“My badna nhegir”* This is basically what most young Lebanese say when they talk about their country. And this Thursday, February 18, 2021 was no exception since once again this heartfelt cry was said out loud in front of more than a hundred participants who were attending the webinar on active citizenship organized by the Faculty of Information and Communication at Antonine University (UA) in the framework of “Les Jeudis de l’InfoCom” series.

Unusual guests were on the microphone that day among the speakers: seven young UA students showing all the same enthusiasm and energy, but coming from different Faculties and departments. The reason behind their presence was their instructors’ will to make them share their point of view on citizenship as well as their project-related experience with the attendees.

The timing of this webinar was well chosen. Last September 1st, 2020 marked, indeed, the centenary of the Greater Lebanon amid democratic chaos. For many Lebanese truly overwhelmed and disappointed by the current situation, this anniversary left them with a bitter taste. This is precisely why it was high time to react and ask ourselves the right questions, such as “What kind of citizens do we want to be?” in order to rebuild an inclusive and sustainable country, in other words: a viable and livable Lebanon for all.

In order to explore the question and allow new generations to make their voices heard, the virtual conference was divided into two main parts. After the introductory words of the moderator, Michel Hourani, the Rector Reverend Father Michel Jalakh, and the Dean of the Faculty of Information and Communication, Dr. Dalal Moukarzel, the floor was first given to the expert, Myra Abdallah, who manages many associations including the Arab Foundation for Freedoms and Equality (AFE). While depicting the current situation in the land of the Cedars, she highlighted the particularly difficult situation of Lebanese women, the current deep division between the citizens and the politicians, but ended on a positive note, rejoicing over the cheerful solidarity that emerged after Beirut blast and concluding that a team’s “esprit de corps” is mandatory to achieve an active citizenship.

The second part of the webinar was devoted to examples of civic actions initiated, over the past two years, by UA students and their instructors as part of the Citizenship and Society course. Mona Chami was the first to present, Let’s Revive our Forests, a green project in which she and her fellow students from UA Mejdlaya participated under the leadership of Lissa Rashwan. They teamed up with local associations to make it happen end of 2019. Their project’s goal was to raise youth’s awareness about the environment and replant, as much as possible, the mountain of Ehden in order to counteract the drastic reduction of forest areas due to forest fires that spread every summer in Lebanon.

The second speaker, Maria Rahhal, presented United in the Society, a project supported by Dr. Rita Nabhan and designed with the help of the musicology students. Their action aimed at cheering up children on dialysis at Saint-Georges hospital (Beirut), but also at teaching them the basics of music, giving them as well the strength to claim their right for education.

Nadine Chahine, an audiovisual student working under the supervision of Dr. Dalal Moukarzel, introduced the participants to her investigation on Lebanese women’s fight for their rights. After the projection of a short movie retracing a brief history of the feminist movement in Lebanon, the young woman looked at other aspects of the matter such as the latest amendments to improve the law on women’s rights as well as the current situation on gender equality, and the effects of media on women’s image in Lebanon. The culmination of the project was the creation of the "Tasawari" site on Instagram to raise awareness with series of videos and citizens’ actions.

Last but not least, Tonia Kiwan and Elie Ziadé produced a report called Towards an Equal Future, supervised by Dr. Marc Abou Abdallah. They interviewed public figures such as Paula Yaacoubian and Sami Gemayel on thorny themes of local news, namely: democracy, political parties and the place of women in society.

The session ended with the Active Citizens’ Tact (ACT) club representatives, the students Stéphanie Ghacibeh and Recardo Chalhoub, presented by Dr. Wadiaa El Khoury. Launched with the idea of renewing this type of solidarity activity on a regular basis, this new UA student club aims at promoting active citizenship in various fields, thus creating good conditions for people to live in dignity and peacefully. To quote young Stéphanie Ghacibeh, "ACT is a club for those who believe that their nationality is more than just a passport! "

* “We don’t want to emigrate!”