Our goal is to create places that encourage citizenship: public spaces where one can read, find information, learn, meet friends; vibrant and dynamic places where one can participate in cultural and artistic activities; places that are free and where everyone - young and old - is welcome, where we can learn to live together and in peace. |
 |
| |
|
 |
Establish public spaces
With the cooperation of the Municipality of Beirut and the Conseil Régional d'Ile de France |
- Open 2 Municipal Public Libraries
| |
2001 |
2002 |
2003 |
2004 |
| Visitors |
8,756 |
16,778 |
26,121 |
27,411 |
| School visits |
35 |
68 |
74 |
107 |
|
|
A place where everyone can get free access to knowledge and information
Funded by The Conseil Régional d'Ile de France |
- Facilities and services available for free
- Daily newspapers are available (Nahar, L'Orient le Jour, Safir, Moustaqbal, etc.)
- Access to the internet
- Organized visits by local schoolchildren
- Training on how to use computers to do research
|
|
A place to read
Funded by The Conseil Régional d'Ile de France and local publishers |
- More than 30,000 books in Arabic, French, English, Armenian, Sri Lankan, German, Spanish; more titles added all the time
- You can borrow books
|
|
A Place for Citizenship Education
Funded by The Lebanese Ministry of Culture and Amideast |
- Workshops with The Human Rights Movement (local NGO) in public libraries in Beirut and throughout the country
- Opportunities for groups of young people to get together and talk about issues that interest them
|
|
A place to meet
Funded by The Ousseimi Foundation |
- Film club
- Meetings for Women
- Summer Youth Club
- Activities on the environment for children
|
|
A place to learn how to use the library, to be introduced to the world of reading |
- Groups of school children learn how to share a public space, how to use a public library
- Weekly Story-telling
- Publication-related activities
|
2001 |
2002 |
2003 |
2004 |
| School visits |
35 |
68 |
74 |
107 |
|
|
Creative activities for children |
- Art workshops every Thursday afternoon
|
|
Meetings with authors of children’s books |
- With writers like Samah Idriss and Aida Naaman
|
|
A chance to talk to and about local and international writers |
- Questions and answers with Alberto Manguel
- Discussions about the works of Abdel Rahman Munif (with Maher Jarrar and Iscandar Habash)
|
|
Poetry Sessions |
- The annual February 21st celebration - Words and Music - with Ahmad Beydoun, Abbas Beydoun, Fawaz Traboulsi, Elham Mansour, Emilie Nasrallah, etc.
|
|
Training for librarians, teachers, those who work in NGOs, volunteers
Funded by The Heinrich Boll Foundation, UNESCO National Commission, UNESCO Regional Office and the COBIAC-PACA |
- With Dr. Chaaban Khalifa (ABE) on The Arabic Thesaurus
- With professional librarians like Clarisse Chebli, Aline Hazarabedian on Classification Techniques in Public Libraries Simplified
- With Hala Bejjani on How to Fundraise for Public Libraries
- With Joe Haddad on Citizenship Education
- Introduction to UNESCO’s software program "Winisis" and the standardization of work tools by Basma Chebbani, AUB
- Digitizing Libraries and the Internet for Public Libraries, with Dr. Saad Azzhari
- Training by the librarians of the COBIAC-PACA
- Invitation of 4 ASSABIL network librarians to the PACA region (Provence-Alpes Côte d'Azur) libraries
|
|
How to organize activities around books
Funded by The Heinrich Boll Foundation |
- With Joumana Behlok, expert in early childhood: How to encourage a love of reading among children
- With Dr. Najla Bashour: Incorporating fiction in the school curriculum
- With Nawal Traboulsi, Promoting a Culture of Information: Physical Spaces, Public Spaces, and the Need for Areas Dedicated to Children
|
|
How to use illustrations in children’s books in libraries
Funded by The Heinrich Boll Foundation |
- With Hoda el-Hajj: Art in Children's literature
|
|
|
|
