"There's never any good time or bad time to fight for human rights," she exclaimed, "It's always time."

UNRWA, in partnership with LAU-MEPI Tomorrow's Leadership Program and the Social Sciences Department, hosted a screening and discussion on May 24 on the Byblos campus called "Dignity for All". It unveiled some of the plaguing problems facing Palestinians in Lebanon and laid out ways to tackle them.

The presentation opened with a screening of Someone Like Me, a poignant documentary about a Palestinian boy living in Bourj el-Barajneh Camp, and the obstacles he faces trying to study, find work and fight stereotypes among Lebanese. Under the guidance of the University Enterprise Office, 20 LAU-MEPI TL students recently visited the same camp. "Second hand impressions are not sufficient," said Dismorr, who encouraged audience members who hadn't seen a camp to do so.

There are approximately 422,000 Palestinian refugees in Lebanon, half of whom live in the country's 12 official refugee camps, where conditions are deplorable. Due to their legal status in the country, they cannot travel, own property and are banned from working in most high-level professions.

After the screening, a panel of experts shed light on the challenges facing Palestinians. Though a labor law giving them the right to work was passed in 2010, it was watered down and did little to open up many professions that are still closed off to them said Dr. Ziad el Sayegh, member of the Lebanese-Palestinian Dialogue. He says their problem is not a humanitarian, but a political one, and that Lebanese may have sympathy for their plight, but do not want them to settle in Lebanon.

"Our universities are entrusted in reversing the stereotypes," he said. "We should work together to build a life of dignity. You are the new generation and you need to help."

Former legal advisor to the Lebanese Palestinian Dialogue Committee (LPDC) Elias Moukheiber spoke of the need to recognize a "joined interest" of the Palestinians by the Lebanese, and to turn ministerial declarations into actual laws: "We need to reconcile between modern laws and the real situation at a political and social level."

"The film was really touching but I disagreed with the notion brought forward by one panelist that if you give Palestinians citizenship, they will not want to leave," said third year banking and finance student Nour Laswi who is of Palestinian origin. "I'm from Jordan where we have a high level of citizenship, and we all still want to return."

Laswi says there should be more awareness on campus about the situation of Palestinians in Lebanon. "Their right to work is so essential. If they can't produce money, they can't live," she added.

The war in Syria has compounded the difficulties for Palestinians as some 55,000 Syrian Palestinians have been flooding into the country and are taking shelter in the already over-crowded camps.

The convention was part of the fifth and last module of EPIL's two-year study plan, which aims to train women to understand and manage religious diversity in order to build equitable and peaceful communities.

EPIL functions as a "roaming college" that focuses on Christian-Muslim relations and on the role of women in creating a culture of peace. Forty women from Switzerland, Austria, the Netherlands, Lebanon, Germany, and Bosnia and Herzegovina partook in the two-day seminar, which addressed religious plurality in the Arab world, postcolonialism in the Middle East, and the challenges of constructing a civil society.

"Lebanon is like a second home to me," said Teny Pirri-Simonian, co-founder of EPIL, at the outset of the conference. "I am very delighted to be here with all of you."

Under the theme "Living Together as Good Neighbors," Lebanese economist, historian and former Finance Minister Dr. Georges Corm spoke about Lebanon's shifting identity over the years, calling Lebanon the "only country in this day and age that is completely similar to the Ottoman Empire in terms of political structure."

"Unfortunately, however, the country's outdated, 19th century political structure has jeopardized and put a strain on its congruent pluralism -- religious or otherwise," said Corm.

Moreover, the power vacuum that Lebanon is characterized by was largely responsible for various religious communities' timid search for solid, albeit foreign power affiliations in the early 1970s, leaving many sects in the country under the patronage of different foreign states.

But the main difference between various communities in Lebanon, as Corm aptly pointed out, is in fact related to the diversity of the country's geographic milieu and subsequent economic gap.

Other speakers included President of the Syriac League in Lebanon Habib Ephrem and Dr. Seoud el Mawla, representative of the Supreme Islamic Shia Council, who spoke about religion in the public sphere. On the second day of the conference, Reem Maghribi, founder and editor of Sharq magazine, an English- language publication about Arab culture and lifestyles, and Nahla Haidar, member of the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, addressed the challenges and achievements of women in the Arab world in the context of Arab revival.

"It's important to see how religious plurality is viewed and tackled in non-secular countries," said Marleen Kramer, a theological studies student from the Netherlands. "Learning about the challenges that people in Lebanon and the Middle East are facing makes us see things from a different perspective, and might even help us to solve some problems of our own."

During their 8-day stay in Lebanon, EPIL's participants visited several mosques and churches, in addition to various archeological sites.

"Women are the mothers and sisters of generations to come. If interreligious and intercultural communication is practiced at home, and passed on to their respective communities, the result will be a more peaceful world," says Anita Nassar, assistant director of IWSAW.
 

Dr. Christian Kuehner, a research associate from the University of Cambridge served as the keynote guest speaker and offered a stimulating overview of the complex dynamics governing the German multi-sectarian experience—namely the struggle between Catholics and Protestants of the early modern period between the years 1500-1650 AD.

“By examining past relationships between religion and politics we may be able to uncover insights of present-day relationships,” argues Kuehner.

“That is, after all, what the scholarship of history is supposed to do,” he adds poignantly.

The chief focus of Kuehner’s seminar was to provide a comprehensive analysis of how the relationship between state and religion was negotiated in Europe as well as a review of Germany’s unique and unlikely path to secularism.

Additionally, Kuehner outlined the underlying historical roots of the wars of religion that plagued Europe for many decades. He explained that as the two main religious denominations—Catholic and Protestant, began to diverge culturally and theologically it became virtually impossible to govern vis-à-vis a political system that pledged allegiance to one religion at the expense of the other.

“Secularism was a makeshift solution—it came about not because it was genuinely desired, but rather because there was no other choice,” Kuehner explains.

The seminar shifted gears as the fascinating case study of Germany was employed as a vehicle to initiate dialogue and to unpack the specificities of the contemporary and hotly contested Lebanese political landscape.

“Most of the time discussing such topics in Lebanon is considered taboo but here we proved we can discuss these pertinent topics in a healthy way that generates academic insights,” says the event’s organizer, Dr. Tamirace Fakhoury—assistant professor of political sciences and international affairs at LAU Byblos.

“We are not transplanting the German case on the Lebanese context but rather using it as a tool to explore various Lebanese dimensions, ” stressed Fakhoury.

As the moderator of the event, Fakhoury reflected on the similarities and differences between the German and Lebanese contexts and prompted attendees to suggest plausible explanations as to why attempts at reforming the Lebanese political system have failed in recent years.

“We examine these challenging questions first and foremost as researchers—as political scientists with the common endeavor of producing knowledge and breaking barriers,” Fakhoury says.

These important and difficult questions were reflected on with measured gravitas and sparked a lively, engaged and dynamic discussion centered on the Lebanese political context taking into consideration its specific nuances and unique historical trajectory.

“It was great to be able to debate such different points of view,” says third-year economics student Jamil Abou Eyoun El-Soud. “These are sensitive issues but were dealt with in a very scientific manner.”

The seminar was open to all in the LAU community and brought together students from various disciplines and departments. Indeed, even some faculty members joined the discussion such as Dr. Brigitte Wex, assistant professor of chemistry: “It was a very eye-opening and fascinating lecture.”
 

Between August 17 and August 24, an LAU student delegation travelled to New York to take part in the International Diplomacy workshop hosted by the World Youth Alliance. Earlier in the summer, LAU also chaperoned six talented high school students who participated in the International Model United Nations Conference.

“The International Diplomacy workshop was available to our LAU student leaders and OCE student volunteers in the Model UN, Model Arab League and other leadership programs so that they may deepen their diplomacy skills and sharpen their leadership skills,” says OCE Executive Director Elie Samia.

The training focused on critical advocacy issues currently being debated at the UN; the students also received a tour of the premises and met with Lebanese Ambassador to the UN Nawaf Salam.

The journey made quite an impression on fourth-year civil engineering student Stephanie Bassil who intends to share her leadership training with her fellow students: “This experience added a different kind of flavor to my logical thinking.”

“The 22 LAU students fortunate enough to attend the workshop have returned to Beirut armed with knowledge and experience they will share with fellow students in LAU’s much celebrated Model UN and Model Arab League,” says Joseph Kanaan, project management coordinator for OCE.

Indeed, LAU’s MUN has long been recognized for its influence on shaping the leaders of tomorrow and promoting values of democracy, diplomacy and diversity.

“Model UN changed my life,” says 16-year-old International College student Christina Farhat. “I gained an awareness of the importance of international diplomacy,” she explains. Farhat, along with five other talented high school students constituting LAU’s Global Classrooms delegation, travelled to New York City on May 17th to 19th to participate in the International Model United Nations Conference. Prior to travelling, the delegation received seven training sessions by LAU model UN student secretariat and participated in the LAU MUN conference that took place on March 31st.

Having gained confidence from their training at LAU, the students displayed exceptional skills among the 2500 participants in New York. This year was the seventh consecutive year that Samia and his students have participated and the first time LAU delegation won the prestigious Secretary General’s Award for demonstrated excellence.

“I am proud that we won! Participating in Global Classrooms has shown me my potential to create an impact on society,” exclaims Saint Joseph School-Kornet Chewan student Angelo Raphael.

Dr. Marwan Rowayheb, assistant professor of political science and international affairs at the Department of Social Sciences at LAU Byblos, and NSU master’s student Christina Wyler hatched up the meeting during an event in Byblos last November. Galvanized by seminars on the vital role of dialogue in conflict resolution, the pair resolved to put theory into practice.

After settling technical logistics, social sciences faculty entrusted students with the bulk of organization. Wyler collaborated closely with Tania Bougebrayel, a master’s student in Byblos, to determine the form and content of the two-hour videoconference exchange.

Prior to the event, a Facebook group entitled "Intercultural Dialogue: Road to Peace" facilitated initial contact between students in Lebanon and the United States. Graduate and undergraduate participants hailed from a wide range of disciplines, from biology and business to social sciences.

"In order to have correct perception, we must have a direct encounter," Wyler said at the opening of the videoconference. In the ensuing discussion, students leapfrogged theory and cursory accounts to delve deep into human experience. By sharing subjective insights, they personified issues dehumanized by media coverage and transcended divisive preconceptions.

Having chosen to address multicultural diversity in the Arab world, NSU speakers inquired about the role of second languages in Lebanon. One student suggested that the comparative lack of foreign language education in the United States curbs cross-cultural understanding. American participants also questioned the possibility of a productive pan-Arab identity.

LAU students assumed the interrogative role for the latter half of the discussion. Questions centered on Western perceptions of Arab culture, prompting a lively discussion about the media's role in perpetuating unfavorable stereotypes. NSU students candidly addressed and criticized the misguided conflation of the Arab world with Islamic extremism and terrorism in American media discourse.

Students from both universities proposed potential means of countering detrimental prejudices. Suggestions included peace education, cross-cultural approaches to discriminatory propaganda, and active political engagement. One student said that engaging the political elite is crucial in implementing progressive change.

"Everyone was very open and enthusiastic," says Rowayheb. "There was no tension, purely constructive dialogue."

The LAU professor was pleased that students broached deep-rooted misperceptions, which he believes stem from insufficient cross-cultural interaction and narrow media portrayals. "This first session broke the ice and established trust between groups," he says, hinting that future discussions could further probe sensitive issues.

Social Sciences chair and assistant professor of political science and international affairs Dr. Makram Ouaiss was enthralled by the conversation. "It was a positive experience that really got students to think about and understand the 'other,'" he says, adding, "We hope to build on this and engage students in more activities that could help with their studies."

Ouaiss anticipates three more Intercultural Dialogue Sessions this semester. In the meantime, participants in the U.S. and Lebanon are strengthening newfound friendships via Facebook.
 

Year after year LAU and its sister universities throughout the country, in response to periodic student fights and conflicts, are investing considerable resources to enhance security systems and improve student election processes. More importantly, LAU has led by working to build strong relationships within the student body and across the country through numerous activities. While we analyze what happened and study our response to the incidents of Tuesday, the question that looms large is what is our responsibility toward our students and where does it stop?

Repeated student incidents at LAU and elsewhere over the past years have not shaken the university’s resolve to provide a safe environment for democratic practice, free speech, the celebration of diversity, and the emergence of young leaders despite often extremely tense national politics. Many have argued—and continue to argue—that politics and student elections should be banned from campus altogether. The university’s response—which we support wholeheartedly—has been that we should not ban politics, but rather do more to provide students with the right tools, habits and skills to address their political differences in a peaceful and constructive way.

If politics is the art of governing and serving the public, then the university is the first laboratory where adult students can practice such skills and assume responsibility for their future. LAU has expanded students’ direct engagement in governance and leadership by having student seats on all the university’s governing bodies and by availing students of a variety of extra-curricular activities such as the Global Classrooms initiative that is run by LAU students and brings over 1,200 Lebanese high school students from around the country together to learn about human rights, negotiation skills and United Nations practices; yearly participation in Model United Nations simulations around the world; the regular organization of workshops and trainings in the fields of conflict resolution, negotiation and human rights as well as the offering of courses on these topics.

Clearly, these efforts are commendable but not sufficient given the difficult and highly volatile context that we live in.

Witnessing student clashes inside and outside the gates of the university is a call not to throw up our hands and stop trying, but rather to redouble our determination to build the resilience of our student body and the community at large. These clashes are a symptom of a wider national problem that has deep economic, confessional and political roots. LAU’s students, faculty, staff, administration and students’ parents should be called upon to work together to address how these problems affect our campuses and what can be done to improve the situation.

Universities have proven themselves time and again as key to building societies in which we all want to live: societies that offer opportunity, prosperity, fairness and security to those who seek it. LAU is rightly proud of its historic and current role in Lebanon but it must do even more. Looking ahead, LAU must further develop its civic outreach program, strengthen its offering of conflict resolution courses and engage others outside the university in the process to help defuse tensions and reduce and prevent conflict on and off campus. While further security preparedness is likely to be part of the overall plan, it must be everyone’s responsibility on campus to ensure that such incidents do not repeat themselves. And as we continue our responsibility to teach and spread a culture of peace, democracy and respect for human rights, LAU ought to investigate the possibility of having a more focused dialogue with political party representatives on and off campus to ensure their commitment and capacity to reduce inter-party and inter-communal tensions between students for the good of society and the future of the country.

Jennifer Skulte and Makram Ouaiss are political science and international affairs faculty members at Lebanese American University.

This inspirational woman came to LAU Beirut on March 9 to talk with students and faculty about her experiences with multiculturalism, tolerance and building a better world.

“We need to recognize the humanity of the ‘other side,’” she told an intimate audience in the library’s Dr. Najla Atiyah Room.

“If you stay within yourself or a homogenous group, things might certainly be easier, but life is multicolored and the challenge of the century is how to find humanity in other people,” she added.

“I found Dr. Marzouk to offer the audience both examples of change from the ‘real world’ as well as how to develop one’s inner resources to meet the challenges of going against corrupt, unfair, violent practices to build a better world,” says Dr. Jennifer Skulte-Ouaiss, assistant professor of political science and international affairs in LAU’s Department of Social Sciences, who organized the event.

Marzouk emphasized that change really does start within one person who then partners with other like-minded individuals, which can turn into a critical mass necessary to enact big changes.

“What happened in Egypt is amazing,” said Marzouk, an Egyptian Muslim and daughter of an Egyptian diplomat. “It was mainly 15 to 25-year-olds who toppled a government — what more do you need to know you can make a difference?”

Sculte-Ouaiss would like to see LAU students discover that they have the ability “to be the change they seek” in society. “Too often, our students have internalized the apathy that they see in society to the extent that they feel that positive change is just not possible — that it is, in fact, naive or too idealistic to even think that (radical) positive change is possible,” she says.

“We who teach at LAU need to work more to inspire our students to be leaders for change in their families, communities and the world at large — and give them the tools to do so,” she adds.

Sculte-Ouaiss organized the event at the recommendation of a friend, Assaad Chaftari, who works toward building interfaith coalitions and increasing tolerance in Lebanon. The event was co-sponsored by LAU’s Department of Social Sciences and Institute for Women’s Studies in the Arab World.

Marzouk is a member of the International Council of Initiatives of Change, an international non-profit organization dedicated to “building trust across the world’s divides” of culture, nationality, belief and background, according to its website.
 

The event was the first of four forums organized by UNDP–Lebanon to promote youth leadership and engagement, each with a different theme: Volunteerism and Youth Activism; Millennium Development Goals and Human Rights; History, Memory and Reconciliation; and Citizenship.

The day kicked off with opening statements by Dr. Elise Salem, vice president for Student Development and Enrollment Management at LAU; Elie Samia, executive director of LAU’s Outreach and Civic Engagement unit; and Shombi Sharp, UNDP–Lebanon’s deputy country director.

“We are witnessing history being made and the region literally transformed before our eyes precisely as a result of the boundless courage, determination and skills of youth leaders in country after country,” Sharp told the audience.

“This is a powerful lesson still unfolding that has served to validate efforts to make youth engagement for positive change a critical part of our work in Lebanon and the region,” Sharp added.

Following panel presentations from members of the United Nations, government and NGOs on various initiatives promoting youth volunteerism, the students announced the launch of peace-building clubs at their respective universities and presented action plans for on- and off-campus activities related to volunteerism and youth activism.

Hala Hassan, a second-year graphic design student at LAU Byblos and founder of the LAU Peace-building Club, moderated the first forum.

Hassan says the LAU club plans to tackle many issues on campus and in the community.

“We are planning to display the movie Gandhi followed by a discussion about it and the premise of non-violence,” Hassan says.

Another activity will involve volunteers from LAU visiting groups of children with special needs or from an orphanage to raise the spirit of teamwork, peace building and leadership, Hassan adds.

Plans of clubs from other universities include visiting a prison for foreign workers, training high school students in leadership skills, spearheading a reforestation campaign, and conducting a field visit to post-conflict areas, to name a few.

LAU’s Peace-building Club currently claims about 15 members and expects to increase that number once it starts its hands-on activities, according to Hassan.

She says her fellow LAU student and club member George Saade has already created the club’s website and Facebook page.

Hassan credits LAU and especially the OCE office with encouraging students to be a part of the community. “But it is up to each and every one of us to make the simple move and get involved in volunteerism,” she adds.

Established in 2007, the UNDP Peacebuilding Project aims to promote peace-building efforts in Lebanon by addressing the root causes of conflict and engaging civil society through conflict-resolution-skills programs and interactive dialogue sessions. More than 600 youth leaders, civil society activities, educators, reporters, mayors and religious leaders have taken part in the project over the past four years.

Besides LAU’s involvement in this project, Sharp commended UNDP’s “long and fruitful partnership” with the university. He added: “For example, LAU’s Institute for Peace and Justice Education has been our implementing partner for the summer schools on conflict transformation since 2004, a program which has now become a cornerstone for many young Lebanese entering the development field.”
 

Though it is not yet part of the mainstream curricula, like mathematics or history, it is important everywhere — not just in areas of the world prone to conflict, according to Dr. Irma-Kaarina Ghosn, director of LAU’s Institute for Peace and Justice Education and associate professor in the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences at the School of Arts and Sciences in Byblos.

“To my knowledge, no region or country, although perhaps at the state of ‘negative peace’ (simply the absence of overt violence), has so far reached the goal of ‘positive peace’ when there is no structural, psychological or personal violence, and humans are in harmony with the natural world,” she explains.

In an effort to promote peace education, IPJE has recently launched a book titled Educators & Youth Building Peace: Stories from in and out of School, edited by Ghosn.

Its 16 chapters contain reflections and inspirational talks, and describe a number of actual peace-education projects that educators have carried out in different contexts around the world.

Contributors include peace-education pioneers Professor Betty Reardon and Professor Sir Bernard Crick; Dr. Mishka Moujabber-Mourani, senior vice president at Lebanon’s International College; and Elie Samia, lecturer at the Department of Social Sciences at LAU Byblos and executive director of LAU’s Outreach and Civic Engagement unit; among others.

According to Ghosn, crucial components of peace education include human rights; gender issues; conflict resolution and peace building; environment; prejudice and tolerance; and disarmament.

Though it is probably not a course most Lebanese high school or university graduates could say they have taken during their years of schooling, peace education has been taking place in various forms in the country.

“There are a number of different groups and individuals working on different aspects of peace education in Lebanon, and many schools have included some aspects in their curricula, but peace education as a discipline has not yet taken root in the mainstream,” Ghosn says.

She also explains that the impact of peace education is not easy to measure, since it involves long-term changes in attitudes, values and, subsequently, dispositions and behaviors.

“For maximum impact, it would be important to infuse peace education into all levels of formal and non-formal education,” she adds.

The anticipated readership of the new book includes participants in the annual IPJE Summer School on Conflict Prevention and Transformation, educators in formal and non-formal education, and individuals interested in peace building in their communities.

The publication of the book was made possible by generous grants provided to LAU by the Mennonite Central Committee to support IPJE’s peace-building work. In addition, the book manuscript was peer-reviewed free of charge by external reviewers (names withheld).

Ghosn has been teaching at the Byblos campus since 1991 and has been involved in peace education since 1995. She was a member of the International Advisory Group of the Global Campaign for Peace Education, launched by the Hague Appeal for Peace in 1999.

Download a copy of the book (PDF, 4.6 MB).
 

Each year, organizers of the Summer School for Emerging Leaders in Conflict Prevention and Transformation select 30 individuals — usually university students or young workers — to take part in a series of activities that open their minds to new ideas; arm them with technical skills; and instill values of cooperation, trust and tolerance in them.

“We have a track record of success,” says Dr. Irma Ghosn, IPJE director and chair of the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences at LAU Byblos.

Ghosn explains that follow-ups with former program participants reveal that about 30 percent of them have followed a path toward peace building. She says some have gone to work for NGOs, others have pursued graduate degrees in fields related to peace building, and a handful are working as facilitators and trainers in their communities.

This year, 20 participants completed the program from August 2–12 — about half of them Lebanese and the other half Palestinian.

During one of the most popular activities this year, the participants visited Common Space, an organization in downtown Beirut that deals with consensus building. There, they engaged in conflict simulation of the current political situation in Lebanon. Each person was assigned to represent a different country or political party, and had to reach agreements in order to prevent a new war.

Like every year, the program was hosted on the LAU Byblos campus, where the participants resided together in the dorms, intentionally paired up with roommates from different backgrounds.

“The first day they go into their room, they come face to face with someone who represents ‘the other,’” Ghosn says. “That has been the most fantastic thing, because all that many of these young people know about ‘the other’ is what they’ve heard from their parents.”

Third-year LAU student Mira Daher, a participant in this year’s program, says the experience has built her “capacity to communicate and ability to negotiate,” in addition to expanding her network of like-minded individuals involved in civil society.

“The summer school taught me the importance of active engagement with other youth. It taught me to listen to their stories, opinions, dreams, and to take them seriously,” says Daher, who remains committed to continuing her involvement in civic engagement, peace building and conflict resolution in the future.

The day after the summer school program ended, Daher began an internship in Beirut with an NGO, the Lebanese Association for Civil Rights, where she immediately realized the opportunity to put the skills and knowledge she had acquired into action. There, she is involved in a couple of projects, including a non-sectarian, non-violent youth movement.

“Even if they don’t pursue NGO work, that’s fine,” Ghosn says. “If they have gained an understanding of ‘the other,’ and … [have learned] that ‘the other’ is not some kind of a faceless entity that cannot be approached, I think they can make an impact in their own communities, and gradually in the society at large.”

“It has a rippling effect,” she adds.

A graduate of last year’s program, Hana Sleiman, addressed this year’s participants during the welcoming ceremony on August 2, where she talked about her experiences in the program and how it has helped shape her.

Today, Sleiman is employed by World Vision, an international relief and development organization, where she is working on projects at the Nahr el Bared and Burj el-Barajneh Palestinian camps in Lebanon.

“I went to work in the real world which is very, very critical of conflict transformation, especially in the Palestinian context, where peace building is seen as an alternative to resistance,” Sleiman, a Palestinian, told the audience, explaining how those who are unfamiliar with the concept consider peace building as “abandoning their cause.”

“We all want the same thing: peace that is just,” she added. “This is what we do, but it’s only done in a different way.”

The summer school was organized with the support of the Mennonite Central Committee Lebanon and Consensus, a negotiation and conflict-resolution consulting private firm based in New York.

Themed “Truth and Reconciliation,” the festival reveals stories of rapprochement between former enemies and warring factions in Lebanon and other parts of the world.

It is organized by Search for Common Ground, an international conflict-prevention and resolution NGO, and the Lebanese Center for Policy Studies, its local partner, and was hosted at LAU’s Selina Korban Auditorium by the university’s Institute for Peace and Justice Education.

“What we are trying to do is look at different topics around conflict that affect people in the country and start a conversation about them,” said Sarah Shouman, SFCG director for Lebanon. “It’s about putting a human face to war.”

The first film screened in Byblos was In My Country, released in 2004, which follows two journalists as they cover Truth and Reconciliation Commission hearings that took place in South Africa after the abolition of apartheid in 1994.

The next screening was I Met the Walrus, a five-minute animated film that plays in sequence to a 1969 five-minute interview with The Beatles star John Lennon where he talks about efforts by “the establishment” in the United States to smear and silence him for his activism against the Vietnam War.

Two more films were screened the following day: In Spite of War, a 30-minute documentary on the Lebanese Civil War; and For You, Wherever You Are, which contrasts the perception of Lebanon’s vibrant nightlife with the feelings of fear evoked during night for many victims of the civil war.

“A lot of people who were scarred by war remember those feelings during night,” said Sarah Bou-Ajram, SFCG coordinator. “The film forces people to think about the psychological and social dimensions of war that remain.”

The same films are being shown at each university, but because of the explicit nature of some of them, more age-appropriated films were chosen to be screened at schools.

After each film, moderators engage the audiences in discussions about the films and their underlying meanings and messages.

During one discussion in Byblos, audience members and organizers examined the idea of peace, expressing concern that the meaning of the word is lost, misinterpreted or misrepresented.

“We are teaching a new generation to think about values of nationalism, but nationalism is not peace,” said Dr. Makram Ouaiss, professor of political science and international affairs at LAU Byblos who helped moderate the discussion. He explained that reconciliation between enemies is not peace if the alliance is formed against other factions or entities.

“What unites us against the outside enemy is not necessarily peace,” Ouaiss added. “It’s a common fear, a common interest.”

The festival started on October 5 and will conclude with an event at the Dowar Al Shams Theater in Shiyah from December 10–12.
 

The participants, most of them students from universities throughout Lebanon, were in part chosen to represent the religious, ethnic and geographic diversity of the country. There were even two graduates who traveled from Palestine and Egypt to participate.

"We want the summer school to be like the microcosm of Lebanese society," says Dr. Irma-Kaarina Ghosn, IPJE director and architect of the summer program, which is co-financed by the United Nations Development Program and the Mennonite Central Committee.

The participants spent 10 days together on the campus and attended classes to learn how to address conflict, "an ever-present part of human life," according to Ghosn.

"I see an urgent need for young people, who are the next generation of leaders, to understand conflict and how to manage it constructively," Ghosn says. This "can lead to positive change," she adds.

The courses hit on a variety of touchy -- sometimes taboo -- social and political issues in the country, ranging from premarital sex to the debate over Hezbollah's weapons.

"It's the first time that I can talk about these subjects with a group of people who are mature enough to handle them and who practice active listening in a way that allows us all to get something out of the conversation," says participant Eric Knaider, a 21-year-old LAU business and marketing student.

Like most participants, Knaider says the courses have encouraged him to pass on what he has learned to friends and other members of the society in hopes of spreading awareness and creating a stronger and more unified country.

For the first time, the organizers divided the participants into two groups: one group of 20 students for the traditional course, and a second group of 10 veterans who had previously participated in the same program but returned to take part in a special advanced course.

During one of the activities that involved both groups, the participants were asked to act out situations they had witnessed that might set the stage for conflict.

One group presented a scenario of a car stopped at a red light while the driver in another car behind it agitatedly honked, spit and gestured for the car ahead to run the red light.

Participants began offering comments after the skit was over, mostly criticizing the impatient driver until one participant from the advanced group asked his classmates to step back and assess the situation by taking all factors into account before jumping to conclusions.

"We have all fallen into the trap of assuming that one party was right," the participant said. "No one asked the driver why she needed to run the red light -- maybe there was a good reason, maybe she had a patient that needed care."

The point reverberated well, shedding light on an important element of the training that shows how lack of communication and failure to engage in dialogue may lead to misunderstandings and conflict.

For the past five years, IPJE has hired experts from Consensus, a negotiation and conflict-resolution consulting private firm based in New York, to help develop the curriculum and activities for the summer program.

"Lebanese youths have a very clear sense of what's wrong," says Zachary Metz, the director of the company's Peace Building division who led many of the activities. "They are aware of the challenges that face their generation and are passionate about addressing them."

"What we're trying to do," Metz adds, "is orient their work ... toward sustainable peace and justice."

Read the story on last year's summer school.

Directed by award-winning Carol Mansour, Maid in Lebanon II was filmed in Sri Lanka and Lebanon with funding from the International Labour Organization. The piece is part of an awareness campaign dubbed "Gender Equality at the Heart of Decent Work," led by ILO's Regional Office for Arab States.

Maid in Lebanon I (2005) revealed cases of torture, exploitation, rape and suicide.

The sequel, produced in 2008, featured four Lebanese employers and recounted the working conditions of their housekeepers. It also addressed the rights and obligations of both sides under the Lebanese law.

According to a 2006 study mentioned in the film, in Lebanon 100,000 domestic workers were subjected to verbal abuse, 60,000 to 70,000 to physical punishment and food deprivation, and 10,000 to 20,000 to physical and sexual abuse.

A Sri Lankan domestic worker featured in the documentary said she worked for eight years without pay. "I couldn't send letters nor make phone calls and was always jailed in the house with the lights off," she said.

Another migrant worker in the film only recalled waking up in a hospital, paralyzed from the waist down, with her hands and back broken. "They told me I fell from the fifth floor," she said, adding that she had lost all memory of her childhood and the years she spent in her homeland.

"They demand so much," an employer complained. "You can't even beat them anymore because they've become so rude."

The film included interviews with more benevolent hosts. Ghada Najjar, an employer interviewed in the film, said Jelly, her maid, is considered a "helper who is loved and respected." Another woman said her housekeeper is allowed to travel three months per year. "She also goes out, has fun and her friends come over," she says in the interview.

ILO is planning to screen the documentary at other universities, NGOs, community centers and 250 public schools. The LAU event was organized on November 19 by the Institute for Migration Studies, the Institute for Women's Studies in the Arab World and the Institute of Diplomacy and Conflict Transformation.

Mansour thinks this initiative should be expanded. "A regional documentary should be done due to the shocking realities that are occurring in the Arab world against domestic workers," she said.

Owner of Forward Productions, Mansour mainly shoots documentaries on social issues. At the 2007 New Zealand Documentary Festival, she won the first prize for A Summer Not to Forget, a short documentary about the July 2006 war in Lebanon. Her film about street children in Cairo, 100% Asphalt, received awards at the Institut du Monde Arabe in Paris in 2002 and the Rotterdam Arabic Film Festival a year later.

ILO's awareness-raising project is complemented by legal initiatives. During the Q&A session following the screening, Dr. Simel Esim, senior regional gender specialist at ILO's Regional Office for Arab States in Beirut, said the office has been drafting unified employment contracts in Arabic, English, French and the migrants' native languages. The contracts are to be given to the workers upon their arrival in Lebanon to safeguard the rights and responsibilities of employers and employees.

Esim said that ILO is also pressuring the government to draft new laws for migrant workers. "Days off, overtime, sick leaves are all being put under the law but we don't know when it will pass," she added.

Khalaf, co-founder and secretary-general of Offre Joie, a peace-advocating organization founded in 1986, accepted the prize of $6,000, offered by an anonymous sponsor, on behalf of over 200 volunteers working for the foundation.

"It took him two weeks to decide whether he should receive the award or not. Only when he was told that he could give the money to his organization did he say 'yes,' " IPJE Director Irma-Kaarina Ghosn said. According to her, Khalaf is the very example of an unsung hero, a dedicated and modest person who works quietly in order to bring peace and mutual understanding in Lebanon.

Khalaf started as a volunteer for the Lebanese Red Cross. In 1985, in the middle of the civil war, he and his friends organized the first Peace Camp that gathered 100 children from all over the country. The aim was to teach them how to live together for 17 days despite their diverse backgrounds. This initiative, which continues to date, attracted French donors and a year later was institutionalized through the creation of Offre Joie.

The organization has held demonstrations for peace, and has also been involved in reconstruction activities--rebuilding schools, refurbishing prisons, helping people in poor neighborhoods.

"Lebanon is a message, not only for itself, but also for the world. It's a country where many civilizations meet," Khalaf said. "We need to engage ourselves in civil society to solve the problems, the real problems [facing the Lebanese people], and not to give up in front of the obstacles, not to give up hope," he added.

Lebanon needs more people like Khalaf, Ghosn said. She believes that the recognition he and other community workers receive from IPJE could inspire Lebanese youth to become active participants in the development of their homeland.

According to Ghosn, there are many people, even young ones, who deserve recognition because of their outreach efforts. "We have some of our own students who just graduated and who are active in community building," she added.

The idea of unsung heroes awards is not new. It is quite popular in the United States and Great Britain and even CNN announced its top 10 heroes for 2008 recently.

The person who thought of bringing it to Lebanon was LAU's president, Dr. Joseph Jabbra. "He came up with the idea because he has a strong commitment to giving back to the community," Ghosn said.

For ten days, the students lived together on the Byblos campus and took part in the all-expenses-paid fourth annual Summer School for Emerging Leaders on Conflict Prevention and Transformation, organized by the Institute for Peace and Justice Education.

Through the entertainment-cum-education program, the 27 students learned the nature, sources, and types of conflict as well as the various theoretical models for analyzing conflict. They explored the various third sides--bridge builder, provider, teacher, peacekeeper, equalizer--at play in transforming discord.

Participants learned to listen by means of small-group discussions on hot topics such as abortion, homosexuality, honor killing, sectarianism. The "listener" chose a subject and stated his opinion in one sentence; the "advocate" expressed the opposing view; and the "coach" made sure that the listener remained objective and did not engage in a debate.

The students enacted scenes based on disputes they had personally experienced. Some chose to present a university election clash scene, while others a night-club fight. Hannah Reich, interactive theater facilitator, said, "This method works with conflicts within a social context, in which a person is oppressed by others, faces an injustice or is in an unfair situation where he or she feels there is no way out."

An unusual card game, the "Barnga Culture Rummy," was also part of the program. Each table had different rules, and verbal or written communication was forbidden. At the end of each round, the highest and lowest scorers switched tables. "The game was frustrating because each player was trying to play by his rules and the lack of communication made it hard to convince the other that he was wrong," said Lebanese University student Jessica Bou Tanios.

Participants also saw a film, Milagro, based on a real community conflict over water rights in New Mexico. Then, they planned and presented an intervention for the dispute.

As a final project, the groups proposed ways to tackle various challenges they have observed such as violence in schools, the role of the media in shaping public opinion, and university students' rights. The program director and other conflict-resolution professionals provided feedback.

The event concluded with the distribution of certificates and the exchange of souvenir stones on which the students had engraved peace-related expressions.

The program, funded by UNDP and the Mennonite Central Committee, sought to teach young people to have "an open mind[,]... deconstruct walls and leave with a faith of change," according to IPJE Director Irma-Kaarina Ghosn at the opening ceremony.

Dr. Irma-Kaarina Ghosn, associate professor at LAU and IPJE director, explained that the nominees must be Lebanese citizens who "through their work ... demonstrate the values of volunteerism, collaboration and civic responsibility; show selfless commitment to building their society and creating hope for the Lebanese people; and especially serve as role models for the youth."

Nominations are due July 31 and must include the name of the individual, a description of his or her activities and achievements, and of the impact his or her work has had on the Lebanese society.

Relief workers, teachers, doctors, nurses, firefighters or others who can motivate Lebanese youth to become active participants in the development of their homeland can be nominated.

Ghosn said they are looking for somebody who is not well-known. According to her, the purpose of the award is to inspire people and demonstrate the importance of community engagement through real-life, everyday examples drawn from those who live and work among them.

"Today's youth are often really disillusioned about what is happening [around them] and feel that they are powerless. ... Something like this will show that an individual, an ordinary person can do something, and then maybe they will be encouraged to do something themselves," said Ghosn.

An anonymous foundation is sponsoring the project, while IPJE is administering it with the help of a steering committee consisting of Ghosn, Dr. Walid Moubarak (assistant dean of the School of Arts and Sciences in Byblos and IDCT director), Dr. Dima Dabbous-Sensenig (assistant professor and IWSAW director), and Dr. Iwona Safi (Beirut Human Rights Film Festival co-director).

A committee composed of LAU faculty, staff, alumni and students will select the award recipient. At the Recognition Dinner in October, an award of $6,000 will be offered to an organization of the hero's choice.

"There are a number of initiatives like this around the world, and I think that this is a very good idea for Lebanon," said Ghosn. She hopes the event will be repeated every year, so "that over the years we can identify individuals from different walks of life." In addition, a book about Lebanese unsung heroes may be in the works.

To learn more about the call for nominations, visit the Unsung Heroes Award page of the IPJE website.

Dr. Irma Ghosn, IPJE Director and chair of LAU's Humanities and Social Sciences Division in Byblos, gave two lectures in New York early this month to promote the event and raise awareness on the issue of peace building among students and children.

In one of her lectures, entitled "Summer Academy on Conflict Resolution and Peacemaking: Emerging Leaders Learning to Dialogue With 'the Other,' " Ghosn introduced the audience to the program and purpose of the academy, and shared stories about teaching peace-building skills to young people from the Middle East.

Last year, about 30 university students, primarily undergraduates from Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Palestine, Egypt and Kuwait, were selected out of more than 80 applicants to participate in the third regional summer academy. During the ten-day workshop, students developed interpersonal skills, gained a better understanding of conflict resolution, and presented proposals for community projects.

"If we can equip future leaders with the skills of peace building, negotiation, consensus building and so on, we will have a better society," said Ghosn, as she explained the idea behind the initiative. According to her, the summer academy has led many of the participants to pursue peace-related studies and human rights work.

Ghosn has been particularly interested in promoting peace and tolerance among children through literature. In fact, this was the topic of her second lecture in New York, entitled "Children as Peace Builders."

"I believe that carefully selected children's literature can be used for peace-building purposes," Ghosn said. According to her, certain types of literature develop a child's character and can foster the kinds of skills and attitudes needed to enhance peace. Ghosn focuses on children, because researches have shown that most of these character traits and values develop at an early age.

Her research illustrates that proper kinds of literature may enhance, for example, children's imagination, creativity, empathy, and tolerance, as well as their ability to use words rather than physical aggression in play.

Exposure to some classical fairy tales, such as Cinderella, helps a child to identify with the heroine, who is a good person despite the sibling rivalry or the unfairness of a parent she experiences. Likewise, the child may learn to be good even in hardships and unfairness, Ghosn explained.

Her research shows that stories can also teach the norms and values of society; children can learn about how to be a good friend and how their behavior affects others in relationships.

According to Ghosn, children's awareness of conflict resolution can be raised through specific types of literature that show how conflict escalates, what kinds of outcomes it can lead to, and how it can be resolved.

Two great examples of stories that teach children to be peace builders, according to Ghosn, are  "Two Monsters," a story about what can happen when people don't understand and refuse to listen to each other, and "A Hundred Dresses," a story about bullying, originally published in the 1940s.

To learn more about the activities of the Institute for Peace and Justice Education, visit its website: http://www.lau.edu.lb/academics/centers-institutes/ipje/.