Lebanon: A Coast For All
Alongside civil society partners, ARK is working to promote transparency and accountability in Lebanon on behalf of US-Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI) and the US Department of State. In Lebanon today, civil society provides a vital advocacy and awareness raising function in political life, able to assume a critical role in channelling public discontent peacefully by engaging in the production of information that informs citizen and civil society action to hold state actors to account.
ARK has been delighted to work with NAHNOO, a youth-led non-governmental organization rallying volunteers across Lebanon to work towards an inclusive society through advocacy campaigns that promote: Good Governance, Public Spaces, and Cultural Heritage. Over the past few months ARK and NAHNOO worked together on a research informed advocacy campaign focused on the protection of the public coastline.
Initially, NAHNOO conducted multiple 2-day advocacy workshops followed by 10-day coaching sessions for young people, designed to increase their understanding of both the economic and legal aspects of Lebanon’s public coastline. With this as a base, the young advocates turned to research. During the project’s research phase, the group found that maritime legislation was scattered amongst numerous sources, making it difficult to find, let alone understand. This in turn made the barrier for citizen engagement with maritime law extremely high. To address this, researchers compiled a pamphlet chronicling maritime legislation over time.
The advocates then took their findings to their community, holding a public discussion event where they explained their work, and highlighted the economic and legal importance of the coastline.
NAHNOO’s research informed an online advocacy campaign delivered through their social media platforms which reached 640,360 people in Lebanon and resulted in high levels of engagement.
From Arida in the north to Naqoura in the south, the Lebanese coast extends hundreds of kilometres, covering 162,000 hectares of coastal plains and hills, equating to 16 percent of Lebanon’s surface area. These areas are home to 2.6 million people (approx. 70 percent of the population). With economies and livelihoods so concentrated on the coast, engagement from Lebanese citizens with their coastline is vital. We are proud to be working with organisations like NAHNOO who tirelessly advocate for change and good governance in Lebanon.