Lebanon - PAX

We also support initiatives to mobilize young people for peace and direct peaceful action. Our partners lobby the Lebanese government to change laws and to respect human rights and activate young people for culture and peaceful activism. For instance, they call on the government to repeal legislation on different religious groups and to give Palestinian refugees more rights. On a grassroots level we work on building capacities of local young people from different backgrounds to use culture as a means to deal with violence, war and hatred.

Lebanon had no reconciliation process after the civil war that ended in 1990. That is why tensions keeps rising to the surface and why Lebanon is sensitive to developments in neighbouring countries. Lebanon is a compartmentalised society with 18 different confessional communities. The sectarian system is fixed in the constitution. The president must be a Christian, the prime minister a Sunni, and the Speaker of the Parliament a Shiite. Parliamentary seats are divided over various religious groups. When the system no longer reflects the demographic conditions in society, tension rises and power struggles occur. Once the Syrian struggle turned into a war, Lebanon became entangled in the conflict. Some groups of the population supported the Syrian opposition while the Lebanese Hezbollah fought alongside Assad’s troops.

We currently work with these organisations:

MAAN, in Beirut. MAAN aims to bridge inequalities within Lebanon through the promotion of a culture of citizen accountability, the production of evidence-based research, and advocacy for stronger institutions and social protection.
PoA – Peace of Art, in the north of the Bekaa valley. PoA organises art workshops as a means for the youth to freely express themselves together, in an increasingly divided society.
Sada, in Tripoli. They are a theatre with a focus on creating safe spaces for communities and especially youth, to express themselves. It is a tool for mental health and psychosocial support.
WLT (We Love Tripoli), in Tripoli.