L'Usine Alita
Byblos 1401
Lebanon
- Youth and education
Our mission is to promote and expand a culture of peace and diversity throughout Lebanon, through recreational, cultural, educational and artistic activities. We believe that Lebanon has hardly tapped into its cultural and religious diversity because of its fragmentation. People boast about the country's diversity but do not know much about it. Through our activities, we encourage people to discover and explore cultural and religious differences, by becoming more mobile, curious and engaging. We aim at developing projects that expand and develop cross-communal, interfaith and intercultural dialogue and reconciliation. Peace Initiatives engages in activities that diffuse a peace culture and uphold and advance cultural and religious diversity. Our actions are mostly youth oriented. We believe that youth play a special role in the struggle against mistrust, prejudice, resentment and ignorance. We find it crucial to enable them to become irreplaceable actors in the maintenance and advancement of peace.
Education workshops and training for peace - Sawa 1, "Together for Peace in Time of War" (summer 2006). - Sawa 2, "Introduction to Peace and Diversity" (summer 2007). - Liqa'at lil-Tawasol (summer 2008), follow up activity to Sawa 2. - Peace Workouts (September 2010) - Training for Peace in collaboration with Aie Serve (winter 2010). - Lobbying for environmental projects, improvisational theatre, promoting self-confidence. - Theatre of the Oppressed by Augusto Boal. - Conflict resolution. Cultural events - Introduction to theatrical improvisation on the theme of otherness. - Cineclub on the theme of “encounters”. - Exhibition on the theme "flowers and peace" Psychological support: - Support for a group of young volunteers engaged in relief operations (compassion / fatigue management). Advocacy: - Celebration of World Peace Day, film screening followed by an Iftar (September 21, 2007). - Commemoration of the outbreak of the Civil War: organizing the "Carrefour des associations - 33 years of commitment to peace" (April 13, 2008). - Participation in the International Fair for Peace Initiatives, Paris (spring 2008). Partnerships, collaboration, civic engagement: - With the library association Assabil for running a film club and a theatre workshop. - With the House of Franco-Palestinian Friendship (MAFPA) and the Jinishian Memorial Program for Sawa 2. - With Sustainable Democracy Center (SDC) as part of its project "Bridging National Solidarity". - Active participation in the campaign “Ou3a"(2007). - Participation in the march "Our unity is our salvation" organized by 50 Lebanese NGOs (April 13, 2008). - Active participation in the movement Khalass! (2007-2008) - Participated in the founding of the Arab Network for Non-Violence in Amman. - Organization of the World Social Forum with Lebanon’s Permanent Peace Movement and the support of Nova (Spain). - Partnership with the Permanent Peace Movement on their proposed Youth Council.