LDU is dedicated to invest in the Lebanese civil society development by creating a dynamic platform that unites efforts to bolster women and youth empowerment, foster economic and social entrepreneurship, promote migrants’ empowerment and support education and cultural initiatives.
LDU’s point of strength has been sustainable development through cultural initiatives whether by supporting young artists, building their capacity and offering them venues of interaction with audiences and producing their events, or by promoting the dialogue of cultures and conflict resolution through cultural exchanges.
Another area of intervention is spreading awareness on intellectual property rights and helping young artists benefit from existing laws and mechanisms. Furthermore, we have been working with at-risk-youth groups and delinquents to extract them from the streets and channel their energy and potential towards civic engagement and self-development.
On women’s empowerment, we have conducted so far 3 training courses on Microsoft and Internet use for disadvantaged women. The trainings were turning points in those women’s lives as it opened professional opportunities for those who were unemployed and empowered those who already have a job. So far, 55 women benefited from these trainings and we look forward to take this program to different areas of Lebanon. In addition to this, we are currently working on launching a social media training designed to promote women home businesses.
Youth wise, in addition to our work on empowering and supporting young talents, we are about to launch a citizen journalism program which promotes the mobilization and empowerment of civil society activists for inclusion and citizenship by training a cross-confessional group of university students (undergraduates) from throughout Lebanon on citizen-journalism designed to increase their awareness and involvement in public issues related to local governments and governance, gender and women issues, and sustainable development with a focus on environmental issues.
Lebanon Development Union 