Under the patronage of the Minister of Culture and in cooperation with the Anna Lindh Euro-Mediterranean Foundation for the Dialogue between Cultures, the members of the Lebanese Network for ALF organized a series of cultural activities throughout the month of November, with the aim of reinforcing partnerships and synergies among them, as well as mobilizing the Lebanese civil society actors in favor of principles of coexistence, diversity and dialogue.

In its capacity as Head of the Lebanese Network for Anna Lindh Foundation, the Lebanese National Commission for Unesco cooperated with number of the National Network members in organizing a cultural event of common actions that comprised theatrical plays; puppet shows; paintings and photo exhibitions; dancing; musicals; documentaries; story telling for children and poetry reading. The cultural event aimed at reinforcing partnerships and synergies among members of the network. It also aimed at mobilizing the Lebanese civil society actors in favor of principles of coexistence, diversity and dialogue, which ALF propagates as sources for mutual enrichment and development.

The National Commission, being the Head of the Lebanese National Network for Anna Lindh Euro-Mediterranean Foundation for the Dialogue between Cultures, organized in partnership with the secretariat of ALF, a regional teacher-training workshop on the resource “How to cope with diversity at school: teaching and learning about religious diversity”. The main objectives were to present the teaching resource to national bodies and organizations working in related fields, train teachers to use the resource in their daily work, encourage networking among teachers in the Euro-Med region and prepare a core group of multipliers concerning issues of educating about religious diversity. The workshop brought together teachers from the Eastern Mediterranean area (Cyprus, Greece, Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Turkey, Morocco, and Lebanon) and from Western Europe (Belgium, Ireland, The Netherlands, UK, France, Sweden, Portugal and Spain).

The National Commission, being the Head of the Lebanese National Network for Anna Lindh Euro-Mediterranean Foundation for the dialogue between cultures, held a meeting for the network members, to discuss the foundation’s plan of action for the year 2009-2011, the triennial program for the development of National Networks, the action and development plan of the Lebanese Network, as well as joint projects to be submitted to ALF for support, in the framework of the ALF Call for proposals.

The meeting was held and chaired by Mrs. Salwa Saniora Baassiri, head of the Lebanese Network, on the occasion of the visit to Lebanon of Mr. Andreu Claret, executive director of the Anna Lindh Euro-Mediterranean Foundation for the dialogue between cultures. Among the members present were, Rev. Dr. Riad Jarjour, representing the Forum of Development, Culture and Dialogue; Mrs. Khadija Lakkis, from Lebanon Euro-Med group; Mr. and Mrs. Mustafa Adib, from CESMO; and Ms. Rima Maroun, representing Collective Kahraba. Discussions focused on the Foundation’s triennial program on large scale projects, aiming at reinforcing its role as a facilitator for good partnership and enhance its visibility; around the envisaged observatory to monitor the initiatives within the context of respect for diversity in each country; and a Think Tank to analyze and enhance awareness regarding the missions of the Foundation. Also discussed were the respective roles of youth as main targets and tools for change, of media in enhancing the visibility of the Foundation in the region, and that of arts in promoting intercultural dialogue.