The Lebanese National Commission for UNESCO, in collaboration with the United Nations Information Centre in Beirut (UNIC), UNESCO Regional Office in Beirut, and World Youth Alliance – Middle East Office (WYAME), organized a ceremony to distribute “UN Aware-Phase II” certificates to Lebanese public schools that participated in this UN awareness-oriented initiative.
This initiative, which aims at educating high-school students on the work and priorities of the UN, was implemented in its first phase during the academic year 2016-2017 in ASPnet public and private schools in different regions in Lebanon, and includes lectures, field activities about three UN international days declared by the UN, in addition to designing and implementing activities for a non-governmental association linked to a specific cause, or to one of the SDGs.
During the ceremony, that was held at the UNESCO Beirut Office, the Director General of Education at the Ministry of Education and Higher Education in Lebanon Mr. Fadi Yarak, reiterated the Lebanese government’s commitment to the United Nations principles and goals, and noting that this ceremony coincides with the upcoming anniversary of Lebanon’s Independence Day. He stressed the relevance of this initiative in stimulating and strengthening the concept of citizenship among school students, and in increasing their awareness of Lebanon’s commitments to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). He also pointed to the Ministry’s tireless efforts to launch this initiative in all Lebanese schools as a way to maximize students’ participation in similar developmental activities.
In his statement, the Director of UNESCO’s Regional Office in Beirut Dr, Hamed Al Hammami, represented by Dr. Jana Jabbour Mourad, commended the successful cooperation between UNESCO, the Ministry of Education, the Lebanese National Commission, UNIC Beirut and the WYAME, in carrying out this initiative, and highly praised the pioneering role played by UNIC Beirut in conceptualizing and launching it and ensuring its success. Al-Hammami also hailed the remarkable response received from public schools in Lebanon and their keenness to abide by the conditions laid down to merit the certificate of completion.
The Secretary General of the Lebanese National Commission for UNESCO Dr. Tala Zein, said for her part that the UN Aware initiative falls within the combined efforts to promote a culture of peace and community service, and prompts students to contribute to the achievement of the SDGs in several public and private schools across Lebanon. She concluded that “the success of this initiative and the achievement of its desired goals have been translated with the approval of the Ministry of Education to adopt it in all schools in Lebanon, given the importance of raising students’ awareness on basic UN values and principles, all of which will sow good seeds for future generations”.
Finally, the Regional Director of the World Youth Alliance – Middle East Office Ms. Mary-Joe Alavalas, introduced the audience to the work, goals and mission of the WYAME, which are based on the dignity of the human being, pointing to their sustained efforts in building a culture of peace that nurtures the human being and adopts effective solutions that revolve around him. Then, along with WYAME Executive Director, she presented an informative presentation of the initiative and provided a brief on its different implementation stages and the diverse activities undertaken by the students.
The ceremony concluded with the distribution of certificates of completion to the eight public schools: Dr. Hassan Saab Public High School – Beirut, Zahia Kaddoura Public High School for Girls – Beirut, Jawdat Rustom Haidar Public High School for Girls – Baalbek, Amchit Public High School, Hussein Massoud Public High School – Bchamoun, Fadel Al Mukaddem Public High School for Girls – Tripoli, Nabatieh Public High School for Girls, and Maghdouche Public High School.
