Stories/Liban%20Cables.jpg/jcr:content/renditions/cq5dam.web.699.470.jpeg)
The urban environment, in which all cities strive, is mainly powered by electricity. This driving force is now very essential and the demand for it is massive. However, the growing need to supply energy is exhausting the planet. In fact, by burning fossil fuel to generate electricity, we are releasing CO2 in the atmosphere as a byproduct; this gas contributes to the greenhouse effect and is one of the main drivers of climate change. Consequently, with the environment under threat, efforts are being made to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and one of many solutions to this problem is the installation of photovoltaic (PV) systems which generate electricity without burning fossil fuel. Subsequently, industries with high energy consumption are urged to adopt environment-friendly policies to help preserve the environment. One Lebanese company, Liban Cables, has recently adopted such policies.
![The Lebanon Host Communities Support Programme (LHSP) Quarterly Newsletter](/web/20170901171346im_/http://www.lb.undp.org/content/dam/lebanon/img/SocialandLocalDevelopment/Publications/lhsp%20quarterly.JPG/jcr:content/renditions/cq5dam.web.699.470.jpeg)
The Lebanon Host Communities Support Programme's (LHSP) quarterly newsletter is out The Lebanon Host Communities Support Programme is jointly implemented through a MoSA - UNDP partnership as a comprehensive, coordinated, and durable response to the needs of the host communities during the Syrian Crisis and its implications on the country. LHSP has become the main UNDP contribution to the Lebanon Crisis Response Plan (2017-2020).
![The Peace Building in Lebanon Joint Supplement - 16th Issue](/web/20170901171346im_/http://www.lb.undp.org/content/dam/lebanon/img/CrisisPreventionRecovery/SupplementImages/xWeb,P20Cover.jpg.pagespeed.ic.xMyGXRfoWx.jpg/jcr:content/renditions/cq5dam.web.699.470.jpeg)
This supplement is produced by the UNDP «Peace Building in Lebanon» project, funded by Germany. The Arabic version is distributed with An-Nahar while the English version is distributed with The Daily Star and the French version with L’Orient-Le Jour. The supplement contains articles by writers, journalists, media professionals, researchers and artists residing in Lebanon 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.