Tabbaneh, Syria Street, Abjad socio-cultural center
Tripoli 1600
Lebanon
- Democracy and community development
- Environment/Sustainable development
- Human rights
- International/Cultural relations
- Research
- Youth and education
UTOPIA Organization relies heavily on voluntary work for achieving its mission. Our volunteers are the backbone of the organization and they come from all the walks of life. The organization is managed by a team of paid staff including: Managing Director, Program Manager, 2 Program Coordinators, 2 Field Officers, Admin & HR Officer, Financial Officer, and Logistics Officer. UTOPIA Organization relies on fundraising to cover operational and programs implementation expenses. Its sources of funding are international grant institutions (USAID, US Embassy of Beirut, UNHCR) in addition to local donations and fundraising activities. It constantly tries to reach out to potential partners that share the same startegic values as ours. Our partners are enthusiastic advocates for change and development; they are international and local organizations, civil society campaigns, the local government, and the private sector. These partners further our mission through mentorship, and financial and in-kind support. To achieve our mission, we invest in the following programs: Community Service, Youth Empowerment, Women Empowerment, Child Development, and Advocacy.
UTOPIA Organization is a non-governmental, non-profit organization dedicated to abolishing all types of social discrepancies through specialized projects and programs that rely on voluntary work, in hopes of acquiring social justice among people within the same society regardless of their political or religious beliefs. The purpose of UTOPIA Organization is to inspire a culture of civic awareness and equal citizenship in the Lebanese society and in Tripoli in particular to make the change we aim at achieving.
1) “DEAL Project” Donor: UNICEF UTOPIA's Status: Co-applicant with OXFAM (project implemented in partnership with War Child) Project Description: 150 children of Syrian refugees and Lebanese host communities in Al Koura region participated in recreational and educational weekly activities as tools for social cohesion and peace building. 2) “Youth Environmental Clubs” Donor: US Embassy in Beirut Project Description: 300 students from four diverse public schools in Tripoli are trained on environmental conservation, resulting in the creation of four environmental clubs. The schools will launch a competition among the different clubs, resulting in one selected civic initiative that the youth implement to improve their community. 3) “Flying Gardens” Donor: Ministry of Social Affairs Small Grants Program Project Description: Gardening rooftops of buildings in the underprivileged Tabbaneh with edible plants & vegetables to make residents of the building self-sufficient. Renovation works also include a safe playing space for children of the building instead of having them spend times on the streets and in unsafe surroundings. Environment-friendly and recycled materials are used to renovate the rooftop. 4) “Protection of refugees and Lebanese communities in Northern Lebanon” Donor: Irish Aid (Project implemented in partnership with OXFAM GB) Project Description: aims to ensure protection in Bab Al Tabbaneh and Kobbeh regions through information sessions, committees, trainings and youth clubs. Activities entitle building capacity in the community, especially among women and youth, raising awareness on rights and available services in the area, and protection monitoring and advocacy to deliver the voice of the community to the concerned parties. 5) “WASH project in Jabal Mohsen” Donor: ICRC Project Description: WASH response project in Jabal Mohsen and Mallouleh areas in North Lebanon, with Mallouleh being host to Syrian refugees. 360 water reservoirs in Jabal Mohsen and 76 water reservoirs in Mallouleh were installed. 6) "Tripoli Career Expo 2014" Donor: USAID/OTI Project Description: Under the patronage of the Ministry of Economy and Trade, UTOPIA Organization organized “Tripoli Career Expo 2014”, a USAID-funded non-profit initiative that aims at shortening linkages between youth of Tripoli and job opportunities and mobilizing the employability process. The event took place on October 24 and 25,2014 in Rachid Karami International Fair, and included participation of companies that are operating in Lebanon who wish to recruit potential employees. The event also included workshops on work-readiness skills as well as youth and businessmen dialogue sessions on matters such as unemployment, and youth challenges and prospects in Lebanon. 7) “WASH” Project Donors: DFID and CIDA (Project implemented in partnership with OXFAM GB) Project Description: Protection and winterization response project in 3 areas in North Lebanon that are hosts to Syrian refugees (Tabbaneh, Al Kobbeh, & Becharre). The overall goal of the project is to reduce the suffering of those affected by the Syria Crisis in Lebanon and contribute to meet their basic needs. 8) Humanitarian Aid Distribution and Relief Campaigns Donor: Diakonie, USAID, UNHCR Project Description: Distribution of hygiene and household kits, and medical supplies and medications to Syrian refugees in North Lebanon and to the deprived Lebanese hosting community as well. These campaigns come in response to the Syrian crisis and its implications on the hosting communities in North Lebanon, and also to the recurrent conflicts in Tripoli. 9) “Dialogue and local response mechanisms to Syrian conflict in North Lebanon" Donors: UNHCR (Project implemented in partnership with Search for Common Ground) Project Description: In close partnership with the international non-governmental organization “Search for Common Ground”, UTOPIA is implementing a response project to the Syrian refugees’ crisis in Lebanon in an attempt to strengthen the capacity of Lebanese host communities as they cope with the ever-growing tensions from the daily influx of Syrian refugees in their communities. 10) “Council for Change” Project Donors: US Embassy in Beirut Project Description: A youth council of 15 Syrian refugees and Lebanese of both genders from Bab al Tabbaneh area is formed to advocate together for their rights with the municipality of Tripoli. The youth will organize activities for 200 children and conduct four community service projects in Bab al Tabbaneh to bridge the gaps between the different constituencies of the area. 11) “Your Right” Donor: PACE Lebanon/USAID Project Description: Improving government responsiveness to basic citizen needs in conflict-prone and marginalized communities in order to strengthen citizenship values, enhance citizen confidence in state institutions, and contribute to decreasing sectarian tensions. 12) Rehabilitation of Neighborhoods in Tripoli Donors: USAID, US Embassy of Beirut, UNHCR, and donations from the private sector Project Description: Activities include plumbing works and construction works followed by painting walls of the street for the purpose of beautifying a neglected street and engage Syrian refugees and Lebanese host community in a joint project and attempt to alleviate the tension between them via conflict resolution and peacebuilding tools. 13) “Coloring the Clashes: Phase 2” Project Donor: OTI Lebanon/USAID Project Description: This project aims at giving residents of regions of Tripoli, where there is armed conflict, an alternative to fighting, and all types of social problems. During the course of the project implementation, we aim at raising civic awareness and igniting a sense of belonging and ownership to their local communities and further integrate them in other areas of Tripoli which are of a relatively better standard of living through a series of activities. By the end of the project we aim at achieving sustainability of the project goals through creation of job opportunities and spirit of volunteering and community work. 14) “Tripoli Youth Empowerment” Project Donor: US Embassy in Beirut Project Description: The main objective is to involve youth of Bab Al Tabbaneh in the development of their community through workshops and implementation of community service projects. Youth groups were assembled to receive leadership and entrepreneurship workshops followed by implementation of community service projects.
As an established youth-oriented NGO working in the field of community development, and a largely accepted and entrusted entity by its beneficiaries, UTOPIA Organization would bring more diversity to the Lebanese ALF Network. The rapid changes our community at large is going through create more opportunities for inter-cultural peacebuilding. Being largely accepted and operative in the most conflict-prone, marginalized areas of Lebanon (Bab Al Tabbaneh, Jabal Mohsen, and Kobbeh), and through our established partnerships, UTOPIA Organization would give further impetus to the Lebanese ALF Network by bridging the gaps between those marginalized communities and the more privileged communities of Lebanon as a whole through peacebuilding and conflict resolution programs. The end-result would be achieving social integration of those communities into the larger Lebanese society, alleviating by this the levels of tension and aggressivness among them.
UTOPIA Organization shares the same core values and objectives of the ALF Networks: contribute to improve mutual understanding, respect and intercultural dialogue in the region, bringing people together, and empowering civil socities to be catalysts of this change. Collaboration between civil society organizations and components is much needed to advance those objectives. Therefore, joining the Lebanese ALF Network would offer more opportunities for us to establish connections, mutual understandings, and regional and national initiatives that promote the role of civil society in Lebanon and empower independent channels of dialogue and peacebuilding.