LIMS Leader’s Academy LLA301: Shaping Public Policy Workshop took place in North Lebanon on April 21, 2024, and in Beirut on April 27, 2024. The workshops gathered participants who actively engaged in discussions to devise solutions for local economic issues and strategized advocacy campaigns to effectively spread their messages.
Participants prioritized successful pilot projects that allow for the identification and resolution of issues on a smaller scale before committing to larger investments. This approach enables stakeholders to gather valuable data, refine strategies, and build confidence in the project’s effectiveness. It also fosters collaboration among various stakeholders, ensuring that the projects are well-adapted to local needs and conditions.
One initiative involved adopting the Ras el-Nabeh water distribution model, where water is sourced directly from a spring and redistributed to nearby homes without government involvement. Another suggestion was a pilot project for enhancing security, modeled after the Adma community project or the Ras el-Metn initiative. Providing waste management services to businesses by collecting monthly subscriptions was also proposed.
To stimulate economic and tourism activity, a pilot project would be launched in a mixed residential-commercial neighborhood, encouraging local traders to unite in cleaning and lighting the areas in front of their shops. A proposal for solar energy coordination, involving municipalities, generator owners, and the private sector, was recommended. Lastly, addressing pollution from cement factories involved organizing a campaign with affected citizens, securing funding from tourism institutions for a pollution monitoring station, and advocating for a law allowing cement imports in order to reduce pollution and curb monopolies.
As these initiatives move forward, they hold the potential to significantly improve the quality of life in Lebanon by tackling economic development and environmental challenges on the grassroot level. The workshops not only provided a platform for sharing ideas but also set the stage for actionable plans that could transform Lebanon’s landscape.