2017 – 2022
The “Youth Citizens of Today” is a partnership project between Masar Association and UNICEF. It has started in 2017 in 6 communities across Lebanon and has expanded into 20 communities by 2022.
The project aims at providing a space for youth from across Lebanon to get organized into youth- led initiatives, meet, interact, exchange experiences, and become familiar with diversity. The project aims also at empowering young people to become active in local development processes, as well as at encouraging them to establish sustainable communication and collaboration mechanisms with local authorities, and at strengthening their networking with relevant stakeholders over youth issues.
Project activities include:
- Organizing training workshops for youth on developmental concepts and skills e.g. human rights, child rights, development& youth development, citizenship, gender, community service, communication skills, leadership, teamwork, conflict resolution & transformation, advocacy…
- Organizing training workshops with youth on research tools following the “Participatory Action Research” (PAR) method and rolling it out among other youth through the “peer to peer” approach across the targeted communities.
- Organizing ongoing meetings between the youth- led initiatives and the municipal councils in their respective communities with the aim to strengthen a structured dialogue whereby youth can voice out their demands and influence the municipal councils to have youth friendly plans.
- Planning and implementing advocacy projects that address youth priorities identified in the need assessment/ research phase.
In 2022, the “Youth Citizens of Today” project had been implemented in 7 governorates whereby around 3000 young males and females and 20 Municipalities had participated in its various activities spanning environment and climate change, mental health, agriculture, social inclusion, and active learning among others.
Below are the communities where the project had been implemented:
- South and Nabatiyeh:Harouf, Toul, Hibbarieh, Nabatieh El Tahta, Old Saida.
- Bekaa and Baalbeck- Hermel: Hermel, Qaa, Ras Baalbeck, Fakiha, Mansoura, Qob Elias, Rachaya.
- North: Beddawi, Tripoli, Zgharta.
- Mount Lebanon: Aley, Saoufar& Badghan, Baakline, Mazboud, Chehime.