Beiruting News

Kaskas: Partnership is the basis for a unified, cultured, and refined Beirut.

On May 18 2016, Beirutiyat was officially launched at the Bristol Hotel. Beirutiyat is a non-governmental organization (NGO) which strives to transform Beirut into the dream city every Lebanese deserves, and make it a better place on all levels: infrastructure, environment, social, and more. The NGO plans to fulfill its mission through citizen empowerment and working with groups in different geographical areas of the city, to help them build their capacity and to assist them in uniting around prioritiesand in taking action to improve their neighborhood.

The event was attended by the Governor of Beirut Ziad Chbib, businessman and philanthropist Fouad Makhzoumi, and President of the "Makhzoumi Foundation", May Makhzoumi, in addition to members of the newlyelected Beirut Municipality, Apostolic Nuncio Gabriel Kacha, director general of the Ministry of Tourism Nada Sardouk, ambassadors of Paraguay, Pakistan, India and others, Donna Al-Hakim representing the Italian Ambassador, the diplomatic attaché to the representative of the UAE Ambassador Bakhit Alqussairi, and president of the Turkish Cultural Center in Beirut representing the Turkish ambassador Genghis Eroglu.

The audience was welcomed by Mrs Huda Usta Kaskas, President of Beirutiyat and newly elected member of Beirut Municipality. Kaskas introduced the initiative, which "started in August 2015 with the support of the Makhzoumi Group, and has been taking shape until being official unveiled on this day". Kaskas stressed that"upgrading" Beirut can only happen when multiple efforts are put together, particularly since Beirut is the capital of solidarity and integration, the rule of law, and transparency. Kaskas highlighted that this view of Beirut should not only be heard of in empty words or seen through the pages of civics or history books, but should rather be reinstated as a state of the city to be implemented through the operational and pre-emptive projects of Beirutiyat."

Kaskas highlighted the work of the NGO, which falls under five main pillars. The first is "Saahem", Beirutiyat's volunteering academy, which aims at training and nurturing citizen abilities to support change and take action that leads to progress on environmental, educational, healthcare and social levels. The second is "Kader" program,a recruitment and career orientation program which provides job seekers with better living conditions, therefore alleviating the drawbacks of unemployment by promoting job opportunities throughout the NGO's multiple networks. "Neighbors" program provides a platform for neighborhood communities to assist citizens in identifying their local problems, so they can be subsequently resolved with the concerned authorities. Furthermore, "Manara" team organizes cultural fundraiser events whose proceeds support civil causes while seeking to revive Beirut'sheritage. Finally, "Sawa" is the social solidarity platform which manages donation and assistance programs that provide people with the opportunity to help the neediest citizens.

Beirutiyat even went one step ahead, thinking of practicality of handling social matters in the digital world. Indeed, Kaskas unveiled the application that will encompass all the activities of the NGO, providing a quick, reliable, and transparent connection to its users, and promoting responsible citizenship among those who care for Beirut. For instance, users will be able to directly report on local problems faced in their neighborhood by simply uploading a photo accompanied by a brief report, therefore enabling extended cooperation between citizens and authorities, and promoting a means to follow up on the status of reported problems.

The Beirutiyat application will be available for download on smartphones and mobile devices as of June 1^st2016.

The tech talk was followed by a video trailer recalling the events of "Ramadaniyat 2015", a large-scale fundraiser festival which was held for its 5^thconsecutive year at BIEL Complex. And since"participation is the foundation for change", Kaskas called for all public administrations, the private sector and all citizens to participate and support this initiativein the upcoming event in 2016.

Fouad Makhzoumi then addressed the audience, emphasizing that that the Makhzoumi Group, which is the initial supporter of the NGO's initiative, has already "accomplished all its past goals related to development and citizen service, and therefore, is now providing opportunities for people to play their own role in inducing change." He also highlighted the fact that "the support provided by the Makhzoumi Group aims to ensure that people's contributions for such projects need to put, first and foremost, the well-being of our beloved city Beirut, and all of Lebanon. "

Governor Chbib pointed out that "our duty is to extend our hands in support of this project," assuring that "communication and marketing, especially that of the application,shall be intensified in order to ensure maximum participation as well as communication of more complaints." Sardouk pointed out that the Ministry of Tourism is ready to provide "full support to this initiative, especially as it believes that by sustaining development and communication, we will be covering the other major aspect of tourism, besides food and restaurants. The director also called out to all Lebanese to put their hands together in support of this initiative."