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The Lebanese National Commission for UNESCO organized over
the last three years a number of conferences. The list of major
conferences runs as follow:
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- International Conference on "Philosophy and Democracy" :
Beirut, November 20, 2004
Under the patronage of H.E. the Minister of Culture Mr. Naji
Boustany, the Lebanese National Commission for Unesco (LNCU) organized,
on the occasion of the Philosophy Day, an international conference
on "Philosophy and Democracy". At the opening ceremony, Mrs Salwa
saniora Baassiri,
the Secretary General of the LNCU, gave a welcoming speech, followed
by Dr. Victor Billeh,
director of the Unesco Regional Office in Beirut and H.E the Minister
of Culture Mr. Naji Boustany .
Panel I, "Democratic Values & Education for Democracy", was chaired
by H.E Mr. Ghassan Tueni,
President of the Editions Dar An-Nahar, where the two themes,
"The Limits of Democratic Authority" and "Education for Democracy:
the formation of judgement" were tackled respectively by Dr. Thomas
Christiano,
Visiting fellow at All Souls College- Oxford and Professor of
Philosophy and Law at University of Arizona- United States and
Dr. Jacques Poulain,
Professor of Philosophy at University of Paris VIII and Professor
at the Unesco Chair of Philosophy of culture and European institutions.
Panel II, "Liberalism &Democracy" was chaired by H.E Dr. Ali Oumlil,
Ambassador of the Moroccan Kingdom in Lebanon, where the two themes,
"Learning how to lose: Coping with political defeat in honor/shame
cultures" and "On the relation between Democracy and Liberalism",
were tackled respectively by Dr. Ajume Wingo,
Assistant Professor of Philosophy and Senior Fellow at the McCormack
Institute's Center for Democracy and Development at the University
of Massachusetts-United States and Dr. Nassif Nassar,
Professor of Philosophy at the Lebanese Univesity. Panel III,
"Religion & Democracy", was chaired by His Eminence Archbishop
Georges Khodr, where
the two themes, "Was there any form of Democracy in both text
and practice in early Islam" and "The issue of Religion and Democracy
in the current Islamic thought", were tackled respectively by
Dr. Hicham Djaït, Emeritus Professor at the University of Tunisia
and Dr. Ridwan Al-Sayyid,
Professor of Islamic Studies at the Lebanese University. The final
session was animated by Dr. Bachar Haïdar, Associate Professor
at the American University of Beirut, who gave the concluding
remarks. In depth discussions featured the three panels and enriched
the concluding remarks of the conference.
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International Conference on “ Teaching
Science at Universities: present status and future challenges”
: 5/6 October, 2004
Under the patronage of H.E. the Prime Minister
Mr. Rafic El- Hariri, the Lebanese National Commission for
Unesco (LNCU) organized an international conference on “Teaching
Science at Universities: present status and future challenges”.
At the opening ceremony, Mrs Salwa saniora
Baassiri, the Secretary General of the LNCU, gave a welcoming
speech, followed by Dr. Amro Azouz representative of the
Unesco Regional Office for Science in Cairo and H.E the
Minister of Education Mr. Samir El-Jisr, on behalf of H.E
Mr. Rafic El-Hariri.
Dr.
Bassam Shakhashiri,
professor at the Wisconsin Academy of Science, gave the
keynote address.
Panel I was chaired by Dr. Basil Fuleihan,
Chair at the Lebanese parliamentarian committee for economy,
trade, industry and planning, where the two themes, “ Scientific
research within universities and the role of which in economic
development and the interaction with the productive sectors”
and “ Identifying society needs and productive sectors as
well as other faculties and schools in terms of science
programs and curricula, with special attention to the ethical
dimension in teaching of science” were tackled respectively
by Dr.Basil Fuleihan and
Dr. Abdallah Sfeir,
Vice-president for academic affairs at the Lebanese American
University, subsequent to the general overview that was
given by Dr. Jack
Levy,
director of l'“Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Mines
de Paris”.
Panel II was chaired by Dr. John Waterbury,
President of the American University of Beirut, where the
two themes, “Strengthening relations and networking among
faculties and research centers” and “Accreditation of science
faculties and evaluation of science curriculum”, were tackled
respectively by
Dr. Ragi Abou Chacra,
dean of the faculty of science at the Saint-Joseph University
and Dr. Waddah Nasr,
Associate provost at the American University of Beirut,
subsequent to the general overview that was given by Dr.
Robert Hanna,
member at the National Council for scientific research,
representative of George Tohmé, president of the
National Council.
Panel III was chaired by the Reverend Father
René Chamussy, President of Saint-Joseph University,
where the two themes, “ Policies for and methodologies of
teaching of science, within universities and the preparatory
measures to that end at school level” and “The role of modern
technologies in enhancing curriculum development and teaching
methodologies in faculties of science”, were tackled respectively
by Dr. Saouma AbouJaoudé,
Professor at the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at the American
University of Beirut and Dr.
Georges Nahas,
Vice-president of the Balamand University, subsequent to
the general overview that was given by Dr.
Wadih Haddad,
President of Knowledge Entreprise Inc. in the USA.
The final session was presided by Dr. Ibrahim
Kobeissi, President of the Lebanese University, where
Dr. Toufic Rizk,
Professor at the Saint-Joseph University, gave the concluding
remarks.
In depth discussions featured the three panels
and enriched the concluding remarks of the conference.
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Women's rights in the lebanese law at the AUB UNESCO Club: 17 March, 2003
On the occasion of the international women's day, the AUB UNESCO Club organized a lecture on women's rights in the lebanese law that was delivered by Mrs. Alia Berty Zein, a lawyer and president of the women's right's committee in the International Federation of Lawyers. 40 students from the AUB and USJ UNESCO Clubs attended the lecture.
The lecture enumerated Lebanon's achievements towards gender equality as stipulated in article 2 of the universal decleration of human rights, referring to the preambule of the lebanese constitution of 1990 which stipulated: "Lebanon is committed to the Convention of the universal declaration of human rights with no exception to any area of concern". The lecture also mentioned that Lebanon ratified in 1996 the Convention on the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women though with few restrictions.
Finally, Mrs. Zein invited the university students to contribute to raise awareness among women as to their rights and duties.
The lecture was followed by an in depth discussion.
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The Lebanese Theater in the twentieth century, a meeting organized by the Lebanese National Commission for UNESCO: 11 April 2002
The Lebanese National Commission for UNESCO organized a meeting in the presence of arts professors, producers, scriptwriters, writers and poets, in order to evaluate the Lebanese theater in the 20th century based on Mr. Mohammed Korayem's book "The Lebanese Theater in half a century 1900-1950" and Dr. Khalida Al Said's book "The Theater movement in Lebanon 1960- 1975".
First, a welcome speech was given by the poet Dr. Henry Zoghaib, vice-president of the National Commission.
Then the meeting was moderated by Dr. Zahida Darwich Jabbour, member the Commission's Executive Bureau, where four interventions were respectively presented by Dr. Mohammed Ali Moussa, the producer M. Raymond Gebara, Dr. George Trad and Dr. Antoine Seif.
At the closure, Mr. Mohammed Korayem was awarded a medal in the name of the President of the Republic Mr. Emile Lahoud, in recognition of the efforts and creativity that he invested in the Lebanese theater.
Mr. Korayem thanked the President for his ikind initiative and he thanked as well the Lebanese National Commission for organizing such a successful meeting.
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The Arab Culture as perceived by the West Problematic issues and avenues for change: 22-23 March 2002
under the high patronage of H.E. the Minister of Culture Dr. Ghassan Salameh, the Lebanese National Commission for UNESCO (LNCU) organized, in collaboration with the Arab Organization for Education, Culture and Sciences (ALECSO), a Symposium on "The Arab Culture as perceived by the West Problematic issues and avenues for change".
Members of the parliament, diplomats, scholars, professors and Lebanese journalists attended the opening session where a welcoming speech was given by Mrs. Salwa Saniora Baassiri, Secretary General of the LNCU, followed by the speech of Dr. Hisham Nashabeh, representative of ALECSO and in conclusion the address of H.E. the Minister of Culture Ghassan Salame.
The Symposium comprised four working sessions, the first two dealt with the theme of " Problematic issues" and the others two sessions dealt with the second theme "avenues for change".
The first working session was moderated by Dr. Fadia Kiwan, President of the National Commission where Dr. Nassif Hitti, the Arab League Ambassador in Paris, gave a presentation on "the image of the Arabs as perceived by the west" and followed by Mrs. Salwa Saniora Baassiri, Secretary General of the National Commission, who gave a brief summary of the main issues raised by Dr. Jack Shahine's book "Reel Bad Arabs".
The second working session was moderated by Dr. Nawaf Salam, Professor at the Lebanese American University, where Dr. Ahmed Birkaoui, professor at the Damascus University, presented a paper having as a topic " the European roots of awareness-the Arabs example "followed by Dr. Jean Jabbour, professor at the Lebanese University, who presented a paper having a topic "the image of the Arabs in the west : a cultural stand or a game of interest".
The third working session was moderated by Dr. Ahmed Beydoun, Professor at the Lebanese University, where Dr. Mohammed Abed Al Jabiri, professor at the Mohammed V University in Rabat, presented a paper, having as a topic "Cultural Dialogue, a dialogue rather than a clash but how" , followed by Dr. Radwan Sayed, professor at the American University of Beirut, who gave a presentation having as a topic, "Cultural Dialogue- a critical approach".
The final working session tackled the topic "Away from negative stereotyping: which role for the media?" and was moderated by Dr. Marwan Hamadeh, the Minister of the displaced, where both Dr. Eric Rouleau, fresh journalist and former ambassador and Dr. Patrick Seal, British journalist and famous writer, gave their valuable views on the subject.
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International Symposium on the Ethics of Science and Technology:
8 - 10 October 2001
The Lebanese National Commission for UNESCO organized in cooperation w ith the Division of human sciences, philosophy and the ethics of sciences and technologies at UNESCO-Headquarters an International Symposium on "the Ethics of Science and Technology "
The International Symposium, held in Bristol Hotel-Beirut from 8 to 10 October 2001, tackled three main themes :
Day one:
The Main Theme : Bioethics
The morning plenary session,which was presided by Prof. Fouad Boustani, Secretary General of the Lebanese National Consultative Committee for Bioethics, former President of Physicians Order, six speakers dealt with the following sub themes:
"Organs donation":
- Dr. Ryuichi Ida, President of the International Committee of Bioethics-UNESCO
- Dr. Nader Michel s.j , Professor of Moral Theology and Bioethics- Faculty of Religious Sciences- University of Cairo
"Experimentation on Human Beings":
- Dr. Juhana E. Idanpaan Heikkila, Secretary General of ICOMOS
- Dr. Ibrahim Salti, Internal Medicine, American University of Beirut
"Human Genetics and Application of Genetic Engineering":
- Dr. Ali Akkoum , Professor in Laval University- Canada
- Dr. André Mégarbané-Internal Medicine- Université Saint- Joseph- Beirut.
In the afternoon session, four penalists participated in a round table discussion on "Bioethics" which was conducted by Dr. Waddah Nasr, Associate Provost, the American University of Beirut:
- R.P. Jean Ducruet,s.j.- Emeritus President-
Université Saint-Joseph- Beirut,
Director of University Center of Ethics
- Dr. Hicham Nashabé, Lebanon's representative
on the Executive Board of UNESCO-Chairperson
of the Program and External Affairs Commission
of the Executive Board
- Dr. Omar Bizri, Chief Technology Section, Sectoral Issues Policies-ESCWA
- Prof. Dariush Farhud, Head of Department of Human Genetics and Anthropology - Tehran University
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Day two:
The Main Theme : Infoethics
In the morning plenary session, which was presided by Minister Marwan Hamadé, Minister of the Displaced, President of the Lebanese National Consultative Committee for Bioethics-Member of the International Committee of Bioethics-UNESCO, four speakers dealt with the following sub-themes:
"Information Society between the Virtual and the Real":
- Member of Parliament, Mrs. Bahia Hariri , Chairperson of the Parliamentarian Educational Committee,UNESCO Ambassador of Goodwill
- Me. Michel Eddé, Former Minister of Information, Former Minister of Culture
"Cyberspace and Access to Information":
- Dr. Cees Hamelink , Professor of International Communication-University of Amsterdam
- Me. Alexandre Najjar, Attorney at Law&Writer
Three panelists participated in a round table Discussion on "Infoethics" that pesided by Mr. Mohammad El Baalbacki, President Lebanese Press Syndicate and debated by :
- Mr. Mohammad el Sammak, Secretary General of the National Committee for Islamic-Christian Dialogue-Lebanon
- Mr. Gebran Tueni , Chairman, Director General of Al Nahar Newspaper-Beirut
- Mr. Fadi Noun , Member of the Editorial Board-L'Orient- Le Jour - Beirut
In the afternoon Plenary session which was presided by Dr. Georges Kutukdjian, Director of the Division of Human Sciences- UNESCO Professor Jens Erik Fenstad , Member of the World Commission of Scientific knowledge and technology gave a presentation on "Ethics of Science": a philosophical view.
Day three:
The Main Theme : Ethics of Science
In the morning plenary session, which was presided by Prof. Georges Tohmé, President of the Lebanese National Council for Scientific Research, Former President of the Lebanese University, was the "Environment" four speakers dealt with the sub theme:
- Dr. Robin Attfield , Professor of Communication and Philosophy in Cardiff University-England
- Dr. Waddah Nasr, Associate Provost, the American University of Beirut .
- Dr. Fadi Comair, Director General, Ministry of Hydraulic and Electrical Resources
- Dr. Hratch Kouyoumijian, Researcher, the Lebanese National Council for Scientific Research-Lebanon
In the afternoon plenary session, which was presided by Dr. Khalil Karam, Lebanon's representative on the Executive Board of UNESCO, Professor Jens Erik Fenstad, Member of the World Commission of Scientific knowledge and technology, gave a presentation on "Ethics of science: the outerspace".
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The 18th regional conference for Arab National Commissions to examine the Program and Budget for 2000-2001: 1-5 June 1998 Beirut- Lebanon
Representatives of the Arab States National Commissions held a consultative meeting in order to examine and discuss the UNESCO draft program and budget for 2000-2001 (document 30 C/5) and to give their views on the structure of the document as well as the priority areas thereof. The conference was one of a series of other regional conferences organized by the UNESCO, in preparation for the 30th general conference of UNESCO.
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