ESCWA is organizing the 2018 civil society dialogue session in partnership with the Embassy of the Netherlands in Lebanon and the Beyond Reform & Development Group.

This CSO dialogue is part of a series launched by ESCWA in 2013 with civil society organizations and other stakeholders to address the role of civil society in the political transitions that followed the Arab uprisings and to reflect on the issues of justice, participation and citizenship in the Arab region. The objective of the upcoming dialogue meeting is to discuss barriers to the political participation of youth and women in Lebanon and other Arab countries and the drivers of their exclusion from political life and to explore solutions that would help to improve that participation.

The meeting gathers Arab activists and experts in the field of political participation/representation of women and youth. It also includes CSO representatives, academics and media specialists from Lebanon. The meeting benefits from the contributions of H.E. Mr. Jan Waltmans, Ambassador of the Netherlands in Lebanon and Mr. Gilbert Doumit, Founder and Managing Partner of the Beyond Reform & Development Group. Young people, parliamentarians and women candidates for the upcoming Lebanese parliamentary elections are also invited.